The counselor and the client should both have the same expectations regarding the length of the treatment process and meetings, role limits, process limits, and each other's agendas.

Time limits are an important issue to decide before beginning treatment with a client. The three factors to consider for deciding time parameters are: length of each session, how long the client/counselor relationship will last, and whether or not there are any agency-set time limits. In some cases, the specific time frames will be set by an outside organization, agency, or authority (such as a court order). The purpose of these time limits is to enable the client to realize that he/or she has a set amount of time to reach certain goals. Another factor to consider is whether or not the client is inpatient or outpatient, because an outpatient will have less flexibility in his/or her time for counseling sessions. The ending of the sessions must be announced to the client ahead of time, making it easy for the counselor to end a session.

Role limits is another area to determine ahead of time. Prior to beginning the counseling process, the client and the counselor must determine what the expectations are for the client regarding the counselor during the sessions. In the client-counselor relationship, there are often client misconceptions regarding the counselor that must be clarified.