RTT Client Assessment & Goal Setting 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During RTT intake, a client says they want to stop procrastinating at work. Which follow-up question BEST deepens the assessment?
- 'What is your job title and how long have you been employed there?'
- 'What do you believe about yourself that causes you to procrastinate?' (Correct answer)
- 'Have you read any self-help books about productivity?'
- 'How many hours per day do you spend procrastinating?'
Correct answer: 'What do you believe about yourself that causes you to procrastinate?'
RTT assessment seeks the underlying belief driving the behavior, not surface-level descriptions, because the belief is what the therapy targets.
Question 2: A client describes their problem using very intellectual language and avoids emotional expression. What should the RTT practitioner do during assessment?
- Accept the intellectual framing and proceed without exploring emotions
- Gently guide the client to connect with the feelings underneath their story (Correct answer)
- Conclude the client is unsuitable for RTT due to emotional unavailability
- Ask the client to return only when they feel more emotionally open
Correct answer: Gently guide the client to connect with the feelings underneath their story
Intellectualization can be a defense mechanism; skilled RTT practitioners compassionately guide clients toward emotional access needed for transformational work.
Question 3: In the RTT framework, why is it important to assess whether a client's goal is 'toward' or 'away from' motivated?
- To classify the client into a behavioral personality type
- Because moving toward a desired state creates stronger, more sustained motivation than moving away from a problem (Correct answer)
- To determine whether to use direct or indirect suggestion in hypnosis
- Because away-from goals are contraindicated in RTT
Correct answer: Because moving toward a desired state creates stronger, more sustained motivation than moving away from a problem
Toward-motivated goals align with the brain's approach system, producing more durable change; RTT goal setting steers clients toward positive desired states.
Question 4: A client reports that their anxiety began after a specific traumatic incident five years ago. How does this information affect RTT goal setting?
- It confirms the issue is too recent for hypnotic regression to access
- It suggests the regression should explore both the recent incident and any earlier sensitizing events that may have primed the response (Correct answer)
- It means the practitioner should refer the client to a trauma specialist immediately
- It indicates the goal should focus only on present-day coping strategies
Correct answer: It suggests the regression should explore both the recent incident and any earlier sensitizing events that may have primed the response
RTT recognizes that a triggering event often activates earlier sensitizing experiences, so assessment and regression address the full timeline of the issue.
Question 5: Which ethical principle must guide an RTT practitioner when setting goals collaboratively with a client?
- Beneficence only — the practitioner always knows what is best for the client
- Autonomy — the client's self-determined goals must be respected and central to the process (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence — goal setting should be avoided if there is any potential for emotional discomfort
- Justice — all clients in similar situations should receive the same standardized goals
Correct answer: Autonomy — the client's self-determined goals must be respected and central to the process
Respecting client autonomy means the client's own goals drive the therapeutic contract, with the practitioner serving as a skilled guide.
Question 6: What does RTT assessment reveal when a client simultaneously wants to change a behavior AND expresses strong resistance to giving it up?
- The client is lying about wanting to change and should be dismissed
- Ambivalence rooted in secondary gain or competing beliefs that must be explored before therapy proceeds (Correct answer)
- A neurological barrier to hypnotic suggestibility
- Confirmation that the issue requires medication rather than therapy
Correct answer: Ambivalence rooted in secondary gain or competing beliefs that must be explored before therapy proceeds
Ambivalence signals competing beliefs or secondary gains that RTT addresses directly to build true readiness for change.
Question 7: After completing a thorough RTT intake assessment, what should the practitioner summarize back to the client before beginning the hypnosis session?
- A list of all the diagnoses that may apply to the client's condition
- The client's presenting issue, identified root themes, and the agreed-upon transformation goal (Correct answer)
- The practitioner's clinical qualifications and professional background
- The risks and side effects of hypnotherapy in clinical detail
Correct answer: The client's presenting issue, identified root themes, and the agreed-upon transformation goal
Summarizing the issue, root themes, and goal aligns both parties, reinforces the therapeutic contract, and helps the client feel understood before hypnosis begins.
RTT Client Assessment & Goal Setting 4
During RTT intake, a client says they want to stop procrastinating at work.
Which follow-up question BEST deepens the assessment?