Who it is for
For anyone preparing to see a psychologist, GP or another mental health professional about stress or burnout. You do not need a tidy account of what has been going on. A first session is a place to name what is actually here, not to arrive with conclusions.
The three prompts give you somewhere to start, and give your clinician a quicker sense of what is most present for you. They are an option, not an obligation: fill in what helps you think and leave the rest.
What is inside
Page 1, read first. What a first session usually involves, answers to three things people often wonder, and the three questions explained:
Page 2. Three large boxes, one for each question: the most pressing thing, the story you have about why, and what a shift would look like. No box is required, and the order does not matter.
How to use it
- 1Fill what helpsWrite a few sentences in any box that helps you think. Leave the rest blank. There are no right answers.
- 2Bring what is true on the dayYour three may change before the session. That is common. Bring whatever is true when you arrive, including "I am not sure".
- 3Bring it, or leave it at homeTake the page to your first session if it helps, or leave it at home. Either is a fine next step.
A few sentences per box is plenty, and partial is fine. The page is scaffolding for a conversation, not a script. You can type into the PDF on a computer, or print it and write by hand.
