Intake Forms

Intake forms help you collect essential information from new clients before their first session. Serene makes it easy to create, manage, and deploy intake forms that are automatically sent to clients after booking through their Client Portal.

What are Intake Forms?

Intake forms are questionnaires that new clients complete after booking their first appointment. They help you gather important information such as:

• Basic contact details
• Medical and mental health history
• Current symptoms and concerns
• Emergency contact information
• Insurance details
• Consent and agreements

Creating an Intake Form

Prerequisites

Before creating intake forms, you need to have services set up for new clients. To create services:

1. Navigate to Profile > Services
2. Create or edit a service
3. Set the client type to "New Clients" or "Both (New & Returning)"

If you don't have services for new clients, you'll see a warning message in the Library section.

The Creation Workflow

Creating an intake form follows a 5-step process:

Step 1: Getting Started

The Getting Started screen provides an overview of the intake form creation process:

• Form Details: Where you'll name and describe your form
• Build Your Form: Using the AI-powered form builder
• Configure Settings: Assigning forms to services and setting preferences
• Review & Save: Previewing your form before publishing

This introductory step also explains:

• How to edit forms after creation
• How service assignment works
• Tips for organizing your forms

Step 2: Form Details

Provide basic information about your intake form:

• Form Name: A descriptive name to identify your form (e.g., "Standard Intake Form", "Teen Client Intake")
• Form Description: Brief explanation of the form's purpose and what information it collects
• Purpose Tags: Categories to organize your forms (default: "Intake")

The name and description help you manage multiple forms and understand each form's purpose at a glance.

Step 3: Build Form (AI Form Builder)

This is where you design your intake form using the AI Form Builder.

Initial Form Generation: When you enter this step, the AI automatically generates a comprehensive intake form based on:

• Your form name
• Your form description
• Standard intake form best practices

The initial form typically includes:

• Full name fields (first and last)
• Email address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Address information
• Emergency contact details
• Additional fields relevant to your description

You can then use the chat interface to modify, add, or remove sections and fields as needed. See the AI Form Builder documentation for detailed instructions on using chat commands.

AI-Powered Specialized Forms

Our AI is trained to build specialized intake forms for various therapy types and use cases. Simply describe your specific needs in the form description or use the chat interface to specify your use case, and the AI will generate a comprehensive, field-appropriate form tailored to your practice. For example, try descriptions like "couples therapy intake form" or "child therapy assessment form" to get specialized, professional forms automatically.

Step 4: Configure Settings

Configure how and when your intake form is used:

Service Assignment:

• Select which services should include this intake form
• Clients booking these services will receive the form via their Client Portal after booking
• You can assign one form to multiple services, or create unique forms for different services
• Leave unselected to make the form available but not automatically assigned

Form Status:

• Live: Form is active and will be sent to clients after they book
• Draft: Form is saved but won't be sent to clients (useful for forms still in development)

Future Settings (Coming Soon):

• Reminder configuration
• Reminder frequency
• Preferred contact method

Step 5: Review & Save

The final step shows a live preview of your intake form exactly as clients will see it. You can:

• Test the form by filling out fields
• Review all sections and questions
• Navigate through multi-page forms
• Verify field validations and required fields

If you need to make changes:

• Click "Back" to return to the form builder
• Edit the form using the chat interface
• Return to review when finished

Click "Save Form" when you're satisfied with the form.

Managing Intake Forms

Viewing Your Forms

All your intake forms are displayed in the Library page under "Intake Forms". Each form card shows:

• Form Name: The title you gave your form
• Creation Date: When the form was created
• Status Badge: "Live" (green) or "Draft" (red)
• Assigned Services: Services that use this form (or "All Services" if none specifically assigned)
• Action Buttons: Edit, Delete, and View options

Filtering Forms

Use the filter chips at the top to organize your view:

• Live: Show only active forms
• Draft: Show only forms in draft status
• All: Display all forms regardless of status

Editing Forms

To edit an existing intake form:

1. Click the Edit icon on the form card
2. The creation dialog opens at Step 1 (Form Details)
3. Make your changes in any step
4. Save to update the form

Important: Changes to live forms take effect immediately. Clients accessing their forms through the client portal will see the updated version.

