Terms and Conditions for Therapy

Confidentiality
What you talk about in the session is treated as private and confidential.  There are three exceptions:

• If there is a risk of harm to yourself or another, it may be necessary to contact another professional person (like your GP) about your situation. In most circumstances I will consult you before doing this.
• If a child is at risk.
• as part of good professional practice, I will take some of the material from your session to psychotherapy supervision. Your confidentiality is respected.

All other information about data and privacy is contained in the GDPR signed statement which you will receive separately to sign. This is also published on the website.

Contact.

I do not discuss process issues outside of the counselling sessions via email, text or on the phone.

Communication outside of the session will occur around practical arrangements for session only.

Therapy is not an emergency service.  If any emergency intervention is ever needed this has to be accessed by yourself outside of the session via your GP, your local emergency mental health team or The Samaritans.

Cancellation and Holidays

Once a session is booked, the fee is payable for that session, unless you give at least 48 hours notice of cancellation. If possible, I will offer you an alternative time for a session you cannot attend in the same week.  If it is not possible or you cannot make the alternative time and have not given 48 hours notice, you will be charged for that session.

You do not pay if I cancel a session.

Entry to service and frequency of sessions.

Once I have confirmed there is space in the service, entry to the service requires an initial assessment session where we will discuss all of the presenting issues and decide on a way forward from there.

The assessment is also for both of us to decide whether we will work well together and whether we are a good therapeutic match.

Subsequent sessions occurs on a weekly frequency and happen for 50 minutes or an hour depending on which approach we are using.

Fees:

I accept payment weekly before each session via bank transfer. You will receive the bank details for payment in the confirmation email and the contract before your first session. I no longer accept cash or cheques.

If two payments for session are missed concurrently then I will suspend the therapy until that is paid.  If there is a refusal to pay I will end therapy permanently at this stage.

Contract:

You will be provided with a contract as part of the intake forms at the beginning of therapy stating all of the above that must be signed for us to begin our work.”