Practical Information.

In my interest to ensure you can be as informed as possible, please find below my policy on certain practical aspects within my practice. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries. I aim to be fully transparent to enable an open and workable therapeutic relationship.

Ethical Codes
I am bound by the Codes of Ethics and Practice of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). A copy of the code of practice and ethics are available on request, or may be viewed on the BACPs web site https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/.

Session Times
The normal duration of each session is 50 mins, although I reserve the right to amend that time for therapeutic reasons. If for any reason you are late for a session, I will see you for the duration of the remainder but will be unable to work beyond the allotted time as this will disrupt sessions for other patients who may be waiting.

Cost
Please see my fees page

Payment
Payment should be made at the beginning or end of each session. Cash, cheque, bank transfer or card payments can be made for in-person sessions. Online sessions must be made by bank transfer.

The cost of therapy includes any written materials I may supply, but excludes the cost of any books that I might suggest you read.

If agreed payments for therapy are not being paid then I reserve the right to terminate therapy.

Cancellation
If you are unable to attend a session please provide 48  hrs notice or the full cost of the session will be incurred.
Emergency reasons for cancellation will be considered.
Where sessions are missed more than once I will discuss alternatives with you which may work better for both of us. I recommend keeping regular times for our sessions to maintain focus and progression with our work.

Unplanned Absence
I believe it is important that you continue to be provided care and information if I am unable to attend for whatever reason. In the unlikely event that I am unable to attend a session without prior disscusion.I will attempted to make contact or leave a message in the form for which I have consent. Therefore please keep your contact details up to date. Where this has not been possible and you have been unable to reach me due to reasons such as severe illness or death, a professional colleague has been appointed for you to contact (details will be in our working contract). They will be able to provide information of my situation and be able to offer to meet or refer to another trusted practitioner.

Conduct
As your therapist I will always do my best to create a safe environment in our sessions, offering trust, care and confidentiality.

It is also your right to receive equal treatment regardless of sex, race, gender, economic status, colour, sexual and/or religious beliefs.

Please note any threats or acts of violence will invalidate this agreement and therapy will cease. Sessions will not take place if you arrive under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed medication.

Contact, including Out of Session
You may contact me through any of the methods mentioned on my contact page. I will always ask you for permission to contact you other than a reply. I will also ask your preferred method of contact and when this would be best.

I will always aim to reply within 24 hours even if at a minimum to acknowledge and arrange  further contact.

Contact through the means provided is for communication regarding times, cancelling etc. Therapy work will be confined to our scheduled sessions unless we have discussed another arrangement.

In the interest of confidentiality I will never disclose any details with someone one other than yourself when calling or leaving a message unless consent is given.

As Edinburgh is not that big a place there is a chance we may see each other out and about. If this happens, purely in the interest of your privacy and confidentiality, I will not acknowledge you unless you chose to approach or acknowledge me. If either of us are are with a companion I will limit any interaction to just an acknowledgement(if you choose to) to limit possible companions questions that may jeopardise your privacy. 

Business review sites
My business practice may be found on many business listings. Some of these listings attach my business from search engines without my knowledge. If you see my listing it is not a request for a review, rating or testimonial from you as a client. You have a right to express yourself as you wish but I will not respond due to the confidentiality commitment I have with you. I also may never see these, yet urge you to take your privacy seriously. Any feelings you express on these sites is your right, and the confidentiality I have with you is based on me not telling anyone you are my client. I would also hope that you could take any feelings or reactions into our sessions and the therapy process, as it is an important part of our work.

Supervision
As part of my code(s) of practice I am required to carry out continuing professional development, and to engage in regular on-going clinical supervision. This is to ensure an ethical and professional service to clients. I may discuss your case in supervision but would not use any identifying details. 

In order to help the quality of supervision, I may ask for your permission to audio record some sessions. This is to allow my supervisor to talk about ideas which may be of benefit to you. Any factors which could identify you would not be included to maintain confidentiality and recordings will be destroyed when the work is completed.