How to Create a Therapy Intake Form: What Questions Should You Ask?

The first session sets the foundation for everything that follows in therapy. But if most of those first 50 minutes are spent gathering basic information, you and your client run out of time before you can get to what actually matters.

That's exactly where an intake form comes in. It collects essential information before the client even walks through the door, frees up the first session for real clinical work, and gives the client their first concrete point of contact with their own process.

In this post, we'll cover what questions a well-designed intake form should include, what to watch out for from a KVKK (Turkey's data protection law, equivalent to GDPR) perspective, and which questions you should leave off entirely.

The Three Functions of an Intake Form

A well-designed form does three things at once.

It gathers information. Basic demographics, the client's presenting concern, therapy history — these are clarified before the first session begins.

It manages expectations. The client is given a clear picture of what they'll receive, for how long, and under what conditions. It prevents mismatched expectations before they become a problem.

It establishes a legal foundation. Informed consent, the KVKK data disclosure notice, and your cancellation policy are all documented within the form. A written record replaces a verbal understanding.

Section 1: Basic Personal Information

Name, surname, date of birth, contact details. A note of caution here: requiring all fields as mandatory can be a problem under KVKK. The principle of "data minimization" means you should only collect information you genuinely need.

A phone number should be required (for emergency contact). Email can be optional. Ask for a national ID number only if you need it for invoicing purposes — otherwise, there's no need.

An emergency contact (a name and phone number of someone close to the client) is important. Who can be reached in an acute crisis should be established at the first session.

Section 2: Presenting Concern and Current Situation

This is the most valuable part of the form. Questions should be open-ended and straightforward.

"What brings you here today?" This is the most powerful opening question. It lets the client speak in their own words.

"How long has this been going on?" Duration is the first indicator of whether you're dealing with something acute or chronic.

"Which areas of your life does this affect? (work, relationships, sleep, appetite, other)" A map of functional impairment.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall wellbeing right now?" A rough baseline measure.

"In the past four weeks, have you had any thoughts of harming yourself or others?" This question must not be skipped. If the answer is yes, the first session prioritizes it.

Section 3: Therapy History

"Have you ever received psychological support before?" If yes: when, for how long, what approach, and how was the experience?

These questions aren't just informational. If a previous therapy ended on a positive note, the client's resistance is likely lower. If it ended badly, there may be areas you'll want to be particularly attentive to from the start.

"Are you currently taking any psychiatric medication? If so, which ones?" This information will directly shape your formulation.

"Have you ever been admitted to a psychiatric facility?" This is also important for risk assessment.

Section 4: Social and Family Context

"Who do you live with?" Living alone or within a family unit affects the therapy process in different ways.

"What is your marital status? Do you have children?" A basic map of family dynamics.

"What is your profession? Are you currently working?" This reveals both a financial dimension and potential work-related stressors.

"Is there a history of psychiatric diagnosis or suicide in your family?" Genetic and epigenetic risk assessment.

This section contains sensitive topics, so it's important that questions are framed without judgment and as genuinely optional. Adding a note like this can help: "You are not required to answer the questions in this section. If you'd prefer to discuss these together in our first session, you're welcome to leave them blank."

Section 5: Practical Preferences

"Do you prefer in-person or online sessions? Or does it not matter?"

"Which days of the week and time ranges work best for you?"

"What's your preferred way to communicate with us? (phone, SMS, email)"

"Do you prefer to work in a language other than your native language?"

This information makes scheduling easier and helps the client feel heard from the very start.

Section 6: Legal Foundations

The final section contains legal consents. There should be three separate checkboxes.

"I give my explicit consent to the processing of my personal data in accordance with KVKK." A link to the full disclosure notice should be provided.

"I have read and agree to the informed consent form." This is where the conditions of therapy, your cancellation policy, and the limits of confidentiality are documented.

"I consent to receiving information and reminder messages through my preferred communication channel." Recommended as a separate consent for SMS reminders.

These three items must be presented as separate checkboxes. A single "I agree to all" box does not constitute valid explicit consent under KVKK.

Questions to Leave Off the Form

Some questions do not belong in an intake form. They belong in therapy itself — after trust has been established.

Trauma details. Questions like "Have you been sexually abused? At what age? By whom?" are a serious ethical problem in a form. These topics are explored when the client is ready, at their own pace.

Highly personal sexual content. Details about sexual identity, orientation, and sexual history should only come up in session, when the client feels safe — never in a form.

Financial details. Questions like "What is your income? Do you have debt?" should not appear in the form. The question of how the fee will be paid can be resolved with a simple, separate line item.

Form Length: How Long Is Too Long?

Practical experience shows that a form completable in 8–10 minutes is the ideal length. Shorter and you lose clinically useful information; longer and 20–30 percent of clients abandon the form before finishing it.

After you draft the form, fill it out yourself. Time how long it takes. If it goes over 10 minutes, look for things to cut.

Conclusion: The Form Is Half of the First Session

A well-prepared intake form means your first session can begin not with "who is this person?" but with "what can I do for this person?" That saves time — but more importantly, it makes the client feel valued from the very first minute.

Calemio automatically sends clients a branded intake form the moment they book an appointment. Their responses are encrypted and waiting in the client file before you've even met them. You can start a free trial.