Initial Consultation

2354 Words10 Pages
“Why is the initial consultation so important? What factors will an ethical therapist cover at this time?” Introduction: My aim is to fully answer both questions that are presented in the essay title. Firstly describing and discussing the importance of an initial consultation and secondly covering the ethical issues that a therapist would need to consider during this time. The initial consultation is the first face to face meeting of the client and therapist before any therapy is undertaken. It is fundamentally the most important aspect of the whole process as it will form the basis of the therapy, and any future therapy. It provides the therapist a platform with which to gather relevant information to help evaluate their client.…show more content…
Here, a therapist can dispel many of the myths and misconceptions about it, and explain some of the core theories. I believe the explanation at this point should include talking about hypnosis being a state of mind where people are more responsive to positive suggestions. It is also where the therapist can use waking hypnotic suggestion (waking hypnosis). To explain this in more detail, waking hypnotic suggestion is suggestions that are given to a client in a certain manner while in a normal state of consciousness which achieve a hypnotic effect without the use of the relaxed state. What the therapist is doing is getting the client to establish ‘selective thinking’ early on in the session. The definition of hypnosis is the bypass of the Conscious Critical Faculty (CCF) of the conscious mind followed by selective acceptable suggestion. The CCF acts as a filter between the conscious and subconscious mind and analyses the information we are receiving and decides whether it is worth listening to. If it is something not learned it stays in our subconscious for filing. Therefore waking hypnosis is a useful tool during the initial consultation because if you by-pass the CCF this can help the client go into…show more content…
Failure to diagnose a client’s problem correctly could result in the therapist using the wrong treatment. One of the most common requests a therapist who employs hypnotic techniques receives, is for help with chronic pain. However there is potential here for the client who makes such a request to learn to mask the symptom of a disorder which if progressive or life-threatening, may place them in danger. This could result in a particular disorder becoming too far advanced for successful treatment to be undertaken. If research is correct, hypnotic techniques can have a significant effect on all physical aspects of human functioning. As stated by (Heap & Dryden 1991, pg 187)… “If hypnosis can affect these functions therapeutically, then it can do so pathologically. And if that is the case, it is potentially
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