How therapy works with us

Step one: the request

You send a request through the site or write to us directly. The coordinator replies during working hours, clarifies what you need — in general terms, without detail — and suggests a specialist and a time. There is no need to describe everything in messages: that is work for a session, not for a chat.

Step two: the first session

The first session is not therapy but an introduction and an assessment. The specialist finds out what is happening, how long it has been going on, what you have already tried and what you want. You, for your part, assess whether you feel comfortable with this person.

By the end of the first or second session you have:

• an understanding of what we will work on and in what order;
• a rough estimate of how long the work will take;
• an answer to the question of whether CBT is the right thing in your situation at all.

If the specialist sees that a different format or a different specialist is needed, they say so directly. This is a normal part of the work, not a refusal.

Step three: the work

Session length. A standard session is 50 to 75 minutes, depending on the specialist and the format. Family sessions are usually longer than individual ones.

Frequency. Weekly at the start. Less often than that and the work loses continuity and turns into a report on the past month. As progress is made the frequency drops: fortnightly, then maintenance sessions.

Session structure. A session has an agenda that you set together: what to discuss, what to check from previous agreements, what to give the main part of the time to.

Homework. This is not a test of diligence. Change happens in life, and assignments are the way to take the work beyond the consulting room: observing thoughts, behavioural experiments, practising a specific skill. If an assignment does not get done, that too is material to work with, not a reason for shame.

Measuring change. From time to time the specialist will ask you to fill in short scales. It takes a couple of minutes and makes change visible objectively.

How long it lasts

It depends on the concern. Roughly:

• A specific task (panic disorder, a specific phobia, insomnia, procrastination) — often 8 to 20 sessions.
• Depression, generalised anxiety — usually 16 to 30 sessions.
• Work with deep patterns, personality disorders, complex trauma (schema therapy) — a year and longer.

These are ranges, not promises. The specialist will give a more precise estimate after the first few sessions and will adjust it as the work goes on.

Ending

The aim of therapy is to make itself unnecessary. The work ends when you have reached the goals you set and can apply the tools on your own. The ending is usually not abrupt: the frequency of meetings gradually drops, then only occasional maintenance sessions remain, and then those stop too.

You can end therapy at any moment — that is your right, and you do not have to explain why. But if something about the work does not suit you, it is more useful to say so directly: often that is exactly what is worth working on.

Online or in person

We work in both formats. Online therapy is comparable in effectiveness to work in the consulting room — this is confirmed by research. Online is more convenient if you do not live in Warsaw, travel often, or simply feel calmer at home.

Payment and cancellation

Sessions are paid for before the meeting or at the end of the month — the specialist agrees this with you at the first session. You can cancel or move a session without paying no later than 24 hours beforehand.

Confidentiality

Everything that happens in a session is confidential. The exceptions are limited by law and by a direct threat to life; the specialist discusses these boundaries with you at the first session. If a case is discussed in supervision it is anonymised: the supervisor receives no data that could identify you.

If the situation is acute

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or others, do not wait for an appointment. Call emergency services on 112 or go to the nearest emergency department. Therapy is not a format for emergency help.