--- title: "Getting Started: What Actually Happens" description: "Send a message, have a first conversation, decide together whether it fits. A free consultation is offered, and nothing is promised beyond an honest hour." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/#rodric", "name": "Rodric McClain", "url": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com", "image": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/__l5e/assets-v1/a350a6b6-9619-403d-b8fa-ec90764359be/rodric-mcclain.png", "jobTitle": "Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/#practice" }, "knowsAbout": [ "Couples therapy", "Individual therapy", "Family therapy", "PTSD and trauma", "Anxiety", "Depression", "Grief", "Life transitions", "Dialectical behavior therapy", "Cognitive behavioral therapy" ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/rodric-montrell-mcclain-omaha-ne/1001455", "https://www.rula.com/providers/NE/1114410271-rodric-mcclain", "https://care.headway.co/providers/rodric-mcclain", "https://therapyrooted.com/therapist/united-states/nebraska/omaha-1/rodric-montrell-mcclain/" ] }, { "@type": "ProfessionalService", "@id": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/#practice", "name": "Rodric McClain Counseling, LLC", "url": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com", "image": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/__l5e/assets-v1/a350a6b6-9619-403d-b8fa-ec90764359be/rodric-mcclain.png", "telephone": "+1-731-393-3253", "description": "Individual, couples and family therapy in Omaha, Nebraska, in person and by telehealth, and telehealth across Nebraska and Rhode Island.", "priceRange": "$$", "availableLanguage": "English", "founder": { "@id": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/#rodric" }, "areaServed": [ { "@type": "City", "name": "Omaha", "addressRegion": "NE" }, { "@type": "State", "name": "Nebraska" }, { "@type": "State", "name": "Rhode Island" } ] } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What happens in the first full session?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "We go slower than you might expect. I want the shape of your life: who is in it, what your week looks like, what has already been tried, what you are actually hoping changes. By the end we usually have one or two goals worth naming. They stay specific and achievable, we set them together, and we revise them when they stop fitting." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What can I honestly expect?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "An hour where you are listened to carefully and spoken to plainly. Practical skills you can use in a real week rather than an ideal one. Someone who works alongside you rather than issuing instructions. What I will not do is promise you a result. Nobody can honestly do that, and anyone who does should worry you. What I can tell you is that we work as a team toward what DBT calls a life worth living, and that you define what that means. Progress is rarely a straight line. Some weeks move things forward, some weeks are about holding steady, and both count." } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Getting Started", "item": "https://rodricmcclaincounseling.com/getting-started" } ] } ] --- [Skip to content](#main) [Rodric McClain Counseling ](/) [About](/about) Services Who I help Concerns How I work Locations [Contact](/contact)[Start a conversation](/contact) Getting started # How this begins Therapy starts with a conversation. Not paperwork, not a diagnosis, not a plan you have to arrive with. A conversation. ![A warm counseling room with two chairs and afternoon light](/assets/office-B2GfHFKB.jpg) ## Step one: you send a message. Use the contact form and tell me in a few sentences what is going on. It does not need to be organized or complete. Plenty of people write some version of I am not sure how to describe this, and that is a fine place to begin. Keep clinical detail out of the form. It is a website form, not a secure or confidential channel, so a rough outline is better than a full history. ## Step two: we have a free consultation. This is a short conversation with no cost and no obligation. You tell me what brought you here, I ask some questions, and you get a sense of how I actually talk before you commit to anything. You should also use it to ask about me. How I work, what DBT involves, whether I have sat with the kind of thing you are carrying. Ask directly. I will answer directly. There is no online calendar here. Scheduling happens in that conversation, so we can find a time that actually works rather than one that only looks free. ## Step three: we decide together whether it fits. Fit matters more than credentials. If we are not right for each other, the work stalls, and neither of us benefits from pretending otherwise. If I am not the right person, I will say so and try to point you somewhere more useful. That is not a rejection, it is the same judgment I would want someone to use on my behalf. ## What happens in the first full session? We go slower than you might expect. I want the shape of your life: who is in it, what your week looks like, what has already been tried, what you are actually hoping changes. By the end we usually have one or two goals worth naming. They stay specific and achievable, we set them together, and we revise them when they stop fitting. ## What can I honestly expect? An hour where you are listened to carefully and spoken to plainly. Practical skills you can use in a real week rather than an ideal one. Someone who works alongside you rather than issuing instructions. What I will not do is promise you a result. Nobody can honestly do that, and anyone who does should worry you. What I can tell you is that we work as a team toward what DBT calls a life worth living, and that you define what that means. Progress is rarely a straight line. Some weeks move things forward, some weeks are about holding steady, and both count. ## Before the first conversation, it helps to have thought about: - What made you look this week, rather than last month or next year. - What you would want to be different in six months, even roughly. - Whether in person in Omaha or online suits your actual schedule. - Anything you already know does not work for you in therapy. ## If you are in crisis right now - Call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. - Veterans Crisis Line: call 988, then press 1. - If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department. The contact form is not monitored around the clock and is not for emergencies. See the [questions people ask](/faq) for more. ## Ready when you are. Therapy starts with a conversation. Send a short message and tell me what is going on, in your own words. We meet in person in Omaha, and online across Nebraska and Rhode Island. [Start a conversation](/contact) Rodric McClain Counseling ## Pages - [Home](/) - [About](/about) - [Getting started](/getting-started) - [Questions people ask](/faq) - [Fees and payment](/fees) - [Contact](/contact) ## Services - [All services](/services) - [Individual therapy](/services/individual-therapy) - [Couples therapy](/services/couples-therapy) - [Family therapy](/services/family-therapy) - [Teen and young adult therapy](/services/teen-and-young-adult-therapy) - [Online therapy](/services/online-therapy) ## Who I help - [Everyone I work with](/who-i-help) - [Veterans](/who-i-help/veterans) - [Active duty and military families](/who-i-help/active-duty-and-military-families) - [First responders](/who-i-help/first-responders) ## Concerns - [Everything people bring](/concerns) - [PTSD and trauma](/concerns/ptsd-and-trauma) - [Anxiety](/concerns/anxiety) - [Depression and low mood](/concerns/depression) - [Grief and loss](/concerns/grief-and-loss) - [Stress and burnout](/concerns/stress-and-burnout) - [Relationship issues](/concerns/relationship-issues) - [Life transitions](/concerns/life-transitions) ## How I work - [How I work](/how-i-work) - [DBT](/how-i-work/dbt) - [CBT](/how-i-work/cbt) - [Mindfulness](/how-i-work/mindfulness) ## Locations - [Where I practice](/locations) - [Omaha, in person and online](/locations/omaha) - [Lincoln, online and in person](/locations/lincoln) - [Bellevue, online and in person](/locations/bellevue) - [Papillion, online and in person](/locations/papillion) - [La Vista, online and in person](/locations/la-vista) - [Grand Island, online and in person](/locations/grand-island) - [Rhode Island, telehealth only](/locations/rhode-island) ## Legal - [Privacy policy](/privacy-policy) - [Terms of use](/terms) - [Accessibility](/accessibility) ## Practice - Rodric McClain - LIMHP (Nebraska) · LMHC (Rhode Island) - Omaha, Nebraska - [(731) 393-3253](tel:+17313933253) ## In a crisis - Call or text 988, Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. - Veterans Crisis Line: call 988, then press 1. - If there is immediate danger, call 911. © 2026 Rodric McClain Counseling, LLC. General information only, not a substitute for care or emergency services.