How it works
No mystery, no phone tag, no intake essay. Here is the entire journey from "maybe I should talk to someone" to sitting across from the right someone — and what happens after that, too.
Take the two-minute match quiz or send a consult request in your own words. No intake essay, no diagnosis required — 'things feel heavier than they should' is a perfectly good starting point.
A real conversation with our care coordinator — questions answered, logistics sorted, and an honest read on which therapist fits. If we're not the right practice, we'll say so and point you somewhere better.
Your first full session, in person at our Fairview office or on secure video. The early sessions are for building trust and setting goals with you — the agenda is yours, not a script.
Every few weeks you and your therapist check the compass together: what's shifting, what isn't, whether the approach still fits. Adjusting course — or adding a psychiatry consult — is part of the design, not a failure of it.
The first session
Fifty minutes, one person whose whole job is to be on your side, and no expectations you didn't bring. The questions below are the ones new clients ask us most.
No. Your therapist will ask what brought you in and what you'd like to be different — you share at whatever depth feels right. Plenty of first sessions are mostly logistics, goals, and finding out whether the room feels safe. That's a successful first session.
Both happen daily and neither means anything is wrong. Therapists are professionally unshockable; there is no correct emotional performance, and nobody is grading you.
No referral needed, and you don't have to arrive with a label. 'Things feel heavier than they should' is a complete and sufficient reason to come. If a formal diagnosis ever matters for insurance, your clinician will discuss it with you openly.
You'll set concrete markers together in the first sessions — sleeping through the night, sending the email without the spiral, one honest conversation. Every few weeks you review them openly. 'Is this still helping?' is a welcome question here, never an awkward one.
Research on therapy consistently points to one big driver of progress: the relationship. That's why switching therapists within Aurora is a two-email process with zero guilt attached. Plenty of people try a second therapist before settling in — we consider that the system working, not failing.
More honest answers in the FAQ
Sessions are 50 minutes either way. Many clients start virtual for convenience and add in-person sessions for heavier work — or the reverse. Your therapist will tell you honestly if a format change would serve the work.
Four questions, two minutes — and two or three therapists chosen for what you're actually carrying. No account, no commitment.