Terms & Conditions
The aim of these terms and conditions is to provide you with information about me and how I practice.
About me
I am a qualified and insured Counsellor/Psychotherapist and member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I practice within the BACP ‘Ethical Framework for Counsellors’, and the BACP Guidelines for Online Counselling and Psychotherapy. Information relating to both documents can be found at www.bacp.co.uk .
I work in private practice offering both face-to-face counselling and online counselling for adults aged 18+. I am committed to offering a service which is welcoming and non-discriminatory. I am empathic, understanding, and genuine. Although I may sometimes challenge your ways of thinking, I am not critical or judgemental.
What is counselling?
Counselling provides an opportunity to explore a personal difficulty in a confidential and supportive environment. This may include expressing feelings or describing events and experiences that are painful or upsetting. Counselling can support you in processing what has happened in your life, understanding yourself better and finding ways to move forward.
What sort of issues can I contact you about?
Counselling may be able to help with a wide range of issues. If I feel that through my counselling, I am not able to offer you the most suitable means of support I will make every effort to assist you in a referral to a more suitable alternative source of support.
Fees and method of payment
My fees are £50 per hour for individuals. I do offer some reduced fees for students on counselling courses. All fees are payable by bank transfer at the end of each session.
Appointments, Late Arrivals, Cancelled and Missed Appointments
Once you have booked a session, this time is yours; if you arrive late, we will still need to end at your regular finishing time. If you need to cancel a session, unless I receive adequate notice, I will still ask for full payment because I have set this time aside for you.
I do not charge if:
· you give me 48 hours or longer notice
· if you are ill
· if there is a genuine emergency.
However, if you choose not to come and miss an appointment then I will charge the full fee.
Of course, I too will contact you should I need to reschedule but please be assured this seldom happens. If I must cancel an appointment, I will give you as much notice as possible and you will not be charged for the missed session.
Where either party experiences a technological breakdown which prevents us meeting online or exchanging emails, we would discuss how to re-arrange the scheduled appointment.
How does counselling online work?
We will agree an ‘appointment time’ and the platform through which we will hold our sessions. I will log into the relevant platform and begin our session at the agreed time. We will be visible to each other via a webcam, and we may use headphones to improve the sound quality of the call.
Confidentiality and Safety
As a member of the BACP, I abide by their code of ethics. Anything discussed during our sessions is confidential apart from certain legal or ethical constraints. For example, in accordance with these guidelines, all my practice is supervised. I will therefore share some of the content of your sessions (but not who you are) with my supervisor. My records are kept securely in accordance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation 2018).
All personal information disclosed will be kept confidential and not used for any purposes other than a counselling record.
Under certain circumstances it may be necessary for me to discuss your therapy. This may happen if:
· I am compelled to break confidence by a court of law, child protection or the terrorism act.
· The information you give me is of such gravity that confidentiality cannot be maintained e.g. where there is a possibility of harm to yourself, others or in cases of crime. In such circumstances I would always try and talk to you first.
I will maintain professional boundaries and as such our therapeutic relationship cannot progress into a friendship. If we were to meet accidentally outside of your sessions, I would not acknowledge you first, this is only because you may not want to explain to other people who I am.
Confidentiality and Safety Online
I will maintain a confidential environment when working online. It is important that you consider and ensure that you can maintain a confidential environment and keep yourself safe when working with me online. It is recommended that you do not engage in online counselling using a public computer where you could be viewed or overheard by others. We will agree a signal to halt counselling should the confidentiality of the environment we are working in be breached in any way.
Please note that I cannot guarantee the confidentiality of online platforms beyond the assurances given by the platform provider themselves.
Guidelines for emergency contact
My counselling does not provide an emergency service for clients. In the event of an emergency arising during our sessions I will discuss with you the appropriate support that you could access. If you found yourself in a major crisis and were considering serious self harm it would be vital to get immediate help. This could include contacting your GP, or your nearest accident and emergency service (A&E). You could also call the Samaritans on 0345909090 or email jo@samaritans.org (email emergency support).
Concluding your therapy sessions
You are free to end counselling at any time and there is no expectation that you must complete a minimum number of sessions. When we are ending our work together it is useful to do this over several sessions so we can review the work and end in a safe and positive manner.