What To Expect Your First Week In An Outpatient Program
Aurora’s modern lounge area with orange chairs, a round rug, plants, and high ceilings in our calm outpatient treatment setting.
Starting treatment is a big step, and not knowing what to expect can make it feel even bigger. If you are getting ready to begin an outpatient program, it helps to know that the first week is designed to ease you in, not to overwhelm you. Here is what it actually looks like.
There is never an expectation that you have to share everything on day one. You set the pace.
What Actually Happens In Your First Week
The first week is about getting comfortable and getting to know us. You will complete any remaining assessments, meet members of your treatment team, learn about your individualized treatment plan, and begin participating in group therapy.
We take time to help every woman feel welcomed, understand what to expect, and become familiar with the environment. There is no pressure to have it all figured out, and no expectation to share more than you are ready to.
What Women Worry About, And How That Changes
Most women arrive with some version of the same worries. They are afraid they will be judged, that they will have to talk before they are ready, or that they will not fit in. Those concerns are completely normal, and you are not the only one feeling them.
By the end of the first week, many women tell us they realize they are not alone. They begin building trust, both with the clinical team and with the other women in the program, and the anxiety they felt before arriving often starts to ease.
The Moment It Starts To Click
For many women, there is a small but powerful moment in that first week. It often happens during a group, when another woman shares an experience that sounds just like her own.
For many, that is the first time they realize they do not have to carry everything by themselves. That feeling of being understood can become the beginning of hope and healing.
We Will Be With You From The Start
You do not have to have it all figured out before you begin. The first week is simply the start of getting to know us, and of letting us get to know you. If you have questions about what starting treatment would look like, we are glad to walk you through it, confidentially and at your pace.
Aurora for Women is a women-led, trauma-informed outpatient program built around healing and recovery. We support women’s mental health across a range of needs, including trauma and co-occurring disorders, always at a pace that feels right for you.
Clinical Review | This article has been clinically reviewed for accuracy by Samantha Lipka, LMHC, Clinical Director at Aurora for Women.
Samantha Lipka, LMHC | Clinical Director | Master of Science in Counseling, Salem State University | Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Massachusetts | Specialized training in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)