Client Welcome & Statement of Understanding

Counselling Contract - Statement of Understanding

Therapy Centre Services (TCS) is a BACP Organisational Member (00275721) and works in accordance with the Ethical Framework with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and offers unlimited sessions for all clients accessing the service.

To comply with data protection and GDPR personal data kept about you is stored electronically on an internal client management system which is encrypted and only accessed by your Counsellor and authorised TCS Management and Administration team.

Accessing the Service
Your referral has been received either directly from your Employer or other 3rd party referrer. The TCS Management Team have allocated you to a Counsellor / Counsellor in Training who has been suitably matched as competent to work with your presenting issue, and who will provide you with regular sessions.

Your Counsellor
All Counsellors on the team are assessed as having appropriate qualifications and level of competence to practice. Therapy Centre Services is supported by a team of Qualified Counsellors and Counsellors in Training. All Counsellors are suitably assessed and supervised. This will be discussed and agreed at your initial assessment, and should you not wish to work with your assigned Counsellor, alternative Counsellors will be discussed and offered to you for your consideration.

Counselling Sessions
The counselling sessions are 50 minutes, and you can agree weekly sessions with your counsellor. If you require fortnightly sessions, please discuss this directly with your counsellor. Please also refer to our information leaflet (available on our website) to ensure you are able to get the most out of your counselling with TCS.

Online / Telephone Counselling
Therapy Centre Services provide all sessions through Mobile (telephone sessions) or Google Meet (online sessions).
Google Meet is a way for you to see your counsellor face-to-face from your computer whilst engaging in therapy. We ask you to download the Google Meet App onto a personal phone, tablet, or use your laptop/PC's browser, and set up a Google account (if you currently don't have one) using your own email and login details.
A few minutes prior to each session you will receive an email invitation to join the appointment with your Counsellor.
If technical difficulties are experienced, for example computer or internet breakdown we will contact you via (SMS) message so that we can resolve any technical issues and resume the session or provide an alternative session date and time.
Therapy Centre Services takes reasonable steps to ensure adequate levels of security for the services we provide, and are vigilant in avoiding new threats to security as they arise in a rapidly changing field of practice and technology. We request that you consider your own security on your devices, and use personal computers or devices rather than shared or devices on external networks

Your session times are important, and this is your “space”. Being prepared is an important part of therapy. Ensuring that you are comfortable, having a safe and private space to work from is important.
For therapeutic communication, we recommend you use a personal computer with restricted access. We ask that you determine who might have access to your computer and electronic information from your location, which might include supervisors, co-workers, family members, and friends.

We ask you to consider being in a quiet ‘confidential’ space for the duration of your session, we are not able to complete sessions if you are in a public or open space, i.e. coffee shops, trains, buses or other public areas, or where there are other people who may be able to overhear your session. It is useful to turn off any other devices, where you may receive text messages, emails or other distractions during the session time.

It is also important to be able to give yourself a bit of time and space after each session. Therapy uses energy and can bring up a host of emotions. Ensuring you have some time after a session is healthy self-care. Try to make sure you do not have to rush off to resume what you were doing before the session, for an appointment or pick up the children straight away, having a cup of tea or a glass of water and doing something pleasurable for 5 – 10 mins can help.

Confidentiality
The relationship between you as the client, and TCS is based on the values of trust and confidentiality, therefore TCS will not disclose any information about you to any third party unless requested in writing to the Therapy Centre Service Director, and with your permission.

Exceptions to Confidentiality
As your referral has been received from your employer or third-party referrer, we are required to provide information to them. The information we will share is detailed below;

• Confirmation that you have attended an initial session, and of each subsequent session dates booked

• Confirmation of any appointments not attended or cancelled within less than 24 hours (please note we require 24 hours’ notice as part of this contract to cancel or reschedule any sessions. Where 24 hours’ notice is not provided, we are required to notify the referrer, and in some cases will be required to refer your case back to your employer to request authorisation for any further sessions.

• Reports (initial / interim / final) are required by the referrer. These reports will be completed after the initial / interim / final sessions. The reports will outline the presenting issue and the therapy focus and any risk assessed. Please note the confidential content of sessions will not be shared without your prior consent. If you have any questions regarding the reports, you can discuss and agreed this with your Counsellor prior to the reports being submitted. Your Counsellor will go through the report with you at the start of the sessions and complete each section with you.

• If you do not attend your final session booked with your Counsellor, we will still be required to submit a final report to your referrer. It is important to attend all sessions booked with your Counsellor.

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In the rare event that confidentiality cannot be maintained, it may be necessary to breach confidentiality, in line with the TCS At Risk policy. The following provides a guideline to the circumstances where this may occur;

• If you give information which leads the Counsellor or TCS to believe that you or someone else is at risk of serious harm, then after careful consideration, the Counsellor or TCS may take steps to minimise such action. Any such action would be discussed with you first, if possible, and any actions agreed.

• Exceptional circumstances may arise where the Counsellor / TCS will be legally required to disclose information, for example when ordered to do so by the court or where we have a statutory obligation to disclose information to the authorities concerning knowledge of acts of terrorism, drug trafficking, child abuse, or any other legal requirements.

• All Counsellors receive regular supervision of their work in accordance with BACP guidelines and other professional bodies. This means they receive guidance from a supervisor who is a qualified Counsellor / Supervisor with whom they may discuss their clients confidentially. Every effort is made to maintain your anonymity and your name will not be disclosed unless there is a risk potential.

• If contact with your GP or other relevant person or agency is needed, the Counsellor will ask your permission and will discuss this with you in advance wherever possible. Your counsellor may request your GP details at the initial session.

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Booking Appointments
At the end of each session you can agree with your counsellor a suitable date and time for your next appointment. Please ensure that you arrange a time and date that is suitable for you, having your diary with you to arrange next sessions with your Counsellor.

Should you wish to contact us directly between sessions please phone or text 07895 796857 or you can email appointments@therapycentreservices.com . Contact or communication between sessions should not be made directly with your Counsellor.

Cancellation Policy
Your referrer has a strict 24-hour cancellation policy, and if you cannot attend your scheduled appointment you must contact the TCS team on the above contact number or email address so the appointment can be rescheduled.

If you cannot attend your appointment and fail to contact TCS less than 24 hours before your planned session, this session will be deducted from your allocated sessions.

If 24 hours’ notice is provided we will rearrange the appointment date and time for you.

As your Employer is funding your sessions, it is really important to attend all sessions booked and to make time for your therapy sessions each week.

Your Counsellor/Support Provider will answer any questions or queries you have at your first appointment.

Complaints
We hope you that you will feel comfortable enough to raise any concerns about your sessions directly with your Counsellor. However if you feel unable to do so, please email complaints@therapycentreservices.com where a Senior member of the TCS team will address the complaint directly with you.