Your Intake Form Is Missing a Chapter
Oct 23, 2026
Your Intake Form Is Missing a Chapter | Rouse Academy Blog
Your Intake Form Is Missing a Chapter
Asking clients about their tech isn’t nosy. It’s the question that tells you who else is in the room.
Your clients are talking to someone between sessions. Sometimes it’s a friend, sometimes a journal, and increasingly it’s a chatbot at 2 a.m. that never gets tired, never judges, and always replies in under three seconds.
Our intake forms haven’t caught up. We ask about sleep, substances, family history, and relationships. But we rarely ask the question that tells us who else is in the room: what’s your relationship with technology?
I’ve started adding a short tech section to my intake, and it’s become one of the most useful parts of the paperwork. Here’s why I think you might want to, and the questions I use.
Why this belongs in intake
You can’t be curious about what you don’t know exists.
A client who’s been processing their breakup with an AI companion for six months has already done a lot of meaning-making. That’s clinically relevant. So is the client who has been quietly using a chatbot as their only confidant because shame kept them from telling anyone else.
It’s a shame-reduction move.
Clients often hide their chatbot use because they assume we’ll roll our eyes or take it personally. When it’s printed on the form like any other question, it gets normalized. You’re signaling: nothing here is too weird to say out loud. Shame less, love more.
It’s access and equity information.
For many of my LGBTQ+, kink-practicing, polyamorous, and BIPOC clients, an AI tool or an online community was the first place they could ask a question without being pathologized. Plenty of people turn to these tools because the mental health system hasn’t always been safe or available. If we respond with suspicion instead of curiosity, we repeat the very dynamic that sent them there.
It’s a clinical data point.
Hours spent soothing anxiety with a chatbot, patterns of scrolling, and wellness apps already in the toolbox all tell us about coping, avoidance, isolation, and what’s already working.
The questions I use
Here’s my version. Feel free to take it and make it yours.
Technology Use Questions
Do you use AI chatbots or conversational AI (like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or companion apps) in your life?
☐ Yes ☐ No · If yes, circle: Work / Personal / Both
If yes, which ones? Tell me what you’re using, whether that’s a big-name LLM, an AI companion app, or something niche you found last week.
Roughly how many hours a week do you spend using a chatbot for emotional, personal, or therapy-ish stuff?
Venting, advice, processing, comfort, practicing hard conversations. No wrong answers.
What digital wellness tools are already in your self-care toolkit?
Meditation apps, mood trackers, journaling apps, sleep tools, and so on.
Which social media platforms do you actually use regularly?
On an average day, how much time do you spend doom scrolling?
We’ve all been there. I’m just curious about your number.
A few notes on my edits: I added “therapy-ish” and the parenthetical examples because clients under-report when a question sounds clinical or judgmental. Naming venting, comfort, and rehearsing hard conversations gives them permission to say yes. I also kept the “what are you already using” framing on the wellness tools question so it reads as a strength, not a deficit.
What to do with the answers
The form is only the doorway. The real work is the conversation that follows.
- Lead with curiosity. “Tell me about what that’s like for you” will get you further than “How do you feel about that?” with a client who expects a lecture.
- Listen for function. Is the chatbot a bridge to connection, a substitute for it, or a rehearsal space? The same behavior can be any of the three.
- Notice what’s missing. If a client lists no digital tools and no human support, that’s worth gently exploring.
- Revisit it. Technology habits change fast. A six-month check-in is reasonable.
- Talk about privacy. Many clients don’t realize that what they type into a chatbot may be stored or used in ways a therapy session isn’t. You don’t need to scare anyone. A calm, informative conversation about what they’re comfortable sharing and where goes a long way.
One caveat
Adding these questions doesn’t mean you have to become a tech expert. You just need to be willing to ask and stay curious. Your clients are already living in this world, and our job, as always, is to meet them where they are.
Update your forms, ask the questions, and don’t be surprised when someone says, “Oh my god, thank you for asking. I’ve been dying to tell someone about this.”
Shame-free practice, one tool at a time
Want more practical tools for bringing affirming, shame-reducing work into your sessions?
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