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This Is when we form our first impressions of people (and they of us), and when we are naturally most highly attuned to the information – verbal, physical, visual or otherwise – that we’re resented with. In the therapeutic environment, this is certainly the case, as there are many facets to the interaction that will direct future therapy, rapport, effectiveness of the therapy, and the willingness of the client to submit to, or ‘buy in OTF the therapeutic program. 2. 0 What s ethical? Ethical can be defined as following, or acting within a defined code which may be personal, moral, or societal’.
It is “principled, decent, proper, just honorable, and upright”. Put simply, an ethical therapist will put the client their health and well- being and their best interests first at all times. Different agencies define this in efferent ways however find the following to be a good summary: * Integrity and Impartiality * competence * Beneficence (acting in the best interests tot the Client, in a manner that dotards them the most good and avoids causing harm) * Respect and Empathy * Fidelity and client autonomy This can be further defined, but a detailed definition is not necessary here. . 0 What factors will an ethical therapist cover during the Initial consultation? I feel It most useful to first answer the latter part of the question, and In doing this we can understand why It Is so Important. I have split the factors covered In to 5 areas: audibility, directing therapy, calming the client, ethical factors, and costs and contracts. ‘ Off Client suitability. In order to avoid wasting both client and therapist time, it is important to make an assessment on suitability. This covers several areas.
One of the key prerequisites for successful hypnotherapy is the client’s willingness to participate. A client who is reluctant, or who may have been pressured in to therapy by a friend or family member, will be hard, or impossible to bring into the hypnotic state. Discovery of this, if the case, and either termination of the session, or an encouragement by the therapist to willingly participate is essential; motivation is key. Therapeutic suitability. Secondly, there may be cases where a combination of therapies, or a process of counseling, hypnotherapy and/or other therapies are the best plan.
An ethical therapist will form the best plan for the client initially during this first consultation. It may be that hypnotherapy isn’t applicable to a client at all; it would be unethical in this case to propose this as a solution. Karee & Boys note that few clients, even those specifically requesting hypnotherapy have a realistic understanding of hypnotherapy. It is best practice for the ethical therapist to mention hypnotherapy early on in the initial consultation so the idea is firmly planted in the client’s mind and doesn’t appear to be raised ‘out of the blue’ at a later stage.
Therapist suitability. The third point on suitability relates to the therapist. Building trust and rapport with the client is key to the therapeutic relationship. Clearly, if the client clashes with the therapist, then the best-possible outcome is partial success versus a therapist with better rapport, or a closer personality fit. A good therapist hooked be able to work with many or all different client personality types, but if this isn’t the case, the ethical therapist would recommend another therapist or treatment.
The other extreme is also true in that sexual attraction between therapist and client can severely impact the outcome of any therapy and should be taken into account. There could also be legal implications, exposing the therapist to legal claims if this is the case. 3. 2 Directing Therapy The information gained during the initial consultation also directs the course and form of therapy. Our previous assignment focused on personality types and totalities, directing the form and process of induction.
While it isn’t necessary to repeat all this information, every client will need an individually tailored induction and therapeutic Journey, with much of the information on personality, modality, and styles garnered during the initial consultation. Hadley & Stauncher state “The more fully you understand the causes of a problem, the better you will be able to define it and resolve it”. Further to this, it is important to gather personal information from the client so as to ensure the most appropriate treatment and cost-effective hereby.
This can include any family history of illness, developmental/childhood issues, the client’s current living environment, any other life problems (work, social, relational), and any previous therapies undertaken by the client. Furthermore, there are many instances where the client is referred for a particular issue, which is often relatively simple, but has actually masked, misunderstood, or failed to notice a more complex issue; this can often come to light in the initial consultation.
All these factors, and many more besides, impact on the therapy and are taken into account by main control and in dealing with this pain, the hypnotherapies is simply masking symptoms of other more serious conditions which could be progressive and life- threatening. He cites Rosen (1960) who states that “severe depressive states sometimes present in the disguise of somatic pain”. Further to this overall point the initial consultation, though distinct from the ‘main sessions’ of therapy in the mind of the client, is actually the beginning of the therapy process.
Aside from the obvious opportunity to build rapport, the initial consultation is a great chance for the therapist to get the therapy under way. Many therapists will offer the chance to run a brief MR. which not only helps the inexperienced client understand the hypnotic process, but can also show how susceptible the client is. The therapist can also offer an initial interpretation or explanation of the client’s presenting issues, and this alone can be integral to the healing process as the client can begin to comprehend and be able to explain their situation. . 3 Calming the Client We’ve seen above that it is essential that the client is engaged in the process and not being coerced. Further to this, the most effective inductions are when the client is blew to relax. The first impression’ initial consultation is the time when trust of the therapist is born for the client, and so this is an incredibly important session. Trust can be gained or lost on a number of criteria including dress, authority, body language, environment, speech, and many more can impact the building of trust.
The ethical therapist will use the initial consultation to explain possible therapeutic processes or plans, describing to the client what he can expect, and answering any questions. This can quickly serve to put the client’s mind at ease, and positively impact the therapy. There may even be a trial induction during the initial consultation to enable the therapist to form a realistic expectation as to the role of hypnotherapy in the treatment of the individual, and so that the individual can better understand the process. This will also serve to further calm any anxieties that the client may have.
In my own experience in seeking volunteers for a MR. or for one of our hypnotherapy projects, I have found that volunteers are not only in agreement, but are looking forward to the session once their mind has been put at ease regarding the format of the MR./therapy and with a full understanding of the recess. 2. 4 Ethical Factors There are a number of essential, ethical factors the must be covered during the initial consultation, or early on in the session if it is a one-off session. The very first factor that must be considered is medical suitability. The ethical therapist will be seeking ‘contra-indicators’.
These are “a condition or factor that serves as a reason to withhold a certain medical treatment”. This can be where the client has no real need for hypnotherapy to cases where it may be dangerous, or there may be a high risk of complication under hypnotherapy. All guidelines state that the client’s GAP should be annotated if the therapist is in any doubt as to the psychological well-being of the client. A Gaps note should be a condition of any further therapy. The therapist should client whom is unfit to be hypnotized, or the nature of whose illness, issue or disability is outside what they are qualified and trained for.
The initial consultation is also the time when the therapist can guide the client as to the course of their therapy, estimating number of sessions, timescales and cost. It is certainly unethical to begin a course of therapy without the client understanding the process. This leads on to the final point. 2. 5 Costs and Contracts The initial consultation is the time when the full cost of therapy should be discussed, so that client is under no illusions as to the financial cost of continuing therapy.
Many therapists offer a free initial consultation, as this can remove a final cost barrier for a client interested in seeking (hypo)therapy, however there is much debate about this as whilst it can come with no obligation, be very accessible and frees the client from any obligation to continue (which they may feel had they already made a financial investment), there may be insurance and other implications from such an open, Walk-in’, relatively anonymous, and paperwork-light approach.
Many ethical therapists include a contract at this stage, stating client and therapist goals, code of conduct, and other necessary clauses. This goes some way to providing legal protection for both client and therapist should there be any issues. With some form of goal-setting, not only is the aim of the therapy made clear both to the client and therapist, but the client and therapist are also together better able to measure progress over a course of sessions. 1 Summary The above shows the initial consultation to be not only essential, but critical in a number of factors from building rapport with the client to fully understanding their (often complex) needs. An excellent initial consultation leaves both the client and therapist clear regarding the type of therapy, suitability, process, and investment (both time and money) required for an effective course of therapy with well-defined goals and a plan of action. The client will have had all initial questions answered and will be calm and relaxed, and even looking forward to the first full session.