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What to expect
Sessions usually last for one hour. There is no obligation to proceed after that first session. At the outset of treatment it may be difficult to know exactly how many therapy sessions will be needed. A single problem that you have been experiencing for less than 18 months will generally be resolved in 5-10 sessions. However, problems that have been troubling you for a long time, or that are multi-faceted, are likely to need 10-20 sessions for you to feel you have fully resolved them. Individuals vary in the amount of distress and disturbance that they experience and, similarly, they vary in how long they take to get better. Consequently, all estimates of treatment-length are simply guidelines.
Throughout your therapy we will monitor its effectiveness and review your progress. Your honest feedback is very important because there is evidence that tailoring treatment to what feels right for you will give you the best outcome in the least time.
confidentiality
Your personal information and therapy notes are kept securely. Information but not names will be shared with my supervisor, who is also BABCP accredited, and who regularly reviews my practice. Confidentiality will be broken only if I have concerns that you or anyone else is at risk. If this should occur, it will be discussed in the session and recommendations will be discussed and documented in your notes.
As a fully accredited member of BABCP (British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies), I adhere to their ethical framework and guidelines to ensure that you receive a professional and quality service.
self-referrals
The fee for individuals for a single session is £75, if paid for on the day. Five sessions may be paid for in advance at a fee of £300 for an individual. These fees apply to self-referred clients and to clients referred by a GP, psychiatrist or other health professional.
Students and people receiving benefits are invited to discuss the possibility of a concessionary rate.
NHS staff are entitled to a 20% discount on production of their staff card.
All fees are payable by bank transfer on the day of your appointment.
third party referrals
I also accept referrals from health insurers, employers, insurance companies, solicitors and other intermediaries. If you have health insurance, you will need to check with your provider what cover they offer for psychotherapy because each company has its own rules.
Third party referrers may also stipulate the exact number of sessions that you can be offered and we may need to negotiate with them if we see a need to vary that.
I am a registered provider for Aviva, AXA PPP, Bupa, Cigna HealthCare, PruHealth and WPA. If you have health insurance with another provider please contact me so that I can check whether we can work together.
cancellation charges
A charge will apply if less than 24 hours notice of cancellation is given. The cancellation charge will be half the normal session fee. Please note that you will be responsible for payment of any cancellation charges incurred if you are referred by a third party because these companies will not normally pay for missed sessions.
If the required notice of cancellation has not been given, the fee for your next session will be £112 to cover the cancellation charge. If you have paid in advance for multiple sessions, one of your sessions may be forfeited.
Privacy policy
Upon starting therapy, basic personal information will be collected for contact and identification reasons. During our therapy meetings, an assessment of your psychological health will be completed, and notes will be taken during sessions. These will include personal and sensitive details about your life. The assessment and notes are used solely for the delivery of a therapy service to you.
You have rights relating to the information I hold: to verify the accuracy or to ask for them to be supplemented, updated or corrected. You have the right to request a copy of the information that I hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email or write to me via the contact details stated in this agreement. Information will be provided to you within 30 days, provided that you referred yourself. If you were referred through an insurer, the request for information will have to go to them and they would provide it.
We want to make sure that your information is accurate and up to date. You may ask me to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate. You have a right to request the transfer of your data to another individual or company or ask to have them deleted. However, unless you have not received any therapy from me, I have a legal requirement to keep a copy of your records, as detailed below.
Your information is kept for the time necessary to provide the therapy service requested, however outside of this I will hold your details and session notes for a period of 7 years following the end of treatment to comply with legal obligations that are placed upon me by my insurers. In the case of a child under 13, then records will be kept for 7 years after they reach the age of majority (18). After this date, all data will be securely deleted. As a result of this legal requirement, I would only be able to agree to a request to delete your information if you have not received any therapy.
There may be times where your information needs to be shared with 3rd parties. Except in the case of risk, I will explicitly ask your consent before doing so. The data will be sent to 3rd parties securely.
Information will be kept securely and confidentially in line with the data retention policy as stated above.
The lawful basis for my holding and using your information is in relation to the delivery of a contract to you as a health care professional. As an accredited member of BABCP, I operate under a strict code of confidentiality.
