Privacy | Terms & Conditions
Your Privacy
I will only use your personal data for the administration of the counselling service that I am providing for you. I will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary.
Your privacy is important and your personal information will be kept safe. Secured in a locked filing cabinet or on a device that is password protected and only known by myself which has antiviral software installed.
At the beginning of your first appointment I will ask you to complete a personal details form containing your name, address, date of birth, contact information and also contact information for your GP.
Counsellors are required to keep records after therapy has ended. For reasons such as in the case of financial transactions, personal information must be retained for as long as legally required in respect of tax or accounting purposes. Keeping your notes also ensures that should you recommence counselling with me, I can offer you an efficient service. Seven years after therapy has ended your therapy notes will be destroyed.
Occasionally I may need to share a limited amount of personal data with third parties in order to provide therapy services to you and to fulfil legal obligations.
Counselling Contract | Terms & Conditions
Counselling Sessions and Fees
I charge £50 for individuals and £60 for couples per session. However if evidence of extreme financial hardship is provided, this fee is flexible.
Your counselling sessions will last for 60 minutes and I offer weekly or fortnightly counselling.
Your full £50 or £60 fee has to be paid before each session.
The time of the session will be, as far as possible, the same time and day of the week.
Cancellation and Charges
I will not be able to keep the counselling space open for you in the following circumstances:
If you do not attend 1 counselling session without contacting me.
If you feel the need to cancel sessions with regularity.
Where possible I would wish to discuss your cancellations with you before I take any action.
Occasionally I may be unable to attend a session but I will give you, where possible, as much advanced notice of this.
Confidentiality Policy
Your counselling sessions are confidential and this confidentiality will apply to any records in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
All counsellors are required to be in supervision and I will take relevant issues from the counselling relationship into supervision. Essentially I will take care to preserve your anonymity.
In exceptional circumstances confidentiality may be broken. These circumstances could include:
- Where you as a client give consent for the confidence to be broken.
- Where I feel it is appropriate to consult with, or involve other professionals such as your GP where there is a risk of harm to you or to a third party. In these situations I will aim to assist you to discuss your circumstances with these professionals yourself.
- Where in extreme cases I am legally compelled by a court of law.
- Where statutory law requires me to inform the relevant authorities (such as terrorist activities, drug trafficking or abuse of a child or vulnerable adult).
Complaints Procedure
I am member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). I adhere to their Ethical Framework for Good Practice and a copy of this code is available from their website. If you have any concerns or you wish to make a complaint I would welcome a discussion with you and if you feel dissatisfied with my response BACP is my governing body.
