I always offer clients a free initial consultation. My belief is that therapy is a two way process and we need to work together as a team. When I work trans-personally this is even more relevant as transpersonal psychology relies heavily on the nature of the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client. Primarily, the therapist must take the role of an equal to their client and must be completely connected on the level of pure consciousness – sharing the same experience as the client in therapy. This shared consciousness ensures that empathy and insight can take place alongside a therapist’s discriminating and analytical stance. The free initial consultation gives me time to learn about the client and what they seek before confirming that I can work with them. The client also needs to feel a connection to me.
This initial consultation form is the one I use for all of my clients. It asks the questions I feel are necessary to gain a good insight. Whilst we often elaborate and go off on a tangent I feel that I have all bases covered by following this form. I will use the standard GAD-7 Anxiety and PHQ-9 Depression forms alongside this.