You may have noticed many therapists offer a free intro call and thought to yourself ‘what is that?’. And it’s a great question! In this article I’ll go through what to expect from an intro call and what sort of questions it can be helpful to ask.
Essentially, an intro call is a way for both you and your therapist to see if you are a good fit to work together. A therapy directory listing or a therapist’s website can tell you a lot about what specialisms a potential counsellor works with and what modalities they use when working with clients, but none of that really gives you a genuine sense of what working together will be like. This is where an intro call comes in. Although it is typically (but not always) shorter than a standard therapy session - usually intro calls will be between 15 and 30 minutes long, but they sometimes up to an hour or even an hour and a half! - you will generally get a sense of your potential therapist and if you like them and their vibe.
It is generally well accepted that the outcome of therapy is directly linked to the quality of the relationship between therapist and client, also known as the therapeutic alliance (Horvath, 2001). This is the primary reason why I would always recommend having an intro call or speaking to potential therapists before committing to working with anyone - one of the main factors that will determine whether you get what you want from therapy or not is how much you feel able to open up and trust your therapist and that is not something you can figure out by looking at a photo online.
Another important reason for having an intro call is for your therapist to understand in greater detail exactly what is bringing you to therapy and what your goals are. This will allow your therapist to assess whether your issues are within their area of expertise (and a good therapist should feel comfortable telling you if something feels outside of their competency).
Finally, an intro call is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions that you might have about working together with a potential therapist. It can sometimes feel jarring when someone asks if you have any questions and you haven’t got any prepared so here are some of the most common questions I get asked in intro calls by potential clients:
what would working together look like / what modalities do you use?
what is your cancellation policy?
do you usually work short term or long term with your clients?
have you worked with similar issues to this before?
what availability do you have?
Ultimately, an intro call is much more for you to decide if a therapist is a good fit for you than the other way around. I always recommend reaching out to a few different therapists and having an intro call with them all if possible - that way you can really get a sense of who you click with the most.
You can book an intro call with me here.
Sources:
Horvath, A.O. (2001). The alliance. Psychotherapy, 38(4), 365-372.
Norcross, J. C. (2010). The therapeutic relationship. In B. L. Duncan, S. D. Miller, B. E. Wampold, & M. A. Hubble (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: Delivering what works in therapy (2nd ed., pp. 113–141).
