Terms & Conditions

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Sessions

This contract is for in-person sessions. My online therapy contract can be found here. We will agree your desired outcomes and possible duration of therapy during your first session and review progress regularly (every 4-6 weeks depending on expected duration). I work short to medium term (6 to 20 weeks) usually.

Sessions last 50-60 minutes & EMDR may be up to 75 minutes.

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Our relationship

A therapeutic relationship is a collaborative one, where we will work together to reach your therapy goals. I will explain any methods/techniques I feel may benefit you and be guided by your preferences. I will inform you if I feel you would benefit from a therapist with different experience/expertise and I endeavour to help you in as short a time as is appropriate, while allowing you to progress at your own pace, without being rushed. I make no guarantee of outcomes of therapy, but we will assess progress regularly, to check you are getting what you want from therapy.

I am unable to have any social relationship with clients during or after therapy, this includes on social media. To protect your confidentiality, I will not acknowledge you if I see you in public.

We will not usually have contact between sessions, except to schedule appointments.

I do not offer an emergency 24hour service. Please seek urgent support from emergency services or go to hospital (Emergency Department) if you are in crisis and need support to stay safe. The Samaritans also offer confidential telephone support if you need it 24/7 on 116 123. We will create a safety plan if required, but if you need more support than this, I may refer you to an appropriate service via your GP.

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Fees

£60.00 per integrated counselling/psychotherapy session, £75.00 per EMDR or Psychotherapy session, payable on the day please in cash, or by card.

Clients who's fees are covered by health insurance, agree to pay me any excess amount directly, as this is deducted by insurance companies from my payments.

If your fees are covered by your employer, I will invoice them directly.

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Late and missed appointments

It may not be possible to reschedule appointments at short notice. If you’re late, I may still need to end at our scheduled time. I cannot complete a session if you are under the influence of drugs/alcohol. The full fee is due for cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice. I will inform you in advance when I will be on holiday or away.

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Covid-19 - keeping us safe

Although there are no covid restrictions in place, I continue to minimise the risk of infection & our sessions may be disrupted if one of us becomes unwell. If you have any cold/flu/covid symptoms please do not attend & let me know as soon as you can. We will decide whether to reschedule or conduct the session by phone or video call. I may need to cancel if I am unwell in the interest of public safety.

If I get covid symptoms, I will do lateral flow tests & offer you the choice to attend if they are negative. 

Please arrive on time for your session to avoid using the waiting room where possible, I will meet you at the front door.

I provide bottled water & sealed tissue packs, which I ask you to take with you if you use them, you are of course welcome to bring your own.

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Confidentiality

I am a member of the NCS, GHR and BACP and I am bound by their codes of ethics. Any information entered on forms or discussed in sessions is treated with the utmost confidence.  

We may need to get permission from your consultant or GP to use Hypnosis if you suffer from: Epilepsy, Psychiatric or severe mental health issues, or have certain heart/lung conditions so please inform me if any of these apply to you.

I make brief session notes to comply with my insurance requirements & help me monitor the progress of our work. All personal data, including contact details, client information record & session notes is kept confidential in line with the General Data Protection Regulations. I will keep your information for 5 years from our last session & they will be destroyed or archived after this depending on whether there is an ethical reason to keep them any longer. Should something happen to me and I am unable to contact you myself, a trusted therapist will let you know by phone or email – they will only have access to your contact details if I am unable to contact you myself. In the event of my death your notes will be destroyed by this trusted therapist, without being read.

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Exceptions to Confidentiality:

I am required to discuss my clients with a supervisor, and this is done without identifying you. I must pass on any information to the relevant authorities in cases where human safety is concerned including the following cases:

1. If you threaten harm to another person/s or if I believe a child or protected adult is at risk of harm

2. If the courts instruct me to give information

3. If you share information about a proposed act of terrorism or other illegal act          

4. If I believe you are at risk and unable to make an informed decision about seeking help

I will always endeavour to discuss my decision first with you to break confidentiality.

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Complaints

If you have any issues with my service, you can let me know and I will work to resolve this to your satisfaction, however I understand that this may be difficult, so you can make a complaint directly to the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy.