Making the decision that it’s time to see a psychologist can be a tough one.  Deciding who to see can be even more difficult.  I have written previously on both of these topics.  Last week I blogged about the next step – your first appointment. Specifically, I made some suggestions about what to bring.

Over the weekend I did some more thinking about that topic.  In addition to the items I have already mentioned (insurance card, form of payment, pen and paper, water, etc) another important thing to bring to your first session are questions for your psychologist.  Specifically:

1. Do you have experience treating people similar to me?

2. How often do you typically see people (i.e. once per week, twice per week, every month?)

3. Can you estimate about how long I might be in treatment? (This can be a tough question to answer but worth asking nonetheless)

4. Is there anything I can do to help make treatment more effective? Books I might read, movies I might watch (I recommend movies all the time!), TV shows that might help me (Hoarders is an example of a past recommendation).

5. How can I most easily contact you if necessary? (I like email for business-type questions and  appointment changes. I prefer phone calls for anything clinical in nature.)

Any good questions I missed? Or other things to bring to a first appointment that you can think of?