Terms of Service / Therapeutic Contract

Below is an example of my therapeutic contract. During the first few sessions I will send you a similar copy of this and in our first session I will discuss the main themes below with you. The below outlines our agreed ways of working and applies from the first session. Should you have any questions please feel free to discuss with me during our sessions.

Jonathan Smith Therapy Contract

PLEASE READ THE BELOW CAREFULLY, UNLESS AGREED OTHERWISE THE BELOW WILL APPLY FROM THE FIRST SESSION.

This is a mutual agreement between counsellor and client.  It outlines the responsibilities of the counsellor towards the client, and also the client's responsibilities. 

This agreement is made between Jonathan Smith and yourself.

Ethical Practice:

I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and adhere to their Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions (2018) to help ensure they are working safely, ethically and in your best interests. For further information about this framework, please access the link below:

https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions/

My BACP membership number is: 398981

As part of ethical practice I am in regular supervision with a qualified supervisor.

If our work is felt to be unethical or unsafe I will end our therapy together, this will, where possible, be discussed with you.

Insurance: 

I am fully insured through the Psychologists Protection Society (PPS).

Confidentiality:

Everything discussed with me in our counselling sessions is kept in the strictest confidence.  In line with BACP requirements, I am required to attend regular supervision and  will need to discuss our work with my supervisor from time to time. I will not disclose your name or anything that would enable you to be identified. Any information that a supervisor receives is also treated as strictly confidential.

If there is conclusive evidence that you intend to harm yourself or others, I may need to break confidentiality by informing your G.P. or in serious cases, another appropriate third party. Wherever possible, and if it is considered appropriate, you will be informed of this. 

Whether working remotely or face to face our sessions will not be recorded under any circumstances.

Contact with me out of session:

I can be emailed at jonathan@jonathansmiththerapy.com

Counselling Sessions:

Each counselling session lasts for 50 minutes.  The whole session time belongs to you, whether you choose to attend or not, if you arrive part way through your allotted time I will see you for the remaining time of the session.  We will meet at the same time and place each week, unless otherwise agreed beforehand. Counselling is for individuals only - no other person will be permitted in our sessions.

Cancellation and holidays:

If you are unable to attend a session, please let me know as soon as you can. In agreeing to work together we are agreeing to meet at the same time each week and with the exception of my scheduled breaks, or the rare occasion I cannot attend our session, that time and space will be available to you every week. If you are unable to attend a session then you will still be charged the full fee. I will give you as much notice as possible if I am unable to attend a session, this includes my holidays which are generally taken around Easter, August and Christmas/New Year. For sessions I am unable to attend or during my holiday you will not be charged.

Working remotely:

If we agree to work remotely then I will send you a link to join our sessions. It is important that remote sessions are held in a space which is confidential and feels safe. Any recording devices including, but not limited to, Alexa, Google Home etc. must be switched off and you must be in a space where you cannot be overheard and not be distracted by others in the building/other rooms. If I believe that the space which you are dialling in from is not suitably confidential then I will either end the session or pause the session until a time which you are able to dial in from a confidential space. If a session has to be cancelled due to you not having a suitable space you will still be charged for the session, if we pause a session while you find a space or make the space confidential this time will not be added to the end of the session and you will be charged in full.

Fees:

This is to be paid weekly by bank transfer, details are as below. Please include your initials and the date of the session in the reference of the transfer (for example if I had a session on the 10th of March 2021 then my reference would be: JS100321) if you are making a transfer week by week. If you are setting up a standing order please use your initials and the date of our first session as the reference.

Types of therapy offered:

I offer Psychodynamic therapy on an open ended basis, or Short Term Psychodynamic therapy over 12 sessions.

Endings:

You are under no obligation to remain in counselling for any period of time and may end our counselling at any point. I would encourage you to speak with me in one of our sessions should you wish to end so that we can discuss this and work towards an ending which is most helpful.

Other:

If you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs during our session I will end the session and you will be charged in full. Threats or acts of violence towards me may result in the ending of the therapy, this will, where appropriate be discussed with you.

Data Protection Statement:

To assist us in working effectively, I keep confidential records about all clients. These records are kept securely, are only seen by myself and are used exclusively for the purpose of delivering counselling or psychotherapy. The records held are subject to the Data Protection Act 2018, which is the UK’s implementation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which gives clients the right to access personal data held about them. Some of this data may be classified as sensitive personal data which includes but is not limited to information concerning gender, sexuality, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, physical or mental health, etc., where possible this data will be anonymised. 

PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY

If you wish to negotiate any changes I will be happy to discuss this with you. By engaging in Counselling or Psychotherapy with Jonathan Smith you are agreeing to the above and understand your right to access personal data held about you and you consent to Jonathan Smith using your personal and sensitive data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 for the purposes of delivering counselling.