Therapy Agreement

When we work together, I will send you a Therapy Agreement which outlines details about therapy and what to expect. I will ask all clients to sign this and complete basic client information (name, DOB and contact details). I have shared the key points below to help answer questions you might have.

Payment, Cancellations and Lateness

Sessions bookings are confirmed once payment has been received. Please make your payment via bank transfer by 48 hours prior the session so I have notice of upcoming sessions. Cancellations within 48 hours of an agreed session that cannot be rescheduled within the same week will incur 50% cancellation fee. The other 50% will either be refunded or carried over to the following week if you’re continuing the sessions.

If I need to cancel a session, I will give you as much notice as possible and try to arrange an alternative time that week. You will not be charged if I am unable to attend. I will notify you in advance of any breaks, such as holidays or dates I am unavailable, and ask that you do the same.

Sessions cannot overrun to compensate for late arrival. If you are more than 10 minutes late without prior notice, the session will be cancelled and the full fee will apply. I will contact you to reschedule. If you do not attend two sessions in a row without notice, we can discuss barriers and whether they can be worked around or if now is the right time for you to engage in therapy. 

If you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol at your appointment, we will not be able to go ahead with the session. Abusive behaviour will result in the immediate end of the session.

Couples Counselling Online

Online sessions are held via Google Meet and I will send the link once the booking is confirmed. Please ensure you have a stable internet connection and are in a quiet, private place where you will not be disturbed or overheard.

Confidentiality

As a registered member of the College Of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (CORST), I work within their Code of Ethics and Conduct Procedure. My CORST membership number is: 5232

What you disclose will be kept confidential between us, however, there are exceptions where I have a legal duty of care to report the information to the appropriate authorities, which are evidence of money laundering, terrorism, or abuse of children or vulnerable adults.

Additionally, as part of my ethical practice, I have regular clinical supervision where I may discuss your case to ensure I am supporting you appropriately, but your identity will always be anonymised.

For couples/co-parents, anything you share with me separately will not be disclosed to the other.

No audio or video recordings will take place without our express mutual agreement.

Session Notes and Data Protection

Brief, factual notes will be made regarding each session as a reminder of what has been covered and using your initials only. The information about confidentiality in no way contravenes your rights under the GDPR (2018) to access personal data that your therapist holds about you. Notes will be stored securely until 5 years after the date of our last session. It is your right as a client to request to see your notes. Please note that any disclosure of notes from couple or family sessions will require consent from the other parties before being shared.

Contact between sessions

Contact between sessions only occurs for managing sessions and payments. 

Many people prefer to keep therapy private, so if I see you out in public, I will not approach you or greet you, nor connect with you on social media.

I do not offer a crisis service, so if you urgently need help or support outside of our arranged session times, please reach out to crisis service providers: call 111 or 999 for emergency services; make an appointment with your GP; or call Samaritans for free on 116 123.

Ending Therapy

You will probably know when you are ready to finish therapy, and we will agree together on the work we need to do to prepare for this. Whilst you are within your rights to stop therapy at any time, endings are a valuable part of the work we will be doing together, so please give me at least two sessions notice if you’re able to. You may at times find therapy difficult and feel a need to end therapy. I ask if you can talk about these difficulties rather than suddenly ending, so that we have the opportunity to resolve important issues and end our work therapeutically.