What to Expect | Stephanie Butler MFT

First Steps

You've made the first step by reaching out and trying to find a good fit for your healing journey. You can contact me via email or phone to set up a first appointment. I will ask some basic questions about your needs to determine if I think I could be helpful in your situationa and if I have space in my caseload. If we agree to move forward, you will receive intake paperwork via a client portal and once that is complete your appointment will be confirmed.

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Diagnostic Assessment

Your first appointment and possibly your second will be probably what you imagine. I believe our current troubles and successes are in large part influenced by our childhoods, important or significant relationships and positive/negative experiences. My goal is to get a birds eye view of how you came to be in the place you are today and what you are hoping to accomplish in therapy. In the case of trauma therapy and couples therapy, I may also give you some online assessment to complete between our first and second sessions.

Therapy Sessions

Therapy sessions are booked in 50-minute increments. I like to schedule weekly sessions for at least the first 6 weeks when possible. In some cases, especially with EMDR, it can be helpful to do lengthier sessions (100-150 minutes) in order to fully process a traumatic event, rather than splitting it up.

I provide a warm, comfortable and compassionate space for you to process without judgement. The therapy session is yours. The time is yours. We move at your pace on the things that are important to you.

Length of Therapy

There is no way to predict the length of therapy. Many people want a guarantee that they'll feel better in 2-3 sessions. The first few sessions, we are finding our groove. I'm getting to know you, you're learning to trust me. I can't make a guarantee that you'll get what you want out of therapy "in 6 sessions or less." What I can guarantee you is that I believe therapy should work, and if it's not working, its not helpful. If it's not helpful, we need to figure out why that is and resolve that issue. My deepest hope is for you to achieve your therapeutic goals and to feel better in your life and relationships - however long that takes.