Policies
Supervision
In accordance with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy regulations, all counsellors are required to receive Supervision of their counselling. As part of our therapists commitment to working safely and ethically, we attend regular supervision to ensure that you are being provided with the best possible service.
Confidentiality
All session material is confidential between clients and Therapy & Me except under the following circumstances:
Within supervision sessions
When legally required e.g. if you mention being involved with money laundering
If your therapist feels you are at significant risk to yourself or others
When working over the telephone or online we agree to work as confidentially as possible. Recording of any sessions is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent from both the therapist and the client.
Fees
All fees are paid by BACS to Therapy & Me a week in advance. Prices vary starting at £80 per session. Your fee will be agreed at the time of booking. Any unused sessions which have been paid for and not utilised will be refunded in full.
Letter requests will be considered on a case by case basis and cost £50 when fulfilled. We reserve the right to add additional fees for chasing non payment. This is an administration overhead up to a maximum of £150. Any court costs will be added and can vary according to the amount you owe.
Contracting
At your initial appointment your therapist will explain our policies and their ways of working. Likewise, you (as the client) will need to decide if you would like to work with the therapist. Once this is agreed they will share with you:
Counselling agreement
Contact details and holiday notice form
You can then sign and return the agreement and contact details form within the timeframe agreed. We may contact you on receipt of your payment and confirm the start date for your counselling.
Referrals
In some circumstances it may be necessary for your therapist to refer you on to another counsellor or healthcare professional. They will always discuss this with you before any action is taken.
Please note, we reserve the right to decline a request for counselling without providing a reason. In this event, we will return in full any payments that have been received for sessions not yet utilised.
Privacy & Data Protection
As a client you agree to share the contact details of your GP. You also agree to share the details of where you will be taking your counselling sessions (when sessions are taking place online or over the telephone). If this changes you agree to update your therapist at your earliest convenience. This information will only be used in emergency situations.
We retain your personal data solely for the purpose of providing you with therapy. You can withdraw consent for this at any time. You can learn more about your data access rights by viewing the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.
Complaints
We work relationally at Therapy & Me, therefore, If you have any problems with our work, it is preferable that you bring this to our sessions for us to work through together.
In addition, as members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, we work to their ethical framework for good practice, and are subject to their complaint’s procedure.
Online & Telephone Therapy
Online or telephone therapy gives you the opportunity to access support at a time and in a place which is convenient to you. During sessions, It is advisable to use headphones or earphones for enhanced privacy. In addition, please also ensure that you are in a private room with a closed door where you will not be disturbed or overheard for our sessions.
If for any reason your therapist feels that confidentiality has been compromised, they will move to end the session to protect the integrity of your work together. Future sessions will resume as normal, and together you can use some time in the session to explore what happened.
Attendance
It is important to come to sessions regularly to benefit from your therapy. If you do not attend regularly, or if you miss two sessions in a row without making contact, we will not be able to keep your place open and the fee for the missed sessions will still be charged.
If for any reason you arrive late, your session will still end at the appointed time.
Cancellations & Format Changes
If you are unable to attend a session, please give two weeks’ notice of your planned absence. For sessions cancelled or unattended without two weeks’ notice, fees for these sessions will remain payable. If for any reason your therapist cannot attend a session, they will give you as much notice as possible. In these instances, or if your therapist away on holiday, you will not need to pay for your session.
Counselling Etiquette
We aim to maintain a professional environment so that we can better focus on what you are bringing in our sessions. As such, we ask you to agree to the following during our sessions:
Please avoid eating or smoking
Please do not attend under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Please maintain the same standards of conduct for online and telephone counselling
Diversity & Inclusion
We aim to treat all our clients equally in accordance with our own values as well as in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and any relevant best practice guidance. If you are uncomfortable in any way, please let your therapist know so they can work with you to explore and resolve it.
We are committed to attending regular personal therapy, supervision, and continuing professional development in order to continue to gain insight into, improve and educate ourselves. The aim here is to improve the quality of our work and your therapeutic experience.