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Terms & Conditions

Duty of care to you

It is of utmost importance to Michelle Higgins that you receive the best support possible.

The key to successful therapy is the relationship that you will form with your therapist. Michelle will provide an initial free telephone consultation which is a chance to discuss the issues that you (and your family) are facing and to see if we can find a good relational fit.

Due to the complexity of the psyche and family dynamics it is not possible to draw absolute conclusions about the issues facing, or the best course of action in an initial consultation. The assessment process in therapy is always ongoing and together we will continually review progress throughout therapy to ensure that I am providing you/your family with the best service possible.

Confidentiality

All confidential information is held by Michelle Higgins Counselling and Psychotherapy in accordance with the GDPR, 2018.

Counselling is a confidential service – but there are legal and ethical limitations to confidentiality. They are:

  • If a child is being hurt or is at serious risk of harm
  • If a vulnerable adult is at serious risk of harm
  • If I am told about terrorist activities, money laundering, drug trafficking or human trafficking
  • If a judge subpoenas my notes for court

I will always endeavour to speak to you about the reasons for my concerns and work with you to ensure safety and/or manage a confidentiality break.

I am required to discuss my clinical work with a supervisor once a month. This is in accordance with a number of counselling regulatory bodies. This is to ensure that I am offering you the best service possible. These conversations are bound by confidentiality. All cases discussed are anonymised.

Limited notes are also kept of each session. These are anonymised and are stored securely. These notes are for therapist use only and help me to keep a track of themes that are discussed in sessions. I am required by General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) to keep these notes securely for seven years after your therapy comes to an end, after which they will be confidentially destroyed. Notes for children’s work are kept for five years following a child’s 18th Birthday.

In line with GDPR you have the right to request sight of your session notes. Should you wish to view your notes while you are still in therapy, please discuss this with me. If you would like to receive a copy of your notes at any time during the seven years that they will be held after your therapy comes to an end, please email michelle higgins counselling to make the request.

Payment & cancellations

Payment for therapy sessions is due 24 hours in advance of the session. Payment details will be provided in your counselling agreement that you will receive via email after an initial phone consultation.

Cancelled sessions with 24 hours’ notice will not incur a charge.
Cancelled sessions without 24 hours’ notice will be charged at the full rate.

I charge for late cancellations for the following reasons:

  • I spend time preparing for client sessions in advance.
  • I offer cancellation slots to some clients who take ‘as and when’ available appointments, or assessment appointments. I can only offer an available slot 24 hours in advance to other clients.
  • I want to keep my fees as affordable as possible; non-payment of late cancellations would make it difficult for me to keep costs down.
  • Late cancellation fees help clients/families to commit to counselling – this helps to keep the momentum of work going.

Online therapy

Security and Confidentiality – Online

Security and confidentiality is very important. In order to keep both of our information safe and confidential it is important that we take precautions with both physical and electronic Intrusions.

Physical Intrusion

We agree to manage any physical intrusion into our session by ensuring that we both use a private space where we will not be disturbed. Only those contracted to attend sessions should be present during our online time together.

Electronic Intrusion

We agree to using the most secure methods of communication including protected Wi-Fi, firewalls and virus protection being used by both parties.

Agree that NO sessions will be recorded either via video or sound. Either by the PC, laptop tablet or phone.

I use Zoom for the delivery of online therapy.

Making changes to your appointment

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please let me know as soon as possible.

Please note that for therapy to work, regular attendance is essential.

I will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible should I, for any reason, need to cancel or amend any appointment.

Breaks in therapy

For therapy to be effective regular & consistent attendance is essential. It is also important that we agree upon any planned therapeutic breaks. Breaks can often be needed in therapy to try out new skills or ideas gleaned from the therapeutic process.

I will endeavour to give you notice of any holidays that I plan to take and ask that you try to do the same.

Raising concerns

In the event of a complaint or dispute, please try to discuss things with me and I will attempt to resolve the issue in a satisfactory way for you. If this does not provide an acceptable outcome, then you may wish to contact BACP.

Further information about BACP is available from https://www.bacp.co.uk or:

British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy
BACP House
15 St John’s Business Park
Lutterworth
LE17 4HB
Tel: 0870 443 5252 // Fax: 0870 443 5161