Andy Nix | Mental Health Moment | April 2026

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:05]Hello everyone. This is Andy Nix with Cross Christian Counseling Center and this is the mental health moment for April 2026.

[00:00:12]Today I decided to do something a little bit different and kind of give you an insight into what a counseling session, an initial counseling session with me would look like.

[00:00:20]So if you you go online, you make your appointment, I'm going to send you a whole bunch of forms to fill out just like if you go to the dentist or doctor and most of them you're just going to sign digitally or you're going to check.

[00:00:30]One or two of them you're actually going to fill out a lot of data and that data is either going to be demographics just so we get a good idea of where you live and how old you are.

[00:00:41]Um the biggest one is going to be an an intake questionnaire and we're going to ask you questions like, "Why are you coming to counseling today?" It's going to ask questions of, you know, your physical health and your mental health.

[00:00:52]It's going to ask questions about substance abuse and it's going to ask questions about your family members and you know, if this is for, let's say couples counseling, "What kind of problem are you going through? How long you've been married? How long have you considered this problem an issue in your couple?"

[00:01:08]Um so if you make an appointment with me, we're going to set up a time schedule, you're going to fill out all those paperwork and I'm going to review all the paperwork in advance and then you'll come into the office and sit down and I'm going to start off with with five questions. I'm going to ask about the mental health concerns and worries that take place in your family as far as you know. I'm going to ask about domestic violence.

[00:01:29]I'm going to ask about substance abuse.

[00:01:31]I'm going to ask about your overall health. I'm going to ask questions about cardiac disease and cancers. And I'm going to ask about suicidal ideations and suicidal attempts.

[00:01:42]Now the reason I ask those questions, first of all because we've already kind of briefly talked about them in the questionnaire, I'm going to drill down on them because we see patterns in families.

[00:01:51]You know, if your great great great grandfather was an alcoholic and your great grandfather was an alcoholic and your grandfather was an alcoholic and your father was an alcoholic. We're not saying you're going to be an alcoholic.

[00:02:01]We're just saying that you've been exposed to that throughout your life.

[00:02:04]Are you possibly more inclined to that behavior? Sure, because you might see that as being normal, as being understood behavior for dealing with situations. I'm not saying you're an alcoholic, but I'm saying it is an influencing factor in your life.

[00:02:19]So, we're going to start off with with mental health and you know, if you grew up in large families that had anxiety and depression, first of all, you understand what those topics and ideas mean, but secondly, you grew up differently than than other people. So, it's an influence on you.

[00:02:37]So, we're going to ask about that. We're going to ask about about domestic violence and that includes physical, mental, emotional, and sexual violence of those around you and as far back as you know in your families. We're going to ask about uh health issues related to cancers, to cardiac diseases, because we think there are some genetic markers when it comes to different kinds of cancers.

[00:02:55]Again, it's not saying that you're going to have any of these things, but it just gives me a better snapshot of what you've grown up with and what you've experienced so far in your life. And the last one is suicidal ideations and attempts.

[00:03:10]Those are significant concerns.

[00:03:13]When you grow up in households, when you grow up in families to where people have attempted or threatened or taken their life, it has lasting impacts and I'm going to ask questions differently based on that information.

[00:03:28]I don't know I'm going to tell you how I do how I do therapy. I'm going to ask you lots of questions, which makes sense. It's therapy. I don't know what you've got going on in your head and I need to find it.

[00:03:40]The most important thing with these questions is is I need you to know that if I'm getting something wrong, that you can correct me.

[00:03:48]If you don't understand why I'm asking a question, that you have permission to ask. It's your session.

[00:03:53]Lots of things make sense up in my head, but when they come out of my mouth, sometimes they don't make sense, and I need to be clear with you. I need you to understand what I'm saying so that I get the clearest answer back from you.

[00:04:05]I do not mind emotions. People people inevitably start crying. And then like, "Oh, I'm sorry." I'm like, "I don't want you to be sorry for crying. I I want you to be grateful. I want to be grateful to you because you're being honest and vulnerable with me."

[00:04:18]Tears are a powerful thing.

[00:04:21]And I'm grateful to share in you crying.

[00:04:24]Plus, it gives me another thing for us to to put on our list of how are we going to to better respond for this going forward so that you don't have the same emotional response.

[00:04:35]Those are the big aspects of therapy of of us starting work together.

[00:04:40]And nobody's therapy session is going to be alike.

[00:04:44]And no therapist is going to be alike.

[00:04:46]We all have different modalities that we work on. We all have different treatment styles.

[00:04:52]But, the most important thing you should know is that we're going to work with you as long as you need our help.

[00:04:58]And the goal is is that you're able to deal with all of your situations and concerns without us.

[00:05:03]We like you. We're glad that you come in. We're glad to to work with you.

[00:05:07]But, we want you to graduate and to go on and do good and great things by yourself.

[00:05:12]I hope this makes sense today, and I hope it gives you a little bit better idea as to if you work with me as a therapist, what the first 10 or 20 minutes of our first therapy session is going to be like.

[00:05:23]Thank you for stopping by. Have a great rest of your day.