For context, I (23M) live in the United States. In Ohio. A bit concerned about privacy because of the whole Nazi problem and the fact that I live in an abusive household.
I’ve been working on myself a lot recently and realized that I can’t do this alone anymore (or rely on Internet strangers to talk about my issues). I feel like I finally have the strength to ask for help in the real world. I’ve just never done this before. What’s it like? Is it warm and fuzzy, or cold and analytical? (Does it feel like someone is providing care and comfort, or is it more like an emotionally detached scientist meticulously studying you and scribbling down notes while mumbling “Hmm, I see, I see” while you yap at them?) Do you start to see results right away, or are things slow at first? How much stuff is recorded in a database that other systems can look up?
Different therapists may treat you differently. They should be very receptive to your needs on that. Ask them to treat you how you want. It’s important that you feel they’re being honest with you.
Result time depends on you. For example you may partly need validation that you are in fact, doing something about your problems and that thought can kick start it. Some things come in the first week. But you’ll also hit the limit of plasticity in the brain where some things are just going to take 6 weeks or several months of dedicated effort to see results.