Ethics and Code of Conduct

I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and/or National Counselling Society and adhere to their Ethical Framework for Good Practice and Professional Conduct, both of which can be found on the below websites: 

www.bacp.co.uk

www.nationalcounsellingsociety.org 

All content of the sessions is confidential. Brief notes will be recorded for your file to help aid in your therapeutic journey. These will be securely stored in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Please note I am a trainee psychotherapist and sessions may be discussed with a clinical supervisor; this is standard procedure and is a way of checking adherence to ethical and professional standards.

Exceptions to confidentiality

If I am concerned for your well-being or others around you then I may find it necessary to seek help outside of the therapeutic alliance and break confidentiality. However, I would always seek to gain your agreement on this. 

Confidentiality will be broken if any of the following are disclosed:

·       If you give information which leads me to believe that you or someone else is in danger of serious harm, including suicide.

·       Information concerning acts of terrorism, drug trafficking or criminal offences (intent or done).

·       Concern that a child may be at risk of serious harm or where there is a child protection issue.

Online working 

All online counselling sessions will be conducted via Microsoft Teams, Google Meets or telephone. The client is responsible for ensuring reliable internet connection and a private space for sessions. The counsellor will take all necessary measures to protect client confidentiality but cannot take responsiblity for maintaining confidentiality if you, the client, choose to join a session from a public or semi-public area where there is a risk of being overheard. 

Session times and frequency

Each session is 50 minutes in duration. 

If you are unable to attend a session for any reason please can you aim to give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice. We understand this may not always be possible. 

Should you be late for any session, please note the therapist will wait for the first 20 minutes and then will assume you will not be in attendance and leave the session space. 

If you have more than two short notice cancellations or absences then your sessions will be reviewed to decide whether psychotherapy is appropriate for yourself at this time.  

For any cancellations and amendments please contact the following number 07469244815. 

Review and progress

After six sessions your progress will be discussed to identify any need for further sessions and evaluate any issues to be worked on for the following sessions. 

Holidays and Cancellations

I take 4 weeks prorated Annual Leave per financial year with the dates given to you in advance. On rare occasions I may fall ill, in which case I shall give as much notice as possible for any cancellation and provide an alternative time and date.