1. Reach Out
Start by booking a consultation or sending a message. You can share as much or as little as feels manageable.
Book a consultation
Starting Therapy
What to Expect When You Begin Therapy
Starting therapy can feel vulnerable, uncertain, and hopeful all at once. This page is here to make the process feel less mysterious, so you know what happens next and what kind of support you can expect.
You do not need the perfect words, a complete story, or a clear plan before reaching out.
The First Step
You Can Begin With What You Know Right Now
Many people wait to start therapy because they think they need to know exactly what is wrong, what they want to say, or what kind of therapy they need.
You do not need to arrive with a polished explanation. You can begin with something simple: I feel anxious. I feel stuck. I keep repeating the same pattern. I do not feel like myself. Something feels heavy. I am tired of doing this alone.
Therapy begins by making space for what is already here and helping you understand it with more compassion, clarity, and steadiness.
The Process
A Clear, Gentle Path Into the Work
The process is designed to feel grounded and collaborative. You will not be pushed to move faster than your system can handle.
2. Consultation
The consultation helps clarify what you are looking for, what support may fit, and whether working together feels like the right next step.
Ask a question3. Begin Safely
Early sessions focus on understanding your story, your current patterns, your nervous system, and what safety needs to look like for you.
See who this is for4. Build Understanding
Together, we look at what keeps repeating and why. This may include emotional patterns, protective parts, attachment themes, or trauma responses.
Explore services5. Work With the System
The work may include EMDR, IFS, AEDP-informed emotional processing, nervous system support, attachment work, or coaching strategies.
Explore trauma therapy6. Move Forward
Over time, the goal is more clarity, more choice, more emotional steadiness, and a stronger connection to yourself and your life.
Explore resources
Rates + Insurance
Clear Cost and Insurance Details Before You Begin
It can feel easier to start therapy when the practical details are clear. Before beginning, you can review the session fee, accepted insurance providers, private pay options, superbills, and your right to a Good Faith Estimate.
Individual therapy sessions are 50 minutes and cost $150. Get Real Therapy is currently in-network with Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Evernorth, Florida Blue, Humana, and TRICARE. UnitedHealthcare and Optum are listed as coming soon.
Some clients choose private pay for increased flexibility, privacy, and a more tailored therapeutic experience without insurance restrictions. A superbill can also be provided upon request for potential out-of-network reimbursement, depending on your specific plan and benefits.
You can review the full rates and insurance page before booking your consultation.
How the Work Feels
Therapy Should Feel Supportive, Not Performative
You do not have to be the perfect client. You do not have to tell your story in order. You do not have to know exactly what you need.
A trauma-informed therapy space is built around safety, pacing, curiosity, and respect for the ways you have learned to protect yourself.
Some sessions may feel reflective. Others may feel practical. Some may involve emotional processing, nervous system regulation, or simply slowing down enough to notice what is happening inside.
Find Your Starting Point
Different Pathways, Same Goal: More Clarity and Choice
You can start by choosing the page that feels closest to what you are carrying. If more than one fits, that is normal. Human experiences overlap.
Anxiety Therapy
For overthinking, panic, chronic worry, tension, uncertainty, and feeling like your system is always on.
Explore anxiety therapyTrauma Therapy
For unresolved experiences, triggers, shame, survival mode, emotional numbness, or nervous system dysregulation.
Explore trauma therapyDepression Therapy
For heaviness, disconnection, low motivation, emotional numbness, self-criticism, or feeling stuck.
Explore depression therapyRelationship Counseling
For attachment patterns, boundaries, conflict, communication, emotional triggers, trust, and connection.
Explore relationship counselingLife Coaching
For clarity, life transitions, identity shifts, confidence, decision-making, motivation, and aligned action.
Explore life coachingNot Sure Yet?
Start with the services overview or book a consultation. You do not have to choose perfectly before beginning.
View all services
Pacing + Safety
You Will Not Be Rushed Through Your Own Healing
Therapy is not about forcing yourself to open up, relive everything, or make changes before you feel ready.
Some people need practical tools first. Some need emotional processing. Some need to understand their patterns before anything can shift. Some need a steady relationship where the work can unfold gradually.
The pace is shaped around your goals, your capacity, and what your nervous system can safely work with.
Helpful Next Reads
Who This Is For
Explore whether Get Real Therapy may be a good fit for the support you are looking for.
See who this is for
Explore Services
Compare anxiety therapy, trauma therapy, depression therapy, relationship counseling, and life coaching.
View services
What to Expect From Your First Therapy Consultation
Know what the first step can feel like so reaching out feels less overwhelming.
Read the article
Signs You May Be Carrying Unresolved Trauma
Learn how trauma can show up through anxiety, shutdown, relationship patterns, and nervous system responses.
Read the article
Browse the Blog
Read more about anxiety, trauma, depression, relationships, transitions, and emotional growth.
Visit the blog
Resources
Explore additional tools, articles, and support for your next step.
Explore resources
Resources Before You Begin
These pages and articles can help you feel more oriented before reaching out.
FAQ
Questions About Starting Therapy
What happens during a first therapy consultation?
A first consultation is a chance to share what brings you in, ask questions, and get a sense of whether the fit feels supportive. You do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out.
Do I need to know exactly what I want to work on?
No. Many people begin therapy with a general sense that something feels off, heavy, anxious, stuck, or hard to carry alone. Part of the work is helping you understand what may be happening beneath the surface.
Will therapy move quickly?
Therapy moves at a pace that respects your nervous system, emotional capacity, and goals. The work is not about forcing disclosure or rushing change. It is about creating enough safety and clarity for real movement to happen.
What if I feel nervous about starting therapy?
Feeling nervous is completely understandable. Starting therapy can bring up uncertainty, vulnerability, or fear of being judged. A good therapy process should help you feel supported, respected, and met at a manageable pace.
How do I know which service is right for me?
You can explore the services page or book a consultation. Anxiety, trauma, depression, relationships, and life transitions often overlap, so you do not need to pick the perfect category before beginning.
How much does therapy cost?
An individual therapy session is 50 minutes and costs $150.
What insurance providers are accepted?
Get Real Therapy is in-network with Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Evernorth, Florida Blue, Humana, and TRICARE. UnitedHealthcare and Optum are listed as coming soon.
Start Here
The First Step Does Not Have to Be Perfect
You can begin with what you know right now. If something feels heavy, anxious, stuck, disconnected, or hard to carry alone, that is enough of a starting point.