Melanie Bambridge Case

Melanie Bambridge

Norwich01

1868 words

''Why is the initial consultation so important? What factors will an ethical therapist cover at this time?''

The initial consultation is a very important thing to consider before deciding whether hypnotherapy is the correct route of therapy for the client to go down. The client may have been referred to you and may have no previous experience of hypnotherapy. It is important to ask if the client has any preconceived ideas about hypnotherapy. Once the client has shown you what knowledge they have of the subject, the therapist can then explain and dispel any myths and misconceptions. This will help to put the client at ease and help to explain that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. That nobody can be forced to do anything that they don't actually want, or agree to do. If on meeting the client you realise that you know them then you need to refer them to somebody else. You wouldn't have an objective view of the situation and this would hinder the client's progress. Also they may not want to disclose things about themselves that they could maybe disclose to a person in a neutral relationship. Another thing to consider is whether you are sexually attracted to the client. In this case you would need to refer them onto another therapist for similar reasons. You may realise that you and the client don't have a particularly good rapport. You may not 'gel' very well with them. You would need to decide from there whether another therapist may be better for them.

At stated by 'Karle and Boys' ''our practice is to conduct a fairly standard assessment interview with every patient, whether or not hypnosis was mentioned in the referral. ''We can aid this by composing our own client consultation forms to help us to get to know the client better. The form or 'notation' could include the following:

Full name

Like to be known as

Address and contact details

Is it ok to be contacted?

Does partner/family know they're here?

Who lives with you?

Any children

Ages/gender of children

Occupation/previous employment

Any work problems

Any financial problems

GP's name (be suspicious if they won't give these details as we need them to refer them if needs be)

Are you on any medication (can check for anti-psychotic drugs)

Medical history

Family's medical history

On the whole good/bad/average childhood

What brings you here?

Long term problem or new

The goal wished to be achieved

Hobbies/leisure interests

Do you drink?

Do you smoke?

Do you use recreational drugs?

Do you have any religious/cultural beliefs?

These questions may also help to gauge whether you can be beneficial in the clients therapy. You may have differing religious opinions which may hinder the therapy for example. All these things help to build up the rapport and gain a little bit of background knowledge.

It is up to you whether you decide to charge for the initial consultation, which is usually about half an hour in length. Whether you see the client in person or conduct the consultation over the phone is another thing to consider. ''if you decide not to give a free half an hour consultation then you must be sure that you are comfortable with referring the client on should you need to as they may then feel that they have been unjustly charged for a service that they have not received. This situation can prove difficult if the person is in crisis or not of a completely stable frame of mind.''(Class hand-out) there are pro's and con's to giving an initial consultation. As stated previously, one of the pros may be to assess the rapport you have by meeting face to face. You can check that the client isn't on any anti-psychotic medicines. As non- medically trained therapists we must only treat neurosis and are not qualified to treat psychosis. We can also generally get a picture of the person. We can learn about any likes or dislikes they may have. We can note any fears or phobias. By getting an overall picture of the person's lifestyle and personality we can then tailor a screed based on this accumulated information. We can learn which modality to use in the screed. Whether the client may respond to visual, audial or kinaesthetic inductions. This could help the client to achieve a deeper state of relaxation in a shorter amount of time which could bring beneficial results sooner rather than later. You could give the client a little 'taster' induction included in the initial consultation. This could help the client to feel relaxed when leaving the treatment room and feeling as though some good had already been done. They may feel more relaxed and willing to come to see you again for more. On the con's side, by doing this the client may feel that they feel much better already and not make another appointment. The decision on whether to do this is entirely personal. Another con is that some people may take advantage of the free consultation. There was a recent court case where a therapist offered free consultations and the prosecution argued that ''the sessions were offered for free in order to attract vulnerable clients'' (Class hand-out) it is always important to cover ourselves legally. Also it is illegal to advertise free consultations as a sales pitch. There seem to be more pro's than con's however, and it is an entirely personal choice whether to charge or not after weighing up all the odds.

How