Why Do We Ask for a Client Intake Form?

It might seem as if everywhere you go these days you’re asked to fill out another form; and your massage therapist is no exception. We do have some very good reasons for asking you to fill our intake form before we get started working with you, and they are essential for both of us to make sure that you get the very best from your massage experience.

Why Do We Need Information from You?
It gives us a background on you, your current health and any issues you might be experiencing that we need to consider. It also gives us an insight into what you want from your massage therapy. Different illnesses and conditions affect everybody in diverse ways. That sounds obvious but knowing exactly what you are dealing with, feeling and managing health-wise is a crucial factor in how we’ll proceed with your treatment, so we need to know any symptoms you might be experiencing and how they affect you. A client intake form should ask you all the right questions so that your therapist can come up with the perfect session or treatment plan for you.

Avoiding Problems
In addition to giving us the lowdown on what you need from us, an intake form also helps us to decide what NOT to do. Some therapies and treatments and even some essential oils used in aromatherapy (for example) can be contraindicated for pregnancy and some other medical conditions. If we know this in advance we can tailor your treatment to avoid anything that could potentially cause you problems. It’s also helpful to know about allergies so that we avoid using products that could cause a reaction, or if you have any injuries that could be aggravated by massaging the area.

What to Expect in a Client Intake Form
A good intake form should ask you for a brief review of your medical history, including all of the above and any current medications. Remember to mention anything that could be relevant including pregnancy, accidents, injuries, surgeries you’ve had and medical conditions which could affect your treatment. Make sure that you tell the therapist about any issues you’re currently dealing with too – even if they are trivial. If you’re suffering from regular stress headaches, for example, your therapist will be able to feel for knots and tension in the muscles that could be causing the problem, and concentrate on those during a massage. We’ll need to take your contact details, too, and date of birth, for our records.

Once we have this basic document to work with we can ask you questions that will help us to get to the bottom of what you need from your massage or treatment. A good therapist should never rely just on the intake form for their information, they should set aside plenty of time before the initial treatment to talk through your answers and ask you about your health needs and what you want from your session. A client intake form is there to help you and your therapist, so fill it in as comprehensively as you can and we’ll make sure that you get a massage that really does the work.