Before Your First Session
What to Expect
Starting therapy is easier when you know roughly what is coming. Here is the honest, specific version of what happens from the moment you send a contact form through the ongoing rhythm of sessions and, eventually, how the work concludes.
Getting Started
From First Email to First Session
Everything begins with the contact form. There is no phone line for this practice, so email is the entire front door. A useful first message is short: who you are, the best email to reach you, and a sentence about what is bringing you in: stress at work, a relationship that keeps circling the same fight, a teenager who has gone quiet, a history you are finally ready to look at.
What that first message should not contain is detailed clinical information. A contact form on a website is not a secure or confidential channel the way a client portal or a session is. Save the specifics (symptoms, diagnoses, medication names, insurance member numbers) for after you are scheduled and working through the actual intake paperwork, which is handled through a more appropriate channel.
Once Athena replies, scheduling is straightforward: you will be offered available times, asked whether you would prefer in-person sessions at the Salt Lake City office or telehealth, and sent the paperwork that needs to be completed before the first appointment. That paperwork covers consent to treatment, confidentiality and its legal limits, and practice policies, including the 24-hour cancellation policy that applies to every session type.
Step by Step
How the Work Unfolds
The stages below are not rigid, but they describe a typical path from first contact through an established, ongoing rhythm of sessions.
- 01Send the contact formThis is the only way to reach the practice. Include your name, an email you check regularly, and a sentence or two about what brought you in, not full history, just enough for Athena to know she is a reasonable fit.
- 02Keep the first message generalThe contact form is not a secure or confidential channel. Do not include detailed symptoms, a diagnosis, medication names, or insurance ID numbers in it. That kind of detail is appropriate once you are scheduled and communicating through the intake process, not in an open web form.
- 03Hear back by emailAthena replies by email, usually with a few scheduling options and a short explanation of fees and format (in person or telehealth). Availability varies, so the reply will reflect what is actually open rather than a promised timeline.
- 04Complete paperwork and consentBefore the first session, you will receive intake forms covering history, consent to treatment, confidentiality and its limits, and practice policies including the 24-hour cancellation policy. These are meant to be read, not rushed: ask questions about anything unclear before you sign.
- 05Attend the first 60 minutesThe first session is mostly orientation: what brought you in now rather than earlier, what you have already tried, what your relationships and week actually look like, and what you would like to be different. It is a conversation, not an evaluation with a pass or fail.
- 06Use the next two or three sessions to build a shared pictureEarly sessions fill in detail: history, patterns, the people involved, what has helped or made things worse in the past. By the end of this stretch, you and Athena should have a working sense of what the actual work will focus on.
- 07Set goals and pace togetherFrequency, focus and pace are decided collaboratively rather than prescribed. Some people want weekly sessions and a clear target; others want a slower, less structured space. Both are legitimate starting points, and the plan can change as things become clearer.
- 08Settle into the middle phaseA typical middle-phase session picks up from where the last one left off, checks on anything you tried between sessions, and goes deeper into whatever pattern is currently central: a specific conflict, an avoidance you are working against, a memory that keeps surfacing. Sessions are not scripted, but they are not aimless either.
- 09Invite others in when it helpsDepending on the work, Athena may suggest bringing in a partner, a parent, or the whole household for part of a session. In individual work this is occasional and purposeful, not a redirection into couples or family therapy without your agreement.
- 10Review progress along the wayPeriodically, session time is spent stepping back: what has shifted, what has not, and whether the current pace and focus still make sense. This is a normal, expected part of ongoing therapy rather than a sign that something is wrong.
- 11Decide together how it endsTherapy usually ends by agreement rather than abruptly: spacing sessions out, naming what was accomplished, and being honest about what is still unresolved. If it is not working, that is worth saying plainly so the approach or the referral can change.
Who Might Be in the Room
Individual, Couple, or Family Work
Not every course of therapy stays one-on-one. Even when the work is technically individual, Athena may suggest bringing in a partner for part of a session, or a parent when the client is a teenager, because a pattern is often easier to shift when the other people inside it understand what is being attempted. In couples work, both partners are present for most of the process; in family work, the composition of the room depends on who is affected and what is being addressed, and that is discussed openly before it happens.
Whatever the format, pace and goals are set collaboratively rather than handed down. Progress gets reviewed periodically rather than assumed, and if something is not working (the frequency, the focus, the fit), that is worth naming out loud so it can be adjusted.
Athena is not a prescriber. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist who worked three years under a psychiatrist; questions about medication belong with your physician or a psychiatrist. She also does not treat substance abuse, grief, or OCD as primary concerns.
Ready to Take the First Step?
Send the contact form to start the process. If you have more questions first, the FAQ and rates pages cover the details.