Serving Maryland and Texas Based Clients
Currently Accepting New Clients

Get Started

get started with counseling

Your healing starts now.

“You’re off to great places! Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.” Dr. Seuss was right. Good things do await you as you get started with counseling. And the path to get there can be difficult. But you don’t have to walk that path alone. 

You’re here because you’re thinking of getting started with counseling. But you want to know what to expect. This page walks you through the process of getting started from consultation to intake. 

Schedule Your Session Here

After You Schedule

Reminders

Once you’ve scheduled your appointment, you can expect a few things. First, whether you’ve signed up for a consultation or an intake, you will receive a reminder of your session. The reminder also contains the link for your session. Be sure you can access Google Meet before your scheduled appointment time. If you are joining from a phone, you may need to download the app ahead of time. 

Reminders come in 2 forms. You receive an email 48 hours prior to the start of the session. And you also receive a reminder at the start of your appointment time. Be advised, if you scheduled your appointment less than 48 hours away you will not receive the first reminder.

Consultation

When you’ve opted for a free consultation, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, do not expect the consultation to dig into your personal life. In fact, you are encouraged not to share too much of your personal life during this appointment. Until you’ve decided to proceed with counseling, it’s none of the therapist’s business. 

You can expect that your therapist will share details about what you can expect from therapy. She talks to you about payment and payment options. And if you are ready to proceed, she offers you the ability to schedule an intake appointment during the consultation. If you have questions, it can help to write them down ahead of time. Anxiety makes you forget, so it’s normal to not remember what you wanted to ask. 

If you decide you’d like more time to think, the therapist will talk to you about when she will check back in with you. 

Intake

If you’ve scheduled an intake, you will receive an email with Earthsong Counseling in the subject line. This email invites you to set up your portal with Sessions Health. Your consents and intake questionnaire should be completed before your session starts. However, we also understand that some people prefer to ask questions before they sign something. If you do not feel comfortable signing the consents before your session, we can do that during your intake session instead. Please keep in mind, though, that this takes time out of our regular session and our intake questions may need to extend into our second session to allow us time to cover everything.

Get Started with Counseling

After you’ve completed your intake, your therapist will talk to you about your preferences about counseling. She’ll help you decide whether you prefer to have a diagnosis, or you’d prefer not to. She’ll help you decide if you’d like to have very clear goals you’d like to work towards or not. And she’ll offer choices about how you can actually treat your concerns.