Why Initial Consultation Is Important

The initial consultation before therapy is probably the most important part of the whole procedure, as this will form the base of the therapy.

Its is very important for the therapist to begin gathering information on a client from the moment they first walk through the door, the correct steps that need to be taken in order to make the therapy a success can begin to be formed from that second. Initial consultation is very important because it’s the first time you are meeting your clients and your clients is meeting you.Sometime just in a first look they don’t like each other and this might happen to you. Without consultation if you had promised to help them then you are stuck in a very tricky situation but by doing this you wont get into this situation. This is the time you and your clients build a relationship and find out more about your clients plus your clients might want to know about you too example, where did you get your degree how long you been practicing etc.

your clients need to feel comfortable with you as well and able to trust you.That’s why how you have set up your room, the decoration you think its nice and cosy but your clients might not find it comfortable and dislike it and the way you dress up is also very important... you need to dress up comfortable and simple and casual because you don’t want to look down at them, and don’t want them to be uncomfortable and conscious of how they are dressed up. You can find out how he speaks? Language, words, phrases; he uses.

.. this will help you to prepare your PMR. At the same time, it is also necessary to educate your client about hypnosis.The more the client understands, the more confidence he will have in the hypnotic process.

This is the time to establish rapport and trust. By reassuring your client of his safety, he will be receptive to a good working relationship. From how they are sitting like cross legs and arms and tensed. You can talk to them and make them feel comfortable, build trust.

From the initial consultation you can notice their eye movements and can observe and find out their fear and truth. By using different modalities, like visual, auditoria and kinaesthetic and the language (words, phrases).If they are using like I feel like..

. or feel of warm fire or, soft rug etc you can put him down, as kinaesthetic PMR will go better with him. Once you find out why he/she is here, you can discuss the possible way to achieve that goal and avoid the impossible one. Like for example, client want to deductive is assuming how is your client is like just by the look example, you met like fifteen blonde and they are all stupid and when you meet the sixteen (your client) you assume automatically she will be stupid too but first consultation is good because this will help you “not to judge the book by its cover”.And another logic, inductive logic; it works in reverse, instead of assuming like, for example, people who wears black rimmed glass are smart and made you feel stupid so next time you meet someone (your client, happen to be) with black rimmed glasses wearer, you automatically think here comes trouble and put your guards up.

This is an example of our subconscious working well to make sure we avoid threats and anxiety. That’s why when you write your suggestion you must know your clients before hand to know their beliefs and so if you need to replace their belief to treat them first consultation comes handy.To make your clients trust you to keep it decreed you can console them by asking will it be okay to leave message on your home phone or mobile phone and if the clients doesn’t want the family to know abut it, client will say no this way. The client will be sure that its confidential and you wont be afraid to make mistake.

You can find out if they are afraid of heights (phobia) or not. For example in your PMR you start saying like... you are floating on nine clouds then later you find out your client is scare of heights.To stop you from making this kind of mistake first consultation is important.

Better the first consultation, better the personal screed will be and more chances of cure the client’s problem. Ethics can be defined as a set of moral principles or rules of conduct. Most people are familiar with the idea and ethics in medical practice; that doctors must keep their patients’ details confidential and must always act to save life, extend life or improve the quality of like, these and other rules of conduct for doctors are enshrined in the “ Hippocratic Oath”.But in counselling it’s not literally about life and death decision but to stay inside the ethical framework and help both clients and counsellor to solve the problems without being disrespectful to each other. By initial consultation you will find out if he/she has any mental disorder, pregnant, under eighteen. It’s not ethical to treat with this problem.

It is ethical in first consultation to ask the client to sigh if its okay to contact their GP if we need to and if they hesitate or don’t sign, that means they are hiding something and not being totally honest with ou. In this case you can assure them this is all very confidential so if there is anything I need to know you don’t need to be afraid and worry that I will judge you or anything like that and till you tell me the truth, till we get to the bottom of this problem we cant solve it. Still if they don’t sign then it wont be ethical for you to carry on with your counselling with that client.In your first consultation, when you find out that the client knows you or your close relatives or friends and you are not comfortable with that but still you carry on counselling that clients, that’s not ethical. Because you wont be able to give your full attention to the clients ant not ethical either. So it’s better to be honest and recommend other counsellor.

In any time if you are in dilemma and not sure what do to its best to tell the clients that you will let him know about it and you call discuss with your senior partners or Hypnotherapy Society.The reason it is so important to have an initial consultation is to find out about the client, the reason they have come for therapy, the goals they wish to achieve, for the therapist to ensure they have the expertise to carry out the necessary therapy the client needs to and to build a relationship with the client before therapy can start. Without the initial consultation the therapist would have to take the word of the client that the problem they have is the only problem, that there are no underlying problems that may need addressing first.Also there would not be any time to establish a trusting professional relationship, therefore it would not be possible for the client to relax fully, or to understand how hypnosis works or what the therapist is intending to do to help them. If the client is attending therapy to quit smoking for example and it may only be a one session treatment, it is not quite as important to conduct a full assessment, so they may not need a free half hour consultation before treatment can commence, but this is up to the therapist.

Therapists should record details of childhood memories, which could be both good and bad, any fears or phobias, as it would be detrimental to the client’s hypnotherapy for the therapist to include any fears or phobias via imagery into the therapy session while client is hypnotized. Any medication the client is currently taking should also be recorded and updated regularly in the therapists notes, the therapist should have an up to date copy of the British National Formulary or BNF to look up any current medication the client may be on, his will help to understand what the medication is for and how it works. Also the therapist should never interfere with, or tell the client to stop taking any medication a doctor has prescribed or any advice their GP or other practitioner has given them. Other questions the therapist should ask are, whether the client is pregnant, the names and the ages of any children, information about the client’s partner and their name and age.

All this information will help build the relationship between the client and therapist, knowing the clients background helps the therapist give them the right therapy and support. The therapist should also ask whether there are any problems within the family that the client wishes to tell them about or think maybe relevant to their treatment. This is where the importance of the initial consultation begins. Waking hypnosis is when a hypnotic effect is achieved without the use of a relaxed state.The therapist must plant a seed of confidence in the patient, the therapist being the authoritative figure. It is important that as soon as the client walks through the door that they have a positive opinion of the therapist.

A firm handshake and eye contact can quite quickly bypass the CCF. The therapist should talk sincerely and caringly empathies with the person’s personality and fears, positive strokes are all important during the initial consultation, building confidence between the two of you. The initial consultation is therefore as important for hypnotherapy as hypnosis itself.As a part of the whole process as much information abut the client’s life should be gathered and noted as is possible.

Information relating to the client’s private life, do they enjoy their job? Have they recently suffered a relationship breakdown or bereavement? Assess their modality. Check whether they are on any medication that may affect the process, anything that might affect their self-esteem, Asses their motivation and make sure that you feel confident, as the therapist, that you can help the client.This is the time to start to build a good, respectful relationship between the client and the therapist the foundation for success. The ambience created by the therapist is also important; there are many ways to create the ‘right’ atmosphere, all of which are fairly common sense. The client needs to feel safe, relaxed, confident, and undisturbed, etc.

but the main thing is the impression made by the therapist and the confidence that he can create in his expertise.