Therapy Contract

Therapy Contract and Mutual understanding

Hello! I’m committed to providing you with a safe and supportive environment during our therapy sessions. Therapy Contract ensures a productive and respectful therapeutic relationship, it’s important for both of us to understand the boundaries and rules of our sessions. I adhere to the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical rules. If you wish to learn more about BACP membership you can read this article. Please read the following guidelines carefully before you sign the therapy contract.

Confidentiality Agreement:

  1. Your Privacy Matters: I will keep everything you share with me completely confidential. This includes anything you say during our therapy sessions and any personal information you provide. Privacy can only broken within extreme situations such as:
    • If you tell me that you are going to harm yourself or someone else no matter what.
    • Privacy can be broken in cases via the court ruling mandates
  2. Anonymous Session Notes: I take electronic therapy notes to track our progress, and these notes are password-protected. Additionally, I assign an alias to you, ensuring your real name and any identifying information are never included in my notes. Your privacy is paramount and is protected through this anonymity.
  3. Supervision Safeguards: I engage in regular supervision sessions to ensure the quality of our sessions. You can find more information about supervision and my qualifications via the link here. During these consultations, I might discuss your progress with my supervisor. However, your personal information is never shared. My supervisor is bound by the same confidentiality standards, ensuring your privacy remains intact. By accepting the supervisor role, they also assume responsibility for your well-being, just as I do.

Therapy Session Guidelines:

  1. Session Arrangement:
    • Sessions are pre-arranged at a mutually agreed-upon time.
    • Changes or cancellations must be made with at least 24 hours’ notice, except in cases of unforeseen emergencies.
  2. Session Length:
    • Sessions are typically 45-60 minutes long, although they may occasionally be longer or shorter based on our discussions and your needs.
  3. Attendance Policy:
    • The service user is expected to be punctual and attend sessions as scheduled.
    • If the service user is late, the passing minutes are considered part of the session and must be paid for regardless.
    • If the service user misses a session without notification, the session must be paid in full.
    • If the service user misses 50% of scheduled sessions within a two-month period without a justifiable reason, the therapist reserves the right to terminate therapy indefinitely.
  4. Missed Sessions:
    • If the service user is absent for a session, the therapist will keep the next two scheduled sessions (if prearranged) open.
    • While the therapist will be available during the scheduled time, no reminders or calls will be made until after the session concludes.
  5. Responsibility:
    • Both therapist and service user share the responsibility to ensure the success of our sessions. This includes attending sessions regularly and communicating openly and honestly.
  6. Termination Policy:
    • Therapy can be terminated by either party with appropriate notice and discussion.
    • If therapy is terminated, any outstanding fees must be settled promptly.

Data Removal Request:

  1. Right to Erasure: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data held by me, with the exception of your name and the number of sessions attended. If at any point you wish for your data to be removed (excluding your name and session records), please inform me in writing, and I will promptly and securely delete all your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
  2. 3rd Party Privacy: In some rare cases, Oceanos Counseling staff, partners, accountants, financial institutions (banks, payment contractors), and regulatory bodies such as tax inspectors may assist, generate, or audit financial documents and, therefore, have access to information such as name, address, bank information only made for business porpoises. However, due to fiscal and regulatory requirements, this information is protected by regulations and agreements between Oceanos Counseling and its contractors.

Communication Mediums and Privacy Warning:

Service Users are encouraged to use communication mediums such as WhatsApp, Viber, SMS, or emails for scheduling and session-related communication. However, please be aware that using these platforms might potentially expose your personal information to the providers of these services. While I will take all necessary precautions to protect your privacy, I cannot guarantee the security of these external platforms.

By engaging in our therapy sessions, you are agreeing to abide by these boundaries and rules mentioned in this therapy contract. Please feel free to discuss any concerns you might have about these guidelines. Our shared commitment to these boundaries will contribute to a positive and productive therapeutic experience.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.