LPC, 6 years of experience
Before I worked as a counselor I worked as a technical writer and software tester, and then as a caseworker in social services. I have also been a studio engineer with much work in audio and video editing and got to spend a year on the film festival circuit for a documentary I made about being an independent musician. All of those experiences I feel are helpful in working with clients from different backgrounds and perhaps in understanding that most of us want to find something meaningful in this life and often feel that we still don't know what our real calling.
In a first session I've found it's usually helpful to talk about a little bit of everything, and hopefully for you to understand that I grasp the intensity of what you're going through and understand if things are scary. No one wants to meet a counselor for the first time and walk away thinking they weren't heard. A formal intake is usually followed in any first session, but that doesn't mean we don't address what you feel is urgent.
Hopefully I can understand when someone feels lost or helpless. Feeling not heard or cared about is usually at the heart of most difficulties we go through.
To me, fit is most important and can't be predicted for any client and therapist. I seem to work well with clients who often feel a different age than their actual age, or who struggle with persistent sadness, anxiety, or relationship difficulties. Addiction - whether it's with a phone, substance, or relationship - is somthing I think is very pervasive and that I like helping clients address.
It can be difficult to tell what is causing distress, sadness, anger, or other even happiness at times. It might seem obvious, but the nature of anxiety and depression are that they can play tricks on us and turn our brains against us. In other words, we might think our past is the root causing diffculty, but my experience is that it's only one part of a big picture, and that seeing the immediate and the big picture at the same time is important and helpful.