# What a first psychology session is like

> Fifty minutes, a cup of tea and no couch. What we ask, what you don’t have to say, and what happens after.

Leila Haddad, 2026-09-16 · https://linen.themes.dev/journal/first-psychology-session/

Many people wait months before booking a first session, often because they don’t know what will happen in the room. So here it is.

## The room

A quiet room on the first floor at Linden Court, two chairs, a low table, a window onto the park. No couch. There is tea.

## The fifty minutes

I ask what brings you, and you answer in your own words and at your own pace. You decide what you share; there is nothing you have to tell me in the first session. I ask how it shows up in your days: sleep, work, the people around you. Towards the end we look at whether I am the right person to help, and what we would work on together.

## What you don’t have to do

Cry, unless you want to. Know what is wrong. Have a diagnosis. Prepare anything.

## After

If we agree to go on, we book a second session, usually a week or two later. Most people come between five and twelve times. If it doesn’t feel right with me, you can say so and see a colleague without starting again.