Thank you for considering working alongside me in counselling. I have taken the time to put together this contract to help us create a strong foundation upon which we can build our work. It is important that, when working together, we both have an idea of each other's expectations. This ensures that our work remains healthy and on track. I ask that you take the time to read this contract thoroughly. If you have any questions, please make a note of them while reading this document, and we can address them in our first session together.
Many people have different ideas about what counselling entails, but I view it as a collaborative approach. You bring the expertise of your experience, and I contribute my expertise in psychological theory. Together, we explore ways to take positive steps forward. As a practitioner, I cannot fix or make you do anything; that is not the purpose of therapy. What I can offer is a safe space for you to offload, open up, explore, process, reframe, and provide tools to help you integrate new ways of thinking into your day-to-day life.
My approach is grounded in empathy and compassion, and I strive to build a genuine connection with each of my clients. I am here to support you, challenge you, and help you find the strength and resilience to navigate life's challenges.
I understand that every client's journey is different, and I tailor my approach to meet the specific needs and goals of each person I work with. I believe that therapy is most effective when clients feel empowered to take an active role in their own healing process. Therefore, I use a variety of techniques, including psychoeducation and mindfulness practices, to help clients develop the skills they need to cope with difficult emotions and build resilience.
As we work together, I will encourage you to explore your thoughts and feelings without judgement, and I will help you develop greater self-awareness and insight. My ultimate goal is to shift your focus from your struggles to what you can do and to support you as you grow and thrive.
Unless otherwise specified, a full counselling session will last for 50 minutes, and a check-in session will last for 25 minutes. While it is helpful to have an overarching goal for therapy, I will always start your sessions by asking what you want to focus on during that day.
I encourage all my clients to jot down things that happen during the week or thoughts that pop up that they would like to discuss further, and bring that list to the session. In my experience, sessions work better when approached intentionally.
I also ask clients to consider bringing not only the positive elements happening to them but challenge themselves to bring subjects that they rarely speak about elsewhere. Therapy gives you a safe space to explore all facets of self and often this work can be the most transformational.
Since COVID-19, the world has become more and more exposed to working remotely. The majority of my work is done remotely, and this has presented some unique challenges. In this section, I would like to highlight some housekeeping rules for working remotely that will offset these challenges and help in keeping our sessions a healthy and helpful experience for all.
I apologise if some of these seem obvious; however, after working online for a little while now, I can assure you that this section is very much needed.
Another issue that arises from remote working comes in the form of connectivity issues. Even with the best-laid plans, there are times when connections drop or electronic devices decide they do not want to work.
To manage these issues, I ask clients to have two different forms of communication available to help us continue the session, even if we run into difficulties. This means if we are working online, please also provide a telephone number in case we need to move to the telephone or have another device handy to use if your primary device does not work. Please share with me your two preferred methods of contact when we begin working together.
If the issue is on my end and I am unable to facilitate your session over our two methods of communication, then I will be happy not to charge you for the session and will reschedule it. If the connectivity issues are on your end, then I will need to charge the full rate for the session. During these times, I will happily send across a screenshot of my signal and Wi-Fi connectivity upon request to show that my end is working.
In therapy, I ensure to keep your information private. However, there are a few occasions when I am unable to maintain the confidentiality of the sessions, and I shall highlight these here.
If I am asked by anybody outside of the legal system for information pertaining to yourself, I will not reply to any emails and will deny any knowledge of you in phone calls. If you would like me to share information with a specific person, I will require you to reach out of your own accord through email to instruct me on what you would like shared and provide the details of the people with whom you wish it to be shared.
Alongside the above, there is one more occasion when I may discuss the work you bring outside of our sessions, and that is when I enter into supervision. In supervision, I may discuss your cases with my supervisor to ensure I am providing you with the utmost support that I can offer. If I do raise casework in any way, I do so in a manner that maintains your anonymity. I will always remove or alter identifying information to protect your identity.
This is important because counsellors, although informed, are first and foremost human beings. Thus, we are just as likely to have biases, blind spots, and misjudgments that can affect our work together. By working regularly in supervision, it allows us as practitioners to remain ethical, healthy, and able to provide you with the best possible service as a client.
Sometimes, I am asked to write reports or letters that offer an overview of our time working together. I am happy to provide reports and letters for a fee but require a written email beforehand, sharing the purpose behind the communication and your expectations for the communication.
Any documentation that I write will only be a factual overview of the work we have done, and I am unable to offer a diagnosis or support the diagnosis of any mental health conditions, as I am not a doctor.
Reports written will be charged at £30, which covers my time in writing the document.
In our sessions, I do take simple notes to help me keep track of the areas we have worked upon. These notes use client initials and date, but not fully written names. They outline the area of focus for that session and include a sentence or two about any blocks to treatment and any homework set.
These notes are stored in an Excel document on a password-protected external hard drive, keeping your information safe from hacking. When I am not in the office, this external hard drive is locked in a cabinet, further protecting it. This storage method is in line with GDPR.
The notes are available to be sent across at any time upon request until the working relationship ends. Upon termination of sessions or after three months of no communication, these notes will be removed from the system and thus will not be able to be retrieved. If you would like your notes, please make sure to write that request to me in an email and allow me 24 hours to get back to you.
Please ensure that payment is made before the commencement of the session. Please see bank information below:
Name: Paul J Counselling
Sort code: 20-68-15
Account: 63950131
If you are running late for your session, please send me a message on 07880 337198 just to give me a heads-up on when you plan to attend.
Please try to notify me a minimum of 24 hours in advance if you are unable to attend a scheduled session to avoid being charged. If the notice is under 24 hours, please be aware that the session will be charged in its entirety.
We will discuss this contract in our first session to ensure that we both agree to its terms. This is a live document, and if it turns out that I need to add to it, I will do so as needed. Thank you for taking the time to read this — I know that it is a lot to take in.