How much can a trained therapist tell about a new client before a word is spoken?

Question

I'm talking about non-verbal cues here. (What would appear as telepathy to the lay person)

Answer 1

About the same after they spoke a volume of words.  Absolutely nothing.

Answer 2

Gender is a (usually) obvious one.

Posture says a lot (if a person is sitting rigidly upright, they could be very anxious,if they are slouched, they could be disinterested, if they are sitting/standing in an obviously uncomfortable way, it is common in mania and psychosis,if they are sitting in a relaxed way, it would appear that they are relaxed....and so on)

Eye contact (or lack of)

General appearance (weight, personal hygiene)

Clothing (bizarre and inappropriate clothing is seen often in people who are suffering from Mania / Psychosis, many Anorexics wear many layers of clothing)

Answer 3

they prob. look at their apperence and body language. u can tell a lot about a person by what they're wearing how they look ( clean, dirty, etc.) as well as how they carry themseves (they look happy, sad, trubled and so on.) hope that helps.

Answer 4

A trained therapist would access a new client by body language, facial expressions, they way they sit, hold themselves as they walk through a door, bear in mind the therapist will have background info on a new client anyway, but will access  anyways. eye contact also can tell you about a person. ot lack of it.

Answer 5

if they are experienced then they will have seen 100s of clients walk into the room for the first time. i presume from that there will be patterns about how people smile or say hello or trip over the rug, etc, and hos those relate to their inner world

But I dont think there would be any amazing insights that an ordinary sensitive observant person wouldnt see.

Answer 6

Generally speaking they can tell if male or female.  

Answer 7

a trained therapist could understand allot by just looking at a certain person but without any verbal communication the therapist would only have gained a vague idea about the person. first impressions are not always true they say