Start by completing our contact form. Tell us a little about what you’re looking for, who therapy is for, and how we can reach you.
A few sentences are plenty. You do not need to summarize your entire life or know exactly what kind of therapy you need.
Then, we’ll figure out the basics.
We’ll follow up to learn a little more about what you’re looking for and help determine which clinician may be a good fit. We can also talk through availability, insurance or self-pay, and any questions you have before scheduling.
If it seems like Forge isn’t the right fit, we’ll do our best to point you in a helpful direction.
Before your first appointment
Once you’re scheduled, you’ll receive some paperwork through our secure client portal. Yes, there are forms. We tried to make them as painless as forms can reasonably be, honest.
Completing them ahead of time gives your therapist some background and leaves more of your appointment for actually talking with each other.
If you’re using insurance, you’ll also provide your insurance information so benefits can be reviewed before your appointment whenever possible.
What actually happens at the intake?
Your first appointment gives you and your therapist a chance to get to know each other and begin figuring out what would be helpful.
Your therapist will probably ask about what brought you in, what has been difficult lately, relevant history, important relationships or experiences, and what you hope might change.
You do not have to tell your entire life story in the first hour.
You also don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what your “therapy goals” are. “I don’t know. I just know this isn’t working anymore” is actually useful information.
Your therapist will help guide the conversation, ask questions, and begin developing a plan with you.
And then?
If you and your therapist decide to continue working together, you’ll talk about what makes sense next—including how often to meet and what you’d like to focus on.
And if something about therapy isn’t working for you? Tell us. Therapy should be collaborative, and that includes talking about the therapy itself.
One last thing
You don’t have to wait until life is completely falling apart to ask for help.
Sometimes people come to therapy because they’re in crisis. Sometimes they come because they’ve been carrying something for years. And sometimes they just know that the way they’ve been doing things isn’t working anymore.
All of those are good enough reasons to start.
Ready to begin?
Complete our contact form, and we’ll help you figure out the next step.