Many therapists, myself included, offer a free 15 minute call. If you're wondering what it's for, then this article explains.

A short call achieves the following:

1. gives you the chance to tell me what you're wanting to bring to therapy
2. helps me determine that we'll be working on something within my competence (e.g., I don't have much useful training or life experience with addictions, so if that's the main thrust of what you'll be bringing then I'll signpost you to a therapist better suited to your needs)
3. gives you a chance to figure out how you feel about me, because that's going to have an impact on how our therapy
4. helps me prepare for our first session, if you choose to go ahead and book one.

To expand on point 3, we have a concept in therapy called "transference", which is a technical term for "who does this person remind me of/how do I feel about this person?" For example, if we talk for a few minutes and something about me reminds you of someone who bullied you in school, then I'm probably not the right match for you. Even though I wasn't the one who bullied you, you're likely to feel unsafe opening up to me, which may interfere with how well we work together. This is an example of what I was talking about in my article, Why I don't Offer A Safe Space. Specific examples of transference are impossible to predict, but I suggest that we notice them and respond accordingly.

Transference can also be positive. If we have our 15 minutes and you feel like I'm the supportive big sister or aunt you never had, then that's transference too and will work in our favour - even though I'm not actually your sister or aunt!

Transference mostly happens subconsciously, so you may not get a clear, crisp experience of it: rather than explicitly thinking, "oof, you're like X from school, I don't like you", you'd get a vague feeling that I'm not safe to be vulnerable around. Or, you might feel warm and fuzzy with me but again, not be sure why, just that I feel 'right'.

Because of all that, I like to suggest for these sessions to be on Zoom rather than by telephone, because that gives us both an idea of what the other looks like as well as what we sound like, which will contribute to our transference. Being able to see as well as hear one another helps us both to get as much information as possible about what our transference is like with each other.

So, what happens next? After the call I ask you if you'd like to book in a session. If you're not sure and want to stall for a while and let how you felt about me sink in before deciding, then that's more than fine. I ask at the end of a call because people generally tend to know pretty quickly, but everyone's different.

How To Get Started

Now that you know what a short call is for, if you'd like one, you're welcome to request one on my Contact page or reach out to me on the details below.

Photo by Aphiwat chuangchoem on Pexels.