What happens in the first session

Before you arrive

Book a time yourself — no referral, no waiting list. You will get a confirmation by email and a reminder the day before. Come as you are; there is a waiting area on the third floor and a lift in the building.

The first 50 minutes

We will ask what brought you here now — not just what the problem is, but why today rather than a year ago. That question is usually more revealing than it sounds.

Then we go looking, together, for the shape of the thing: when it started, what it stops you doing, what you have already tried. If you have had therapy before, tell us what helped and what did not. That is genuinely useful information, particularly if previous attempts stalled.

And we start working. This is not an intake interview where treatment begins next time. In ISTDP the first session is a session — most people notice something happening in it.

What we will tell you at the end

An honest impression: what we think is going on, what we would work on first, roughly how long we expect it to take, and whether we are the right people at all. If we think you need a psychiatrist, medication, an assessment, or a different specialism, we will say so and help you find it.

How long a course lasts

There is no fixed package to buy. Weekly to start with, usually; sometimes every other week later on. A focused piece of work is often 10–20 sessions. Long-standing trauma takes longer. You decide when to stop, and you do not owe us an explanation.

If it is not a fit

Say so. Fit between a client and a psychologist is one of the better-established predictors of outcome, and it is not a matter of politeness. There are two of us, so sometimes the answer is simply the other one. Otherwise we will help you find someone else — that is a normal part of the job, not a failure.

Records and confidentiality

As authorised psychologists in Denmark we are required to keep a clinical record (journal). It is stored in a Danish system with a data processing agreement, it is protected by professional confidentiality, and you have the right to see it. Nothing goes to your employer, your insurer, your doctor or anyone else without your written consent.

There are narrow legal exceptions, and we would rather you heard them from us: a serious and immediate danger to your life or someone else's, and a duty to act if a child is at risk. We would discuss it with you first wherever that is possible.

Practical details