FREE 9+ Sample Counseling Intake Forms in PDF | MS Word

Counseling is the process of providing assistance by a professional, called a counselor, to people with emotional, psychological, and personal issues, such as alcohol or drug abuse, anxiety, or depression among others. A counseling intake is the first step in every counseling relationship. It is the part where the counselor gets to know the person or patient and his needs before he actually starts helping him. A counseling intake is important because it forms the foundation of the entire counseling journey. It is for this reason that Counseling Forms for the intake process are very important, no matter what kind of counseling you are doing or who your clients are.

Student Counseling Intake Form

Career Counseling Intake Form

Child Counseling Intake Form

Family Counseling Intake Form

Couple Counseling Intake Form in PDF

Parts of a Counseling Intake Form

The intake process for counseling is a combination of both the written and verbal information counselors get from the client during their initial contact. The written information consists of the following:

• Client’s personal information
• Contact details and if the counselor may contact the client at any of the contacts provided
• Health Insurance information
• Emergency contact information
• Physical and mental medical history and hospitalizations
• Current medical conditions, if any
• Current medication and dosage
• Family mental health history
• Past and current substance abuse
• History of any physical, emotional, or sexual abuse and trauma
• Reason for seeking counseling and what the client hopes to accomplish through counseling

After a Counseling Intake Form has been filled out, a counselor would then use a Counseling Form for subsequent sessions to record progress and monitor the client’s behavior. For student counseling, you may see our School Counseling Forms for samples.

Counseling Client Intake Form

Counseling Intake Form Sample

Counseling Intake Assessment Information Form

Counseling Intake Form in Doc

Confidential Counseling Intake Form Example

Why Is Counseling Intake Important?

• During a counseling intake, the counselor gathers information about the client such as his past experiences and perspectives on life. This allows the counselor to get to know the client more and have a deeper sense of understanding of the client’s needs.
• The aforementioned importance then paves the way for the direction the counseling is going to take. This will allow the counselor to focus on issues that are of more importance to the client, and what the counselor feels the client should address.
• During a counseling intake, rapport and trust are built. The client will be divulging his vulnerability to his counselor; therefore, he or she should be able to trust him, right? This is also where the counselor can determine what things the client is comfortable or uncomfortable talking about.

A lot of people would just want to get to the point and get things over with, but counseling is not like that. It is a thorough and careful process. A person’s mental and psychological health is like a delicate flower that needs to be watered every day and taken care of for it to grow and blossom. It is not something that gets better overnight. If you are a student counselor, you may also want to see our Student Counseling Forms for samples.