Usually the first session consists of the therapist gathering background information from you, so don't expect to resolve a lot the first session. You will probably feel better though because you've started on your journey to healing. A lot of clients have told me they feel relief after the first session as they've unloaded years of emotional suppression.
Something that is imperative for people to understand is that you won't usually resolve your issues in 2-3 sessions. It takes 2-3 session to just gather most of the background information. Sometimes therapy takes 3 months, 6 months, a year or more depending on what you're trying to resolve.
The therapist is not there to solve your problems for you, but to walk with you, and guide you through your experiences and feelings. You have to be committed to work on yourself or nothing will change. The responsibility to change is yours and your alone. Sometime you may feel worse, dredging through the pain of the past, before you feel better, so you must be devoted to your personal change and growth.
Each therapist has their own style, so remember that no two therapists will practice the same way. We do, however, have to follow an ethical code. Our oath is "Do no harm," so we will not practice in any way that would cause harm to our client. There are a lot of aspects to our ethical code that you may read about here. Please, keep in mind though that we must adhere to our ethical code, so please don't take anything personally if we tell you it goes against our ethical code.
Some things I would suggest to any counseling client:
Please don't ghost your therapist! If you want to stop seeing your therapist, please let them know. You don't have to give an explanation, just let them know you're terminating your therapy.
Pay on time unless you have made other arrangements before your session.
Give your therapist 24 hours to cancel or reschedule your appointment. Most of all DO NOT no show your therapist!
Do your homework or nothing will change.
Most therapists are self-employed and do not have benefits so that's why I make the suggestions above.
If you have any questions about something I haven't covered please let me a comment and I will get back to you.