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Dec 05, 2023
9 min read
Today, counseling stands out as a service that offers customized solutions to the needs of individuals. The key to this process is gathering relevant information and communicating effectively with prospective clients. This is where the counseling intake form comes into play. Counseling intake forms you can design to help you make an effective start will also guide your clients.
In this article, you will learn about the intake form, the types of intake forms, what questions to ask, and how to prepare an intake form. You can also look at how to make your intake form more professional with the help of expert tips.
What is an intake form?
The definition of intake form
An intake form is a preliminary information form used by an organization, department, or certain professions. It helps streamline the customer onboarding process and easily collect information from new customers during preparation. Intake form is a way to get to know your potential clients early in your relationship. Its primary purpose is to understand the expectations and goals of potential customers.
Types of intake forms
The intake form understands the client’s needs, helps you ask the right questions, and works best when tailored to your business. This approach helps the advisor increase client satisfaction and build long-term relationships. So, with that in mind, let’s explore the following intake form types to see how different industries create them.
- Mental health intake form: This form is used by mental health professionals to gather information about a patient’s mental health history. The form includes questions about the patient’s symptoms, psychiatric history, and family history of mental illness.
- Therapy intake form: This form can help ensure that the therapist has a complete picture of the patient’s past and his/her mental health history. This can help them to understand the patient’s condition better and to develop an effective treatment plan.
- Counseling intake form: Used by counselors and therapists, it collects information to understand the client’s emotional state, goals, and reasons for seeking counseling. In addition to asking for basic demographic information, it may include past psychiatric treatments, medications, reasons for seeking therapy, and family history.
- Intake assessment form: This form is a tool that can be used to build a therapeutic relationship. It is concerned primarily with gathering information so that the clinician can put together a working base to deal with a client's issues.
- Website intake form: In this form, you can gather lead contact information, budgets, design requests, and more.
- Life coaching intake form: This intake form is a document to gather information about a person’s life and goals. The life coach can then use this information to create a plan of action to help the person achieve their goals.
- Project intake form: This is the document that the customers send to the relevant teams for the projects they want to have done. In addition to the project requests, such as the type of project to be made, the start and end date, and the allocated budget, contact information such as phone number, name, and surname is also included in the form.
- Medical intake form: This intake form document is used to collect information about a patient’s health history, including problems and medications. The form is also used to record the patient’s contact information, insurance information, and other relevant data.
- Client intake form: An intake form gathers important information from clients, customers, or patients when they first interact with a service. It typically includes basic details like contact information, the purpose of seeking services, and other relevant information.
How can I create an intake form for my counseling business for free?
After learning all these, if you say how to create a counseling intake form, there are a few different ways. Decide if you want to start from scratch or if you prefer to use a free template. If you wish to, there are ready-made intake forms for counseling samples specially designed for you.
Introducing you to hassle-free forms builder, forms.app. Thanks to its user-friendly features. You can save time and create your intake form in the fastest way. In just 5 simple steps, you can create your own free online form. Here are a few steps you should follow while creating a form:
1. Create forms.app an account or log in
Creating a forms.app account
The first step to create your form is to create a forms.app account or log in if you already have one. Creating an account only takes a few seconds, especially if you use your Google, Apple, or Facebook accounts.
2. Choose a template and use forms.app AI, or start from scratch
Choosing a beginning option
forms.app gives you multiple options to get started; any option will save you from spending time on form design. Also, with forms.app AI, you can quickly form a design with great potential. Additionally, you can choose one of the ready-to-use forms that forms.app offers and moves on. As another option, you can start from a blank form and decide on every detail.
3. Add your counseling intake questions
Adding questions and fields to your counseling intake form
You can choose from many types in your form, such as checkboxes, explanation fields, terms and conditions, and signature fields. forms.app offers more than +30 fields to help you choose your questions correctly. Add the questions you require answers to and create them.
4. Change how your form looks
Customizing the design of your counseling intake form
The look of the form will be improved by using a suitable theme. For example, you may use the colors and logo of your brand to invoke your company. You can modify the background, the question’s font, and the arrangement. Browse the design field and unleash your creativity!
5. Share your form with your audience
Choosing a sharing option for your counseling intake form
After completing the four steps above, it’s time to share! There are three sharing options: you can use the direct link, and you can share the form on any social media. You can also embed your form into your website thanks to embedding options.
What should be in a counseling intake form?
