Therapeutic Agreement

Payment terms: please pay for sessions on the same day, ideally by bank transfer. I have a Starling business account, the details of which I will give you during session 1.

I don't charge you if you have to cancel a session, but please let me know via text or email as soon as you know you aren't able to attend. If you miss two consecutive sessions without making contact, I will assume you have decided to cease counselling. This is absolutely fine, you don't need to explain or feel bad, sometimes people just need to walk away from things without explanation. I will always hope everything works out for you, regardless of how you choose to end counselling.

COSCA ethical guidelines / Code of Practice.

As a member of COSCA, the regulatory body for counsellers in Scotland, I am required to work in accordance with their various rules and guidelines. The complete text of these is available on the official COSCA website: https://cosca.org.uk/guidance-policies/ethics

The vast majority are things which are unlikely to ever be required during normal counselling arrangements and sessions. So I tend to just refer to the relevant sections if and when required. If you have any questions at all, regarding rules, regulations or ethics in counselling, please always feel free to ask and I will explain the official COSCA position, usually after having had to re-read it to refresh my memory as there are a lot of words, paragraphs, and subdivisions in there, even by my standards.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a cornerstone of the therapeutic relationship, because it means you can speak freely. You need to know that what you say in the counselling room stays in the counselling room. Thus you can safely explore topics that you might never feel able to discuss with anyone else. You can be sure that I take this stuff autistically seriously and would never discuss specific session content except where I am legally obliged to or if a client specifically requests that I do. I am legally obliged to report terrorism involvement and money laundering, and have a professional duty of care to alert relevant authorities to specific instances of definite threats of harm to you or others. The latter would involve discussion with you to establish clear facts prior to any reporting taking place, and my first priority is always your safety. I would always consult my supervisor before taking any of these unlikely actions, to ensure that ALL correct and necessary procedures are followed. All counsellors have a supervisor. They are always experienced, highly qualified counsellors who have undertaken additional training in order to be considered able to advise, monitor and guide other counsellors, who must attend regular sessions with them to ensure they are operating in accordance with the COSCA guidelines and the law. I do not discuss confidential session content with my supervisor unless I have informed you beforehand, and it would only ever be under the serious circumstances outlined above.

Notes

The only notes I take regarding our sessions are basic attendance ones, which I am obliged to take for insurance and tax reasons. This is a policy I have adopted in order to remove potential client concerns regarding what information is recorded and stored concerning session content.

My insurer is Holistic Insurance, a specialist insurer for mental health professionals.

Time

Session length is up to 90 minutes, but you are not locked in and unable to leave, you are free to come and go as you please. Should you need a toilet break, the facilities are across the hall and are very nice, like a hotel bathroom. Please don't smoke or vape in there though, it's a non-smoking building

Continuity is comforting, and it is easier for me if we always have sessions at the same time and on the same day of the week, but if you need to change either or both please feel free to ask and I will attempt to accommodate you if I have any usable availability.

Non-talking moods

Sometimes you may wish to attend but not be feeling talkative, for whatever reason. I am always happy to communicate via text or by each writing on a pad if you wish. Or you can just sketch or build or arrange animals until the desire to speak arrives. There's no pressure in the N-iCaP room, remember.

Crisis

I cannot guarantee that I will always be available to answer emails, texts or calls, so in a crisis you should try one of the services listed below, as appropriate:

If you are distressed or thinking about self-harm or suicide, the following are potential helpers:

Accident & Emergency - Go to your nearest Accident & Emergency department and explain your difficulty.

Adult Community Care - The out of hours number for Moray Council Community Care is 03457 565656

Moray Council Access Team can be contacted on 01343 563999 and the Social Work Mental Health Team can be contacted on 01343 567376.

Childline, 0800 1111, 24/7

Breathing Space, 0800 83 85 87,

18:00 – 03:00 Mon-Fri, 24hrs Sat Sun.

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM, focused on male suicide), 0800 58 58 58

17:00 – 0:00 Mon-Sun

National Suicide prevention Helpline UK,

0800 689 5652

18:00 to 0:00 Mon-Sun

PAPYRUS, Prevention of Young Suicide,

0800 068 4141

24/7

Samaritans

116 123

24/7

SANEline,

0300 304 700,

16:00 – 22:00 Mon-Sun

SHOUT (Text only service)

85258

24/7

Switchboard (LGBTQIA+),

0800 0119 100

10:00 – 22:00 Mon-Sun

Your GP surgery

NHS 24:

Telephone 111

If I see you on the street or in the shops I won't approach and say Hi, in case you don't want to talk about counselling to whoever you might be with. However, if you want to approach me and say Hi, please do. But just remember we won't be in the safety of the counselling room and other people can hear us talking.

In the hopefully unlikely event that I am physically unable to attend a session or contact you, I provide my supervisor with a list containing the initials and contact number or email address of my clients, so that she can let you know that I am out of action and provide you with some alternative counselling options if necessary.

Feel free to text or email me at any time, with any questions or concerns: I am your therapist so you should be able to maintain contact with me if you need to. But please be aware that it might be a while before I'm able to reply. I will only contact you outside of appointments if we agree that session reminders might be helpful, or if some unforeseen disruption to our schedule occurs. And to reply to anything you've sent me, obviously.

Important notes re Safeguarding.

In Scotland, the legal definition of a 'child' usually extends to those aged 18 and under, so for the purposes of the N-iCaP safeguarding policy, that definition applies. Therefore any clients aged 18 are automatically protected by the terms of the
National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 - updated 2023.

This document sets out the various rights of the child and what safeguarding and protection they are entitled to receive under Scottish Law.
It is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-guidance-child-protection-scotland-2021-updated-2023/pages/4/#page-top

Some of the main points, from a counselling environment perspective, are:
That the child is to be consulted and involved: meaning that the counsellor must discuss whatever safeguarding concern he or she has regarding what the child has said, before taking any action.
That the safety and wellbeing of the child must always be the primary consideration in any planning or actions relating to safeguarding concerns.

Counsellors who are members of COSCA or BACP are required to have a Supervisor. This is always a senior, very experienced counsellor, with additional supervisory-level qualifications, who oversees the work of other counsellors to ensure that they meet the required standards of the professional membership body.
In the event of a safeguarding related issue arising, which the counsellor feels may require the involvement of child protection bodies after discussion with the client, the first action of a counsellor should be to consult with their supervisor on the best immediate course of action; the best course always being the one which provides the safest outcome for the child.

The official NiCaP safeguarding action policy therefore follows this guidance. Consultation with my supervisor, or an alternative in the event of mine being unavailable, would immediately take place, in the event of any potentially reportable safeguarding issue being identified after client discussion. The client would then be kept informed regarding progress and outcome.