Terms of Service
My contract, which I send to clients who have booked their initial session, contains the most essential points from my terms, but here is some extra information in case you need it.
- Bookings
- Cancellations
- Complaints
- Confidentiality
- Contract for Sessions
- Data Protection
- Ethics
- Fees
- Ground Rules
- Minors
- Records
- Supervision
- Video and Telephone Sessions
Bookings
I accept bookings via email, text, or phone call. I am unable to accept bookings with less than 24 hours’ notice, and prefer at least three days’ notice.
Cancellations
In the event of you cancelling or missing a session without a 48h-hour notice period, my full fee will be charged, unless a mutually agreeable time for re-scheduling can be identified. Exceptions are made for serious illness, childcare issues, or unforeseen crises.
If you fail to attend two consecutive sessions without contacting me I will consider that you have terminated this contract. A high rate of non-attendance will warrant a review of the relevancy of the work at this time in your life and your commitment to it.
As the therapist to client relationship is exclusive, there is usually no cover if I am on vacation, ill or otherwise absent. However, if I experience serious long-term illness or injury that prevents me from being able to continue as your counsellor I will endeavour to arrange for a replacement therapist to contact you and provide you with support until you make further arrangements.
Complaints
If you have a complaint with me then I ask for you to raise it directly with me. If you feel this has been unsuccessful then you should direct your complaint to either or both of the following:
- my accrediting body, the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS)
- my transactional analysis-specific professional body, the United Kingdom Association for Transactional Analysis (UKATA)
One of the most common reasons for complaints, according to the Psychologists Protection Society (PPS), is a rupture in the therapeutic relationship. Ruptures are a natural part of the therapeutic process and don't necessarily need to lead to an end to the relationship, so I recommend you read my blog post about ruptures before progressing to a complaint.
Confidentiality
There are a few limits to the confidentiality I offer. I am legally obliged to:
- report acts of terrorism, in accordance with the Terrorism Act 2000
- hand over confidential information to a judge, if they demand it. I will decline unless this is explicitly demanded via a court order (sub poena)
- contact 999, your local psychiatric service, or your local Emergency Rooms, if you disclose that there is a serious risk to your own or someone else’s life. In addition to this, I have a procedure to evaluate the risk with the support of other professionals to support you in removing that risk
- contact your local authorities if you disclose that a child is currently experiencing or is in danger of experiencing abuse, as defined by the Children Act 1989. I will endeavour to support you in acting to protect that child. If the abuse is serious I have procedures to act for the benefit and protection of the child that do not necessarily require the source of the information to be revealed
Whenever possible, if I feel that we need to suspend confidentiality for one of these reasons, I would discuss the matter with you and arrange appropriate support before any action was taken.
My discussions with my supervisor will remain confidential within our supervisory structure, and will be used to support my provision of therapy to you.
Contract for Sessions
You are not contractually required to book a 15 minute chat prior to our initial session, but 15 minutes can be useful to help you determine whether you feel comfortable talking to me, whether I fit any specific requirements you may have (e.g., if you're a therapy student needing personal therapy hours from somebody with the appropriate level of qualification, or if you want to work with somebody with specific lived experiences), and for me to establish that I can work competently with the issues you would like to bring. As such these short appointments aren't aimless "chats", but they have a certain level of informality, so I refer to them as such.
I will send you a copy of my business contract prior to our first full-length session.
Your initial session will serve as a useful taster of how our future sessions are likely to go. As such, it's the final 'frontier' before we fully start the work that you and I will do together. I generally recommend one session per week, but if you require less, we can discuss this. I will seek to agree on a treatment contract with you during your first or second session so that we are both explicitly clear about the work we are doing together.
The normal duration of a session is fifty minutes for individual (one-to-one) therapy, and seventy-five minutes for couples' therapy.
If you are under 18 you may come on your own or with a second person if you wish. Please advise me beforehand whether you wish to be accompanied by a parent, carer, teacher, other trusted adult, or a friend.
Data Protection
All information that you provide to me is kept securely. Under exceptional circumstances, certain authorities can request legal access to records. I will refuse access unless court-ordered by a judge.
Ethics
I subscribe to and follow the Ethical and Professional codes of the UK Association for Transactional Analysis (UKATA) and the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). Both of these links lead to the respective Codes of Ethics if you wish to read them.
Fees
Please see my How I Work page for current information. I accept payment either in cash or via a bank account specified in my contract, which I will send you prior to your first full session. I require payment prior to our session, 24 hours before the session at the latest.
I take payment for the initial session at the same hourly rate as all subsequent sessions.
Ground Rules
I work with the expectation of mutual respect and valuing. I will end a session if:
- The client or anyone with them is abusive.
- The client or anyone with them threatens or acts to injure himself or herself, to hurt me or other staff, or to damage property.
- The client or anyone with them is under the influence of, or in possession of, alcohol or illegal drugs.
You may at some time want someone to join you in a session. Please plan this with me.
The premises on which I work are no smoking spaces. This includes vaping.
Minors
I work with minors aged 16 and over on the understanding that it is understood that I will not reveal specific details of conversations with my clients to third parties, including guardians. I insist on the protection of my client's privacy as a therapeutic necessity, regardless of age.
The emotional and physical environment that the young person experiences is highly dependent on the caregivers and I will on occasion make general suggestions to the caregiver that are intended to facilitate the desired outcome. Such conversations will usually occur in the presence of the client.
The client should make payment of fees, even if parents, guardians or carers are providing the money. This recognises the client’s control over the working contract.
Records
It is normal practice for a therapist to write notes about each session. These constitute factual details, reflection on the counselling process, the making of therapeutic contracts, and progress towards goals. You may view the records of your sessions on request as per GDPR, and potentially with a few days' wait.
I keep hand-written and spreadsheet records of sessions. My hand-written notes are kept in a locked safe, and my spreadsheet is password protected. I will keep these for seven years after your final session.
I reserve the right to use any recorded or written material to defend myself in case of allegations or complaint being made by a client or their legal carer/guardian.
Supervision
Therapists are mandated to attend regular guidance and support from another, usually more experienced therapist, who is referred to as a "supervisor". Supervision is a qualification in its own right.
I routinely exceed the required amount of supervision by attending 1 50-minute session, a 90-minute group session, and on most months, a full day's group supervision. At the time of writing, I am required by my professional bodies to have at least 90 minutes of supervision per month.
Video or Telephone Sessions
I provide counselling in person at any one of a variety of locations throughout Bristol, an updated list of which can be found on most pages of this web site.
Video or telephone calls are also available. If we are on a video call and our connection drops, I will attempt to call again three times to continue the session. If we are on a telephone call and it drops, I will wait for you to call again to continue the session. If the call does not reconnect or the connection is weak enough to disrupt our communication then I will email or text you to advise that this is the case, and arrange our next session with you.
If you would like telephone sessions, please note that my phone line can be rather weak, so telephone calls over WhatsApp are strongly recommended, as the connection there is stronger.
Please note that I will use a room to conduct a telephone or video session such that your confidentiality on my end of the line is assured. I ask that you do the same at your end.
