10 Great Questions To Ask a Therapist - Trillium Counselling

Good questions to ask a therapist cover their approach, qualifications, experience with concerns like yours, session frequency and length, fees, and the limits of confidentiality. Asking them in a first session or free consultation helps you judge fit — the client–therapist working relationship, which a 2018 meta-analysis of 295 studies and more than 30,000 clients linked consistently to therapy outcomes. A regulated therapist expects these questions and will not be put off by them.

If you're new to therapy, going to your first session may feel a bit daunting. People don't usually talk about what happens in their sessions, which makes the whole thing seem mysterious, and the process can bring up strong emotions that are hard to face.

Even if you've done counselling before, you may now be starting online counselling for the first time, which has its own unfamiliar elements.

It helps to remember that therapy is a collaborative process. You and your therapist work together — you're not handing control over to them. This is your journey, and they offer trained, compassionate guidance along the way.

Still, it can be comforting to have a concrete picture of what your first appointment will look like, and to walk in knowing what you want to ask.

Getting to know you

As with any new relationship, the first step is learning some basic facts about each other. Before your first session you'll usually be given an intake form to complete. It helps your therapist understand what you're looking for and what you're dealing with right now.

Your therapist will ask what brings you to therapy, and they'll have some questions to clarify what you're experiencing and how much it's affecting your life. They'll also want to hear about your background, whether you've tried therapy before, and what that was like.

But this isn't just a chance for them to learn about you. If therapy is going to work, you need to feel confident in your therapist's abilities and in the direction you're taking together. That relationship is not a soft extra: across 295 studies and more than 30,000 clients, the strength of the client–therapist alliance was one of the most consistent predictors of how therapy turned out (Flückiger et al., 2018). It's entirely appropriate to ask about their professional details too.

At Trillium, every therapist is a Registered Social Worker or a Registered Psychotherapist, and the answers to most of the questions below — approach, session length, fees, how matching works — are laid out on our psychotherapy page, so you can read them before you ever pick up the phone.

Most of what you need will probably be offered without asking. If anything isn't covered, ask. Everyone has been new to therapy at some point, and your therapist will have heard these questions many times. If you're not sure where to begin, here are some suggestions.

What are good questions to ask a therapist?

1. What is your approach to therapy?

It helps to know from the start how your therapist likes to work. If someone recommended a particular type of therapy to you — Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or mindfulness-based therapy, for example — you can ask how it works and how your therapist will know you're making progress.

It's common to arrive with little or no knowledge of specific approaches. Most people are simply looking for relief from something like anxiety or depression, and that's a perfectly good place to start.

It's also common for therapists to work integratively — drawing on several approaches depending on the person in front of them and what is likely to work for that individual.

2. What qualifications do you have?

You have a right to know a therapist's education, training, and how long they've been practising.

In Ontario, ask which regulatory College they belong to. Many therapists in private practice are either Registered Social Workers (MSW, RSW), regulated by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, or Registered Psychotherapists (RP), regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Both Colleges keep a public register where you can confirm that a therapist is registered and in good standing (OCSWSSW Online Register; CRPO public register). Unsure how the designations differ? Our article on the difference between a psychotherapist, psychologist and psychiatrist walks through it.

Qualifications also matter for insurance. Extended health plans often cover specific designations, so the therapist's registration may determine whether your sessions are reimbursed.

3. Have you worked with issues like mine?

Whether you're dealing with something common, like depression or anxiety, or something more specialized, like an eating disorder, it's fair to ask about a therapist's areas of focus. Any regulated therapist is trained to work with a broad range of concerns, but if yours is specific, it may be worth finding someone who has additional training in that area or has helped clients with it before.

4. Is your treatment approach evidence-based?

Psychotherapy is studied scientifically, which means the approaches a therapist uses should have research behind them. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is one of the most extensively researched, and structured couples approaches such as the Gottman Method also draw on decades of relationship research. Asking this question isn't rude — it tells your therapist you're an engaged participant.

5. How often would you expect to meet?

If you're going to commit to therapy, you need to know it fits your schedule. Many people start weekly or every two weeks and space sessions out as things improve. Online sessions can make it easier to carve out the time if your week is full, so this is a good moment to ask whether that's an option.

6. How long will therapy continue?

This depends on what brings you to therapy and how you use the process. CBT, for example, is goal-focused and time-limited: for concerns such as anxiety and depression it usually involves 12 to 20 sessions, though some people improve in fewer and others need more (CAMH). You don't have to start with no end in sight, which can feel overwhelming. A good therapist will review progress with you along the way and adjust the plan together.

7. What can I expect from a typical session?

Knowing what sessions will look like can take the edge off any nervousness about what's coming. This is also the moment to ask about any homework, reading, or practice your therapist might suggest between sessions. If you're curious what a first 50-minute session looks like at Trillium, the FAQ on our psychotherapy page walks through it.

8. What is your fee?

Fees are usually shared before you book, but if you're having a free consultation first, be sure to ask. Psychotherapy with a Registered Social Worker or Registered Psychotherapist is not covered directly by OHIP; many extended health benefit plans reimburse it, so check whether your plan covers your therapist's specific designation and how much it covers per year.

You'll need to fit the fee into your budget, so it's important to know exactly what you'll pay. If finances are a concern, say so — therapists hear this often and can talk through options such as session spacing.

9. What information is confidential?

You need to feel safe to share sensitive things in session. Ask your therapist to walk you through how confidentiality works, including the specific situations where Ontario law requires or permits a therapist to share information — a serious risk of harm, a child who may need protection, a court order. Every regulated therapist covers this in the informed-consent process before therapy begins; if you'd like to read ahead, our article on what confidentiality means in therapy explains the limits in plain language.

10. Anything else that you’re worried about.

If something is on your mind, bring it up. Your sexual orientation, religious beliefs, cultural background, and other parts of your identity should not affect the care you receive. If you feel anxious about that, or about any other barrier to therapy, now is the time to say so. A regulated therapist should be able to put your mind at ease — and if they can't, that tells you something useful about fit.

Ready to move ahead?

Once you and your therapist have covered the preliminaries, you can move on to planning your course of therapy. They'll probably ask you a lot of questions as they build a detailed picture of what you're experiencing and what has contributed to it.

Finally, you'll identify your goals for therapy together. You may arrive with a clear picture of what you hope to achieve, or none at all. Either is fine — your therapist is there to help you explore questions like this. Together, you'll work out the skills you want to build to move forward.

Your session will probably end with something to try before the next one: a journaling exercise, a mindfulness practice, or something to read. Working on your own between sessions is an important way to practise what you're learning and grow comfortable using it.

If you're ready to start caring for yourself through therapy, that's a meaningful step. It may feel a little scary to begin, but the time and effort you're investing tend to pay off in more ways than you expect.

If you've read this far, you probably have a clearer sense of what you want to ask — and maybe of the kind of therapist you're looking for. Reaching out doesn't need to be a big step. A free 20-minute conversation with our intake team is a low-pressure way to ask your questions and get matched with a therapist whose approach fits you, with no commitment.

Learn more about psychotherapy at Trillium

Crisis Resources

If you or someone you know needs support right now, help is available:

• 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline (Canada-wide): call or text 9-8-8 — free, confidential, 24/7.
• Here 24/7 (Waterloo–Wellington crisis & mental health line): 1-844-437-3247.
• If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 911.