Terms & Conditions ~

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Terms & Conditions

1. I am a Registered Member (408679) of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). I follow their ethical framework, and am subject to their Professional Conduct Procedure. I have professional indemnity insurance with Holistic Insurance Services.
    
2. Time - Sessions are 50 minutes long, unless we agree otherwise. The times, dates and frequency can be discussed at the first session. The counselling is open-ended, so there is no limit to the number of sessions.
    
3. Fees - The fee is £60 per 50-minute appointment, payable by direct electronic bank transfer (BACS), before the session starts. If the fee is not paid prior to the session, the session will not be able to take place. Bank details will be provided once the first session is booked.
    
4. Location - The sessions will take place at my private practice in central Reading. I will send you the location and directions, once I have confirmed our first session.  Alternatively, the sessions can take place online over Zoom. You will need to be in a private space where you won’t be overheard or interrupted. I will be in a room where you cannot be overheard or seen on my screen by anyone else.
    
5. Confidentiality - Counselling is confidential. This means I will not share information about      you with a third party unless you consent to that disclosure.
   
   Exceptions to confidentiality - There are circumstances when I might need to disclose information about you, even without your consent. These are:
       – If you or someone else, particularly a child or vulnerable adult, is at risk of serious harm
       – If there is a legal obligation relating to your involvement in a serious crime
       – If it is essential to prevent a serious threat to either public health or national security
       – If there is a court order requesting information about you.
       Please note that, where possible, I will always seek your consent before making a disclosure.
    
6. Confidentiality in my own supervision - I talk regularly to another experienced counsellor about my practice. This is called ‘supervision’ and is confidential too. If I discuss your sessions in my supervision, then I will not use your name or otherwise knowingly identify you.
    
7. Privacy - I record your name, address, age and contact information. I use this information for essential administrative tasks. I do not share it with others without your consent unless I am legally or ethically required to do so, as in the confidentiality statement above.
   
   During our work, you may share a range of sensitive personal information, but I do not routinely record it. As a memory aid, I might sometimes make brief factual notes about our sessions, but these are stored securely, kept separately from your contact and other details and are anonymised, so they do not identify you. You can see a more detailed privacy statement at my website.
    
8. Contact between sessions - We will normally have no personal or professional relationship other than counsellor and client. If this changes in any way (e.g. we became colleagues in another setting), then we will discuss how this might affect your counselling.
    
9. I can only see you by prior appointment - You are welcome to contact me between sessions to discuss practical matters, such as rescheduling sessions. I usually reply to emails within two working days. Please bring all other issues (e.g. personal matters, thoughts and      feelings about the counselling, events in your life) to your next session. If you require urgent assistance, please contact NHS direct (call 111), your GP, the emergency services (call 999) or the Samaritans (freephone 116 123).
    
10. Cancellations - Due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances, I might need to cancel a      session. I will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and to arrange an alternative appointment. If I am due to be on holiday or working away, e.g. on a training course, then I will try to give you at least two weeks’ notice.
    
    If you are unable to make a session, please let me know as soon as possible, then we can arrange another session, which will usually be at the same time/day in the following week. More than 24 hours’ notice of  cancellations is greatly appreciated and incurs no fee. If you arrive late, unfortunately I will not be able to extend the session, as this will affect my other appointments.
    
    For late cancellations (less than 24 hours’ notice), I charge the full fee. If there is an outstanding fee, then I will not be able to arrange another session until that fee is paid.
    
    If you miss an appointment, I will contact you to see if you’d like to reschedule. If I don’t hear from you within a week, then I will assume you no longer wish to continue with counselling, but please do get back in touch if you’d like to restart your sessions. I will ask that you let me      know of any intended breaks or holidays that you will be taking. I in turn will give you notice of mine.
     
11. Reviewing and ending counselling - Reviewing how your counselling is going will be a natural part of our work. We can also dedicate whole sessions to reviewing the counselling, if you feel that would be useful.
    
    You may end counselling at any time. Sometimes it can be valuable to have  a planned final session rather than stopping more suddenly, so please let me know if you would like to talk about ending our work together, but this is entirely up to you.