I sometimes get asked 'when are we going to start the actual therapy?'. It is really important that before we embark on your trauma journey that I understand you; where you have come from, what difficulties you have experienced, who is in your life, what strengths you have. All of this helps me know when you are ready to start the path on working on why you came to see me. If I started on day one going straight into addressing your trauma I am likely to cause you more harm. I need you to feel safe, that might mean developing our relationship or giving you skills to manage how you are feeling in between our sessions. You need to know what you are agreeing to, this needs to be carefully explained so you know what could happen in between sessions. This is why I take my time. It is so you can get the most out of our time together. So my answer to that question is 'when you are ready to start it safely'. I think this picture just says it all.