At the assessment appointment, I will ask you about your motivation to seek counselling, your expectations and goals, as well as to tell me a little bit about your background history, including your health and your interests. You will have the opportunity to talk privately and confidentially about your situation; we will establish initial goals for counselling. If we both agree to continue, we will decide together the frequency and number of sessions you need. You can expect my approach to counselling to be relational, engaging and collaborative.

Any information shared is confidential except in certain circumstances, for example when you or others are at serious risk of being harmed and when is required by the law. 

If this situation arises, I will make every possible effort to discuss my concerns with you first. 

Supervision is an ethical requirement. In discussing my work with my clinical supervisor anonymity is maintained. 

A Fee of £65 for a fifty-minute session is payable at least 48 hours before your session to secure your appointment. If the fee is not received in time, sessions will be cancelled. Advanced payment for monthly blocks of sessions is accepted. Fees are reviewed yearly; I will notify you at least 12 weeks before if there is any change.

Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly or fortnightly, same week day and time, or one off sessions, depending on your needs. Both therapist and client are expected to arrive on time. If you arrive late we will finish at the arranged time. I will send you a confirmation of our next appointment after each session. Please let me know if you prefer to opt-out.     

Notes are kept in a locked cupboard. Digital records are password-protected. I follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Information Commissioner Officer (ICO) guidelines.

I do not record our sessions unless agreed and I ask you to do the same.

It is important that we both bring our full, clear minds to our sessions, so I ask that you refrain from using any substances, including alcohol or recreational drugs, before our meetings.

This will ensure that we can focus effectively on the work we are doing and that you can fully engage in the therapeutic process.

I will give you notice of any planned absences and ask you to do the same.

Cancellations with less than 48 hours notice and unattended appointments will incur the full fee. When cancelling within 48 hours, we can agree to refund or reschedule depending on your needs and on availability.

Frequent cancellations may result in a review of our working agreement or in therapy being suspended.

If you have any complaints, I sincerely hope that we can discuss these together, or you can contact the professional body I belong to for advice: www.bacp.co.uk.

Basic queries are welcome via email but other questions should be presented during therapy sessions.  If you ever find yourself in a crisis/emergency and you require urgent help, there are some contacts and resources on my website.

We can agree to end our work together whenever is the right time for you. Whenever possible, I recommend discussing this together in advance so that we have the time to reflect together and work through any potential issues connected to ending.