Sonny’s Story: The First Session

by Toriann Clarke, MA, LPC, NCC

Please note: This is not an actual child case. “Sonny” has been created as a characterization of a child client for the purpose of explaining family therapy dynamics. This is the second article of the series Sonny’s Story.

This was Sonny’s first therapy session. Sonny might have been new to therapy, but the clinician wasn’t new to the idea of Sonny. The clinician initially met with Sonny’s parents for a parent meeting. She was able to gather more information about the concerns that they were experiencing to better assist Sonny and his parents. Sonny was aware of the fact that the clinician had met with both his mom and dad, and was eager to meet the clinician independently.

At the first meeting, Sonny appeared very nervous. He looked like he wanted to share, but also looked too uncomfortable to do so. The clinician began with introducing Sonny to her office. She showed him all of the toys and games and what he had access to. Sonny appeared a little nervous at first and didn’t want to stray too far from the couch. He also took the seat closest to the door. Sonny shared a bit about what was going on at school and about his friends and preferred hobbies and food places.

The clinician noticed that while Sonny was sharing all of these important aspects of his life, he still was uncomfortable in the room. In that moment, the clinician decided that it was most important to build rapport with Sonny. She asked him to pick any game in the room and of course he chose his favorite game of all time, Uno. It was at this time that Sonny appeared the most relaxed he had throughout the entire session. They started off playing Uno by discussing their Uno rules and comparing the ones that they had in common. Sonny was willing to try stacking for the first time and picking up multiple cards when needing to draw. The clinician did not hold back on her Uno playing ability, Sonny started to laugh and enjoy the experience. He shared more freely about the happenings in his life and appeared more calm and relaxed doing so.

Before they knew it was almost time for the session to end. To the untrained eye, it would appear that nothing took place during that first session, but the clinician and Sonny knew that something really special happened that day. It was the day that the two of them were able to start building trust with one another. That office became a space where Sonny was able to be himself. It became a space where his values were learned, understood, and important. It was
the day that Sonny met someone who would become a confidant. Sonny was informed by the clinician that this wouldn’t be what every session looked like, but that session of Uno, awkward conversations about social dynamics, and the best place in the city to get waffles on a Saturday morning, was the start to much deeper conversation surrounding life, loneliness, feelings of exclusion, fear, ambitions, and progress.

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