Viewing Forms

Click the View button on any form card to see a preview of the form as clients will see it. This preview is identical to what appears in the client portal.

Deleting Forms

To delete an intake form:

1. Click the Delete icon on the form card
2. Confirm the deletion in the popup dialog

Warning: Deleted forms cannot be recovered. If a form is assigned to services, those services will no longer have an associated intake form.

How Clients Complete Intake Forms

After Booking

When a new client books a service that has an assigned intake form:

1. Client completes the booking process (selects service, time, and provides contact information)
2. Booking is confirmed immediately
3. Client receives a notification (via email, SMS, or both) that they have an intake form to complete
4. Client accesses their Client Portal using the link in the notification
5. Client views and completes the required intake form
6. Client submits the form before their scheduled session

Important: Clients are expected to complete their intake forms before their first session. They receive reminders through their preferred notification method (email, SMS, or both) to ensure timely completion.

Client Portal Access

Clients access their intake forms through the Client Portal, where they can:

• View all pending forms that need completion
• Complete forms at their convenience before the session
• Review form requirements and estimated completion time
• Submit completed forms securely

Form Submissions

When a client submits an intake form:

• Their responses are saved to their client record
• You can view the submission in the client's history
• The information is available for review before the session
• You receive a notification when the form is completed

Best Practices

Form Design

Keep It Focused:

• Only ask for information you actually need
• Avoid overly long forms that may discourage bookings
• Break complex forms into clear sections

Use Appropriate Field Types:

• Text fields for names and contact info
• Dropdowns for predefined options
• Checkboxes for multiple selections
• Date pickers for dates of birth
• Text areas for longer responses

Mark Required Fields:

• Use "Add required validation" for essential information
• Leave non-critical fields optional
• Balance thoroughness with user experience

Service Assignment

Match Forms to Services:

• Create specialized forms for different service types (individual therapy, couples counseling, child therapy)
• Assign forms based on the type of information you need
• Use general forms for standard services

Consider Client Experience:

• Shorter forms for brief consultations
• Comprehensive forms for ongoing therapy
• Age-appropriate forms for children and teens

Ongoing Management

Review Regularly:

• Update forms based on changing practice needs
• Remove outdated questions
• Add new sections as required by regulations or best practices

Test Before Going Live:

• Always review the form preview before publishing
• Consider having a colleague test the form
• Set forms to "Draft" while testing

Organize Effectively:

• Use clear, descriptive names
• Add detailed descriptions
• Use purpose tags to categorize forms
• Archive or delete unused forms

Common Use Cases

Standard Intake Form

Create a comprehensive form for general therapy services including demographics, mental health history, current concerns, and consent.

Specialized Intake Forms

• Couples Therapy: Include relationship history, individual and joint goals
• Child/Teen Therapy: Parent information, school details, developmental history
• Group Therapy: Group preferences, previous group experience

Brief Assessment Forms

Short forms for consultation services that only gather essential contact and concern information.

Troubleshooting

Client Didn't Receive Form Notification:

• Verify the form status is "Live" (not Draft)
• Check that the form is assigned to the service the client booked
• Ensure the service client type is set to "New" or "Both"
• Confirm the client's email and phone number are correct in their record

Can't Create Intake Forms:

• Make sure you have services created for new clients
• Navigate to Profile > Services to create or modify services
• Set client type to "New Clients" or "Both"

Client Can't Access or Submit Form:

• Verify the client is accessing the form through their Client Portal
• Check that all required fields are properly validated
• Test the form yourself using the View button
• Verify field types are appropriate for the questions

Lost Changes:

• Changes are only saved when you click "Save Form" in Step 5
• Use the "Back" button to navigate between steps
• Don't close the dialog before saving

Next Steps

After creating your intake forms:

1. Review your forms periodically to ensure they remain relevant
2. Analyze common responses to improve your understanding of incoming clients
3. Update forms based on feedback from clients or staff
4. Create specialized forms as your practice expands

For more information on building forms with the AI-powered chat interface, see AI Form Builder.