What Factors Will An Ethical Therapist Cover At This Time ?
The initial consultation is important for both the therapists and the client to establish whether there is rapport between both parties, to put the client at ease and to ensure a realistic and effective plan of action to help the client achieve their goal. This is often offered as a short appointment of maybe 30 minutes, free of charge. I think by offering this service clients would have more trust in you and think of you in a more professional manner (and not that you are just in it for the money). You do however have to be careful as to how free sessions are advertised as “there are complex legal issues relating to using free products as sales pitches”. (Chrysalis, Module 3, p16,2014)
The consultation starts with the very first contact you have with a client and your response and professionalism from that first moment will set the scene for the future. It is therefore very important that all steps are put into place to ensure the client feels comfortable and relaxed and they feel they are in good hands.
I imagine that most initial enquiries will be in the form of a telephone conversation or possibly by e-mail and I think it will be good practice to always follow these up with written information and confirmation of appointments. This therefore shows the client that you are professional and will give a good impression of the service provided. This would also be a good time to forward an initial consultation notation form to the client but I will write more about this later in this essay.
The initial consultation plays an important role in hypnotherapy and it is important to create an environment of calm professionalism. (Chrysalis, Mod 3, p17,2014). The room used for the consultation should be a relaxing environment and the best choice for this is a neutral decor. Strong colours may be relaxing to one person but could be very off putting for another.