Therapy Consultations: A Guide on What to Expect and What Questions to Ask for Durham Region and Ontario Clients
Preparing for Your First Meeting with a Therapist in Oshawa or Ajax, or Virtually Across Ontario
Booking a therapy consultation is an important first step toward better mental health and stronger relationships. Whether you're seeking couples therapy in Ajax, trauma therapy virtually, or support for anxiety, depression, or ADHD, that initial consultation can feel both exciting and nerve-wracking.
At The Relationship Agency, we've guided hundreds of clients through their first consultations since opening our doors in 2022. We know that understanding what happens during this meeting—and knowing what to pay attention to—helps you feel more confident about starting therapy and finding the right therapist for your unique needs.
What Is a Therapy Consultation?
A therapy consultation is your first meeting with a potential therapist. Think of it as a two-way conversation where you learn about the therapist and they learn about what brings you to therapy.
This isn't a full therapy session yet. Instead, it's a 20-minute virtual meeting where both of you determine if you're a good fit for working together. At The Relationship Agency, we offer free consultations to all potential clients—because finding the right therapist shouldn't come with financial pressure. Our consultations are conducted virtually, making it easy and convenient to connect with us from anywhere in Durham Region or across Ontario.
The Purpose of Your Initial Consultation
Your consultation serves several important purposes:
For You:
Get a feel for the therapist's personality and whether you click with them
Share what's been going on and what you're hoping to get help with
Determine if you feel comfortable opening up to this person
Learn about practical details like scheduling, fees, and whether you'd meet in person or virtually
Ask questions without any financial commitment
For Your Therapist:
Understand what's bringing you to therapy right now
Get a sense of what you're dealing with and what you're hoping to achieve
Determine if they have the right experience to help with your specific situation
Explain how they can support your journey toward feeling better
During your consultation, your therapist will share their education, training, and credentials with you. But here's what we've learned after hundreds of consultations: the letters after someone's name matter less than whether you feel comfortable with them and confident they can help you.
How Our 20-Minute Virtual Consultations Are Structured
Our consultations are designed to give you maximum value in a focused 20-minute conversation. Here's what typically happens:
Welcome and Connection (3-5 minutes) Your therapist will greet you warmly through our secure virtual platform and help you feel comfortable. Your therapist will also introduce themselves, sharing their background, training, and the areas they specialize in.
Understanding What Brings You to Therapy (8-10 minutes) This is your time to share what's been happening in your life and what prompted you to reach out for help. Whether you're dealing with relationship challenges, trauma, anxiety, ADHD, grief, or other concerns, your therapist will listen without judgment and ask questions to better understand your experience.
For couples consultations, both partners will have space to share their perspectives on the relationship and what they hope will improve.
We'll also explore what you're hoping therapy will help you accomplish. Maybe you want to feel less anxious, communicate better with your partner, heal from something that happened in your past, or finally understand why certain patterns keep showing up in your life.
Discussing How Your Therapist Can Help (5-7 minutes) Your therapist will explain how they typically work with people facing similar challenges. They might mention specific approaches they use, but the focus is on helping you understand how they'll actually help you—not on throwing around technical terms.
We'll also cover practical details like scheduling options, fees, insurance coverage, and whether you'd prefer in-person sessions at our Oshawa therapy practice or Ajax counseling center locations, or online therapy throughout Ontario.
We serve diverse communities including LGBTQ+ clients in Durham Region, and all of our therapists practice from a place of understanding that your environment, experiences, and identity matter.
Questions and Next Steps (2-3 minutes) You'll have a chance to ask anything that's on your mind, and we'll talk about the best next steps for beginning therapy together.
What to Pay Attention to During Your Consultation
Choosing the right therapist comes down to choosing the right therapist FOR YOU. Research shows that the relationship between you and your therapist is one of the most important factors in whether therapy actually helps.
Here's what really matters:
Do you feel comfortable with this person? Trust your gut. You should feel like you can be honest and vulnerable with this therapist. You don't need to share everything in the consultation, but you should get a sense that you could share the hard stuff when you're ready.
