Your Therapeutic Journey:
step by step guide
Beginning therapy can feel like a big step, especially if you've never worked with a therapist before.
This page will walk you through exactly what to expect:
from booking your first session to what happens afterwards, so that there are no unnecessary surprises.
Step 1 – Book Your Session
Rather than booking through an automated calendar, you’ll book your session directly with me.
Simply send me an email at stanekmagda20@gmail.com with:
your availability (I operate on Madrid time (CET/CEST), so please include your time zone when sending your availability. This allows me to take the time difference into account when finding a suitable time for both of us).
whether you’d like a 60-minute or 90-minute session
60-minute session – £150 / €200
90-minute session – £200 / €280
I’ll reply within 24 hours with my availability, and we’ll agree on a date together.
Step 2 – Before Your First Session
Before we meet, I'd like you to spend a little time thinking about the facts of your story.
You don't need to write an essay, and you certainly don't need to explain every painful memory.
Instead, think about the key facts, for example:
Who raised you?
What significant relationships have shaped your life?
How would you describe your current relationships?
How do you usually look after yourself?
What areas of your life feel difficult at the moment?
Are there any recurring patterns you'd like to understand or change?
This isn't a test, and there are no right or wrong answers.
It's simply a way of helping us begin our work together with a clearer picture of where you are today.
Step 3 – Confirmation & Practical Information
Once we’ve agreed on a date, I’ll send you an email with your Google Meet link and the practical information you’ll need for your first session.
I’ll also send you an invoice with the payment details.
Payment is required within 24 hours of receiving the invoice to secure your session time.
If payment hasn’t been received, I’ll send one reminder before the slot is released.
Once everything is confirmed, you’re all set for our session.
I believe that knowing what to expect helps your nervous system settle before therapy even begins.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations, no-shows, refunds and rescheduling are not offered, although exceptions may be considered at my discretion for established, returning, or legacy clients.
Where an exception is considered, a minimum of 48 working hours’ notice is required (for Monday sessions, by 6 p.m. Friday).
Confidentiality
Everything we discuss during our sessions is confidential and held within a professional ethical framework.
I work in accordance with recognised therapeutic ethics and confidentiality standards.
If you'd like to learn more, you can read, for example, the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) Ethical Framework here.
Step 4 – Your First Session
Our first session is about getting to know you.
You'll tell me about what's been happening in your life, what has brought you to therapy, and what you'd like to change.
Many people become emotional during their very first session.
That's completely normal.
I'll help you learn how to stay with yourself while your nervous system is activated.
For many clients, this becomes their very first experience of feeling emotionally supported without having to disconnect from themselves.
Step 5 – Making Sense of What's Happening
As I listen to your story, I'll begin identifying both your natural strengths and the patterns that may be keeping you stuck. I will explain the neuroscience behind these, so that you can feel both informed and reassured that change is indeed possible.
Together we'll begin making sense of what's happening beneath the surface, always with compassion rather than judgement.
Step 6 – Creating Your Action Plan
By the end of the session, we'll agree on a personalised action plan.
Unlike many action plans, this usually isn't about adding lots of tasks to your to-do list.
Instead, we'll focus on understanding your emotional states, your nervous system, and the habitual thinking patterns that influence your behaviour.
As those internal patterns begin to change, different actions often follow naturally.
Step 7 – After Your Session
After each session, I'll send you a follow-up email summarising our work together.
This includes:
the key insights from the session,
the neuroscience behind what we've discussed,
your personalised action plan, and
the main points you'd like to remember moving forward.
Many clients tell me they return to these emails during difficult moments because they help them reconnect with what we've explored together and remind them that their progress is grounded in both compassion and neuroscience.
Step 8 – Your Next Session
Once you've had some time to reflect and begin implementing what we've discussed, you can book your next session.
Some clients choose to return after two weeks, others after three or four weeks.
The pace is entirely individual.
Therapy isn't about rushing.
It's about creating meaningful, lasting change at a pace your nervous system can genuinely integrate.