Terms of service.

Cancellation policy 

If you have any difficulties making an appointment, please notify me as soon as possible. No charge will be made for appointments cancelled with 24 hours’ notice. Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will incur a fee of £25. There is sometimes the opportunity to reschedule the session in that same week or move it online. The full standard fee will apply if you fail to attend an appointment without notice. 

Online work 

Video call sessions will be conducted using GOOGLE MEET. This is similar to Skype, but is end- to-end encrypted, which makes it a more secure platform. GOGOLE MEET is free to use, and you can either download the app, or access it via your internet browser. Before you or your child’s session begins, I will send you the LINK for their meeting, which you can copy into your browser to join. It is recommended that you have a quiet, private area to sit in during the session. It needs to be a neutral place such as an office or kitchen table with headphones to help it feel more private. 

Confidentiality 

Details of therapy sessions will be kept in the strictest confidence. I will make notes as an aide memoir, kept safely in a two lock system. I may refer to my notes with my own consultant supervisor but will not use any identifying information. The main purpose of supervision is to help maintain high professional standards through peer discussion and the sharing of good practice. 

There are rare occasions where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. These are: when there is risk of harm to others (eg. issues of child abuse, drug trafficking, money laundering or terrorism) or when there is thought to be an imminent risk of your child causing serious harm to their self or to others. Wherever possible, these serious concerns will always be discussed with you and your child before any breach of confidentiality takes place. They are exceptional circumstances. In normal circumstances your’s or your child’s right to confidentiality will be valued very highly. 

Ending 

You and your child have the right to terminate the therapy at any point. Wherever possible however, it is better that the ending of therapy is planned for and agreed between us all. Endings are an essential part of the therapeutic process. For most people, the decision to end therapy will arise naturally during the course of our work. In the normal course of events, we will probably know when you are ready, and we will agree together on the work we need to do to prepare for this. 

At times, therapy may feel difficult. If you or your child wishes to end suddenly as a result of feeling distressed or because of a change in life circumstances, I would ask you to talk to me about these difficulties rather than abruptly ending, so that we can resolve any issues that have arisen and process the ending of our relationship.