Counselling Contract Terms & Conditions

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Below are the Together Let’s Change terms and conditions for client information. These will explain what the expectations are between the client and counsellor for the service that is offered throughout the counselling process.  

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What is the cancellations and payments policy?

• Sessions will be held at a mutually convenient time, agreed beforehand by both parties
• Appointments are weekly and/or fortnightly agreed at the initial assessment/consultstion and will last for 50 minutes per session.
• Once the initial assessment/consultation has taken place, and the on-going sessions agreed, a double session payment is taken.
• This will not be chargeable in the last session unless the terms and conditions have not been adhered to by giving 48 hours notice.
• If unable to attend any given session, this requires 48 hours notice or there will be a charge of the full agreed session fee
• On-going session payments are paid 48 hours in advance to ensure room bookings are secured and to allow for other clients to access the allocated slot.
• The initial payment made will not be refundable, if 48 hours notice has not been given, and there will be a further session payment required to secure your next booking.

• If the 48 hours notice is not given to end counselling/coaching, and the client fails to make prior contact, appointments will be released, and there will be no refund of payments.

Is what I tell the counsellor confidential?

The Sessions are treated as confidential at all times; however, exceptions in breaking confidentiality are where there is:

• ‍Circumstances relating to serious risk of harm to the client or others.
• Identifying risks to children or vulnerable adults.
• Suspected acts of terrorism, trafficking or money laundering.

If the counsellor/coach feels that for any reason confidentiality needs to be broken, then wherever possible, this will be discussed between the counsellor and the client(s), and they will be informed in any event of disclosure made relating to the client(s) or others.

• If there is an immediate risk of safety to a client, therapy may not be appropriate at that time as counselling is not a crisis service provider and may require other specialised professionals.
• Parents of children and young people will only be given confidential information at their child's request, or in the event of any concerns raised by either party. This will be discussed with the client before this takes place, where possible, unless there is a risk of serious harm.
• Once counselling commences with a child or young person, and there is information that could be useful to share, this will be shared in conjunction with the child or young person's knowledge and discussed in the session.
• If the appropriate adult would like to attend a session with a child or young person once the therapy commences, this must be with the knowledge and consent of the child or young person unless there is a risk to their safety.
• The parent/guardian(s) will be given a copy of the counselling agreement to sign for children under 14 years old, which will be discussed and explained at the initial consultation.
• Clients are to be able to engage in therapy by not being intoxicated or affected by illicit drugs. In the event the client is not 'fit' to attend the session, the client will be asked to leave, and the session payment will not be refunded.
• TLC Counselling's policy is that when there is on-going or pending court cases client cannot be seen unless this is not related to you, the client. This will be discussed before the sessions commence.

What are the differences between being referred by a company and contacting me privately?

• Usually an initial assessment/consultation is not carried out due to only being offered six sessions. However, I will undertake a mini-assessment with you and go through the cancellation policy that applies between the referring agency and TLC.Counselling.
• Some referring agencies or companies require feedback about how client sessions have benefitted you, or not as the case may be, as a six-session model is not always useful if there are deep-rooted issues.
• Upon request, which will be agreed before sessions commence, I can/do provide information around attendance and dates of sessions.
• There are situations whereby the referrer/company requires a summary of the counselling sessions - again, this will be agreed before being submitted back to the reffering acency.

 How will my counsellor be supervised regarding their clinical work and practice?

• TLC Counselling adheres to the highest standards of the code of ethics and guidelines set out by the BACP governing body.
• I am a registered member of both the BACP and ICO governing bodies and work in compliance with their laws and regulations.
• I attend regular monthly supervision with multiple superiors, both within an agency and privately, to ensure my ethical clinical practice and duty of care towards clients is monitored and checked.
• Supervisors are registered with the BACP governing body, and they have the relevant supervisory qualifications to carry out such supervision, adhering to the ethical framework and code of conduct set out by the BACP.
• All client cases discussed are not identifiable by name - cases are identified via a log number allocated to that client(s) when commencing with the counselling process.

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How will my data be stored and looked after? 

• All client(s) data will be stored securely, and TLC Counselling complies with the Data Protection Laws and Regulations Act 1998, along with the updated GPDR laws of May 2018.
• TLC Counselling will not write reports or provide information to the client or third parties.
• TLC Counselling can provide a letter of attendance, length of time in counselling, and dates. This is to be agreed before therapy commences.
• In the case of the client being referred by another agency that requires feedback of the sessions, this will be agreed with the client(s)with agreement on what information will be shared.
• Session notes are a brief factual summary of the session, none of which is identifiable to the client.
• Clients that undertake couple's work will not have access to each other's information at any time due to the confidentiality and data protection of each client.
• TLC Counselling is insured with Oxygen Insurance Company, who specialise in working with private practitioners.

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The privacy policy and terms and conditions are subject to change from time to time in compliance with any changes in law, regulation, and guidelines of the ICO or BACP framework. If you have any further queries or questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call or send me an e-mail.‍