GRACE & GRATITUDE COUNSELING, PLLC IS PLEASED TO OFFER:
Not Sounding Like a Robot on Intake Day
First impressions count - and no one likes a clipboard monologue
LIVE ONLINE TRAINING
SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
1:00PM - 3:00PM CENTRAL
Register by September 23, 2025
$59
Many therapists struggle with intake sessions - and clients feel it too.
Intakes too often become paperwork-driven checklists: gather history, tick boxes, get through forms. While technically thorough, this approach can leave clients feeling interrogated instead of understood. The result? Disengagement, no-shows, or the dreaded “one-and-done” session.
What’s really happening is a mix of therapist pressure to “cover everything,” client anxiety or guardedness, relational dynamics where trust isn’t yet established, and structural demands like documentation and time limits.
This course reframes intake as the foundation of the therapeutic relationship. Instead of surviving the first session, you’ll learn to make it engaging, connecting, and clear-without neglecting the requirements. Through interactive teaching, clinical micro-skills practice, and reflection, you’ll leave with a framework that helps clients feel safe, seen, and motivated to return.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
Describe at least two factors that commonly undermine engagement in intake sessions.
Apply a relationship-centered intake model that balances assessment requirements with connection.
Demonstrate clinical micro-skills that build trust and safety during intake.
PRESENTER
Sarah Czopek, LCPC
Sarah Czopek, LCPC is the founder of Grace & Gratitude Counseling, a group practice in Illinois where she supervises and supports early-career clinicians. She’s IFS Level 3 and EMDR certified, and specializes in helping therapists develop confidence, presence, and clinical identity. Sarah created You’re Doing Great! to offer the kind of practical, therapist-to-therapist guidance she wished existed when she was starting out.
LIVE ONLINE TRAINING
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
1:00PM - 3:00PM CENTRAL
Continuing Education Credit is unavailable at this time
Registration closes September 23
The registration fee is $59
If you need special accommodations or have questions, please contact us: [email protected]
(331) 254 - 4464 | 1401 Branding Avenue, Suite 345, Downer's Grove, IL 60515
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