In addition to including all the fields of the intake form, the counseling intake form word includes some additional fields where questions may be useful. The therapist or counselor is free to design their own form to use with their client intake process. Still, usually, the counseling intake form will include the following details:
- Patient name
- Medical ID
- Date of birth
- Current age
- Contact details
- Address
- Emergency contact
- Insurance information
- Primary care provider
- Reason for seeking counseling
- Medical history (physical and mental health)
- Current medication
- Specific physical, mental, and behavioral symptoms
💡 You can also ask these questions.
Have you received counseling or therapy before?
Why do you want to receive counseling?
What is the desired outcome of counseling?
Is there any additional information you want to share with the counselor?
Expert tips to create a better counseling intake form
In a counselor intake session, talking is a mistake. As much as possible, speak to them on the phone to get an idea of their situation before they meet you. Fill them in their counseling intake form before your meeting is also helpful. This helps you prepare for the intake session and makes them feel more comfortable with the therapy. Like this, take a look below for some helpful expert tips.
- Clarify your objectives: Start by clearly defining the objective of your intake form. Define the specific information you need to collect and how it will be used. This step is crucial for setting transparent expectations for you and your customers.
- Collect basic information: Collect basic details such as the customer’s full name, contact information (phone number and email), and date of birth. These details are crucial for effective communication and record-keeping.
- Include relevant details: Add relevant sections to align with your counseling practice. Customize your form. For example, consider adding fields for mental health history, trauma experiences, goal setting, or specific concerns.
- Address confidentiality and obtain consent: Include a section informing the client about your privacy policies and obtaining their consent for counseling services. Building trust and ensuring that clients understand the rules and confidentiality is crucial.
- Use clear and simple language: Prepare the form in plain, easy-to-understand. Avoid using technical or complex terminology and provide explanations where necessary.
- Distinguish mandatory and optional fields: Clearly distinguish between mandatory and optional fields. This helps customers understand what information they must provide and what they can choose to omit.
- Design the form: Keep the form as simple and organized as possible. Overly complex forms can overwhelm customers and encourage them not to fill them out.
- Include signature and date fields: Make sure the form includes sections for the client and advisor to sign and date. This is essential for documenting the start of the counseling relationship.
Free intake form templates for your counseling business
Now you know how to create and using intake forms before counseling and what to look out for. Of course, it is also possible to start from scratch, but having a ready-to-go template would be a good start.
From a website intake form template to a therapy intake form, form.app offers you countless templates to get started. Follow the steps above and choose one of the templates below to make an easier start. Follow the steps and choose one of the templates below to start quickly and professionally.
Frequently asked questions about counseling intake forms
These are some frequently asked questions you may want to think about when preparing your counseling intake form. These questions may not be applicable in every situation. Still, they can provide more perspective and suggestions when creating your form, making it more effective. Here, we have asked and answered 3 of the most frequently asked questions about counseling intake forms.
Yes, you should ask for consent in your form. Getting consent from the client establishes a clear understanding of confidentiality and boundaries in the consulting process. It makes sure the client comprehends and approves the consulting policies. This step is crucial for fostering trust and maintaining clear communication between both parties.
Of course, you can embed your intake form on your website quickly and easily. After you have created your form, here are the steps to embed it on your website.
- Open the share page, and there you will see all the embedding options,
- After choosing an embed option, adjust the settings of the embed code, such as height, width, button colors, etc., so that the form complements the design of your website.
- Once you are sure that the form looks good, copy the embed code by clicking on the ‘Get Code’ button,
- Finally, open your website to embed your form, then add the embed code to your website.
Creating a pre-consultation form for therapy sessions in advance is a great idea. This allows you to gather the necessary information from clients before the session so that you can focus on their exact needs in the session.
You can include questions about their background, goals, and specific concerns. This speeds up the process and helps you better tailor your approach to better respond to their needs. You can look at the therapy intake form that may be useful for you.
Wrapping it up
In brief, intake forms have many advantages and conveniences that benefit the business owner and the customer. Most importantly, with intake information, you can predict what kind of person will come and prepare accordingly. It can also help you capture leads and save time.
In this article, we have explained the counseling intake form process and where and how to use it. Now log in to forms.app and use the ready-made templates to create counseling intake forms and provide a better experience for your customers.
Table of Contents
- What is an intake form?
- Types of intake forms
- How can I create an intake form for my counseling business for free?
- What should be in a counseling intake form?
- Expert tips to create a better counseling intake form
- Free intake form templates for your counseling business
- Frequently asked questions about counseling intake forms
- Wrapping it up
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