Elvira M. Medus, LCSW

Feeling nervous?

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It is not like you wake up in the morning and say: “I’ve been missing something in my life. I’d love to chat to a stranger about my deepest personal fears, thoughts, and feelings.” In fact, most people think just the opposite about almost any health or mental health appointment. Most people avoid them. It is just not something you want to deal with.

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There are no easy ways to pass through this nervousness. What you are about to embark on is indeed a scary journey of self-discovery. Learning things about oneself is not always all joy and butterflies. Sometimes our demons need to come out as well, or those behaviors we almost wish nobody in the world knew about.

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​Instead of fighting these feelings, it is best to just accept them as a part of the process. That acceptance becomes one of the very first steps not only of getting help, but also of the psycho-therapeutic process of change. Because without making changes in your life, you are just going to keep on feeling the way you do now.

 

What to expect? 

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Making that first appointment can be stressful. Our first session is primarily an encounter with me where we get to know each other. I will want to know what brings you to therapy. Before you start talking, you should remind yourself that you are your own life expert. The only person who can tell your story is you. Therefore, do not worry thinking that I am going to be qualifying you, judging you or evaluating your decisions and reactions. That is not what I do. I look at each and every client as a unique individual who needs help. My focus is to listen to you in order to understand what you are going through at the moment.

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Because you are the expert on yourself, you can share as much or as little as you would like. You decide what, how and when to share something. It might happen that you will leave your first session thinking you left out something important. There is no need to worry. You can always talk about it in your next session.

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Many people leave their first session feeling: relieved, horrified, peaceful, anxious, and hopeful, or any combination of these feelings and more. Psychotherapy can bring up many different feelings to the surface. It is an experience unlike any other. It is powerful, but it can also be a little scary and intimidating. Overall, most people who try psychotherapy end up enjoying it and appreciating their time with their therapist as a chance to explore new ways of being, thinking and feeling.

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You can find helpful to review the frequently asked questions section as there is useful information about the psycho-therapeutic process.