This therapeutic contract is between you, the client, and Rachael Horan Counselling. You will be required to agree to the terms of this contract prior to engaging in counselling services.

I am registered with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP), and as such I adhere to a specific ethical framework in order to ensure the well being of both you, the client, and myself. This contract is designed with you in mind and underpins the therapeutic relationship between us.

Commitment

This process involves your commitment, your honesty (both with me and yourself) and a desire to engage. On my part, I have a genuine healing intent and provide commitment and honesty to you with the utmost respect for you as an individual.

Drugs and alcohol

It is requested that you remain free of drugs and alcohol for the duration of each appointment so that we can work in an authentic manner.

The benefits of counselling

The benefits of counselling are that it gives you time and a safe place to work through your concerns, past traumas, current difficulties in relationships and anything which you wish to address. The aim is that by participating in counselling and through talking, sharing, processing and evaluating, you can resolve these issues and gain a greater ability to cope with them moving forward.

With the added use of coping strategies and with a greater understanding of who you are, what you contribute and your personal goals and values, counselling can help you to regain control of your life and look forward to the future.

The risks of counselling

There are however certain risks involved in counselling. You may experience a variety of negative emotions during the process, particularly at the start as you remember, share, process and try to resolve unpleasant events. Doing so can lead to discomfort as well as relationship changes that may not have been originally intended. I will do my best to assess progress and provide referral information to other sources if that is deemed necessary and appropriate. Counselling is a collaborative process and the progress you make will also depend upon your investment in it.

Confidentiality

Counselling will take place in a confidential environment, and I will not discuss what is talked about in sessions outside of our time together. There are however some legal, ethical, and safety related exceptions to this over which I am bound to notify external agencies, as relevant. The following list whilst extensive, is not exhaustive – and should matters of confidentiality arise in sessions, I will discuss these with you.

• I am required to attend supervision as part of my continuing professional development and in order to ensure that you receive the best possible service. Any information discussed under supervision is anonymous.
• If, in exceptional circumstances it is felt that either you or someone else were in danger or at risk of harm, then I may choose to break confidentiality in order to safeguard the relevant person/s. You will be aware that this is taking place, but your permission is not required by law.
• If you are involved in money laundering, acts of terrorism, or admit to having committed a crime (or clear intent to do so) then I must legally report this.

Privacy

Online therapy requires the use of external third party agencies in order to provide a service. These include but are not limited to FaceTime, Zoom and telephony providers. Rachael Horan Counselling accepts no liability for how these technology providers will use any data provided by you, and by agreeing to this contract you are providing your consent for our sessions to use a technological platform if required and agreed.

Your data

In line with GDPR regulation, Rachael Horan Counselling has a data protection policy to safeguard client’s information when held in house. As your counsellor I have a legitimate interest in holding data relating to you, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have. I cannot accept liability for any third party data breaches where consent has been provided by you as the client to use that service.

Sessions

Sessions are for 50 minutes and will be at a pre-agreed day and time each week.

Record keeping

I will keep brief typed notes, and you are welcome to see these at any time. These notes are kept confidentially and no personal details will be passed to other agencies. At the end of our work together, your notes will be stored securely for a period of 5 years, mainly to aid future work should you wish to return to counselling. After that time they will be removed from my system and no electronic records for you will be stored.

Insurance

Rachael Horan Counselling holds both public liability and professional indemnity insurance. Copies of this documentation are available upon request.

Holidays

I will aim to give a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice of any planned holiday dates. Rachael Horan Counselling requires (where possible) 2 weeks’ notice from you of the same. Obviously sometimes cancellations are unavoidable, but I respectfully ask for as much notice as possible.

Complaints

Should you wish to make a complaint about the service you have been offered, please in the first instance discuss this with myself. If after this you feel that you would like to escalate your complaint further, please contact the BACP under whose ethics I work.

Cost of service and payment of fees

The cost of your counselling sessions will have already been agreed prior to this first session. Payment is required upfront prior to the commencement of each session if paying via BACS or if a Zoom/FaceTime session has been arranged. If paying by card or cash, then payment is required at the end of each session.

Session cancellations

Cancellations within 24 hours will still require the agreed fee to be paid. Two successive missed appointments without contact and/or payment will result in therapy being terminated.