Do they seem to understand what you're going through? Your therapist should be able to speak to your pain with both knowledge and compassion. Do they seem to "get it"? Do you feel heard?
Do you feel confident they can help you? This is huge. After hearing about your situation, does your therapist seem confident about being able to help? Can they give you a sense of what working together might look like? You should walk away feeling hopeful that things can actually get better.
Do you like them? Seriously. Is the vibe right? Therapy works best when you genuinely like and respect your therapist. You're going to be spending time with this person working through vulnerable stuff—you should actually want to show up to sessions.
Do they understand your lived experience? Your therapist should demonstrate understanding of the realities of what you're going through. If you're part of the LGBTQ+ community, dealing with discrimination, navigating cultural differences, or facing other unique challenges, your therapist needs to understand how those things affect your mental health.
Questions You Might Want to Ask
You don't need to prepare a long list of questions—your therapist will explain their background and approach during the consultation. But if certain things are important to you, don't hesitate to ask:
About Their Experience:
Have you worked with people dealing with what I'm going through?
How do you typically help people with [my specific concern]?
What kind of results have you seen with clients like me?
About The Process:
What would therapy with you actually look like?
How will I know if therapy is working?
How long do people typically work with you?
About Practical Matters:
What are your fees?
Can you provide receipts for insurance reimbursement?
How often would we meet?
Do you offer both in-person and virtual sessions?
What happens if I need to cancel or reschedule?
About Fit:
Based on what I've told you, do you think you can help me?
Is there anything specific I should know about how you work?
Remember, there are no "wrong" questions. If something matters to you, it's worth asking about. And because our consultations are free, you can take your time deciding if we're the right fit without any financial pressure.
Why Choose The Relationship Agency for Your Therapy Needs
Since founding The Relationship Agency in 2022, I've built a practice centered on real expertise, genuine care, and therapy that actually creates change. Our team has helped hundreds of individuals and couples throughout Durham Region and across Ontario.
What Makes Us Different:
Our team brings serious experience and specialized training in areas like trauma, relationship challenges, anxiety, depression, and ADHD. We use approaches that are backed by research and proven to work—but we explain things in plain language, not therapy jargon.
We've all done our own therapy work. Every therapist on our team is passionate about this field because they've dealt with their own stuff and want to use their skills to help others. We understand what it's like to be in the client's seat.
Our practice includes trauma specialist Dee Martin, along with other therapists trained in working with couples, individuals, families, and children. We're proud to have Black therapists on our team and to provide affirming care for LGBTQ+ clients in Ajax and Oshawa.
You can choose between comfortable, private offices at our Oshawa and Ajax locations (our Ajax office is at 62 Harwood Ave South), or access therapy from anywhere in Ontario through our secure virtual platform.
We live our values of Courage, Curiosity, Connection, and Integrity. Many clients tell us they feel genuinely cared for, not just "treated." Our practice has built a reputation throughout Durham Region for being both professional and warm—competent and kind.
And we make getting started easy—our free 20-minute virtual consultations let you explore whether we're the right fit, with zero pressure and zero cost.
Ready to Book Your Free Consultation?
Taking the first step toward therapy takes courage. Whether you're seeking individual therapy in Oshawa, couples counseling in Ajax, trauma therapy, or support for anxiety, depression, ADHD, or other challenges, our team is here to support you.
During your free 20-minute virtual consultation, you'll get to know one of our therapists and see if the fit feels right. We'll listen to what's going on, explain how we can help, and answer any questions you have—with no financial commitment required.
Contact The Relationship Agency today to schedule your free virtual consultation. After we connect, you can choose to continue with in-person sessions in Oshawa or Ajax, or online therapy throughout Ontario.
Your healing journey deserves a therapist who truly gets you and has the expertise to guide you toward feeling better. We're here to walk alongside you every step of the way.
About the Author: Michelle is the founder of The Relationship Agency, a therapy practice serving Ajax, Oshawa, and Durham Region since 2022. A Registered Social Worker with specialized training in trauma therapy, couples counseling, and relationship healing, Michelle has built a practice known for combining genuine expertise with warmth and care. The Relationship Agency's team of skilled therapists provides both in-person and virtual therapy throughout Ontario.
