Our Working Contract
As we begin to work together, we need to establish a contract which gives clarity and boundaries to our therapeutic relationship. Please take the time to read this contract and do please ask any questions that you may have about it.
Ongoing counselling sessions are for 55 minutes, one-off sessions are for 1 hour, text chat and 30-minute voice calls will last for 30 minutes. All will run as agreed. For ongoing counselling sessions, an initial number of sessions and dates can be agreed and regularly reviewed.
Payment for one-off sessions including emails is made ahead for each session through my website. A minimum notice period of 48 hours is required for a refund or rescheduling of appointments.
Data Protection
Email or voicemail messages used for the purposes of appointment setting will be deleted once read. Brief paper client notes, emails and text messages will be kept for the purposes of the work while it is ongoing. All notes will be locked between sessions. Notes will be destroyed 5 years following the completion of work.
Data protection law provides several rights to you
You have a right to be informed about the data I keep.
You are entitled to obtain a copy of the data I hold about you and reuse it for your own purposes.
You have a right to rectify the data if you feel it is inaccurate.
You have the right to erase the data and to restrict the processing of the data.
You have the right to ask for your personal data to be handed back or to view it and there is no charge for this.
Any request must be made in writing and the data must be given to you within one month. Where clients have attended as a couple, both clients must agree to the request.
Should there be any data breach I am obliged to inform the Information commissioner’s office (ICO)
Confidentiality
All work undertaken between client(s) and counsellor will remain confidential, with two exceptions:
1. Counsellors are required to discuss their work with their supervisor on a regular basis, in order to ensure safe, ethical, useful and effective practice.
2. If the Counsellor is concerned about the clients’ safety, or that of others, they may contact an external party (for example their GP or Social Worker). This will, where possible, be discussed with the client.
Ongoing Counselling Sessions
Before payment is made for ongoing sessions, we will need to have an initial telephone call to ensure that Destination Counselling is best suited to meet your counselling needs. Please complete the form below and enter the best days and times to receive a call