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Caring Counsellor
& Catalyst for Change

Terms & Conditions

  1. I am a Registered Member (409125) of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). I follow their ethical framework, and am subject to their Professional Conduct Procedure. I have professional indemnity insurance with Holistic Insurance Services.
     

  2. Time - Sessions are 50 minutes long, unless we agree otherwise. The times, dates and frequency can be discussed at the first session. The counselling is open-ended, so there is no limit to the number of sessions.
     

  3. Fees - The fee is £50 per 50-minute appointment, payable by direct electronic bank transfer (BACS), before the session starts. If the fee is not paid prior to the session, the session will not be able to take place. Bank details will be provided once the first session is booked.
     

  4. Location - The sessions will take place at my private practice in either Dummer or Tadley. I will send you the location and directions, once I have confirmed our first session.  Alternatively, the sessions can take place online, over Zoom, WhatsApp or Google Meet. You will need to be in a private space where you won’t be overheard or interrupted. I will be in a room where you cannot be overheard or seen on my screen by anyone else.
     

  5. Confidentiality - Counselling is confidential. This means I will not share information about you with a third party unless you consent to that disclosure.

    Exceptions to confidentiality - There are circumstances when I might need to disclose information about you, even without your consent. These are:
    – If you or someone else, particularly a child or vulnerable adult, is at risk of serious harm
    – If there is a legal obligation relating to your involvement in a serious crime
    – If it is essential to prevent a serious threat to either public health or national security
    – If there is a court order requesting information about you.
    Please note that, where possible, I will always seek your consent before making a disclosure.
     

  6. Confidentiality in my own supervision - I talk regularly to another experienced counsellor about my practice. This is called ‘supervision’ and is confidential too. If I discuss your sessions in my supervision, then I will not use your name or otherwise knowingly identify you.
     

  7. Privacy - I record your name, address, age and contact information. I use this information for essential administrative tasks. I do not share it with others without your consent unless I am legally or ethically required to do so, as in the confidentiality statement above.

    During our work, you may share a range of sensitive personal information, but I do not routinely record it. As a memory aid, I might sometimes make brief factual notes about our sessions, but these are stored securely, kept separately from your contact and other details and are anonymised, so they do not identify you. You can see a more detailed privacy statement at my website.
     

  8. Contact between sessions - We will normally have no personal or professional relationship other than counsellor and client. If this changes in any way (e.g. we became colleagues in another setting), then we will discuss how this might affect your counselling.
     

  9. I can only see you by prior appointment - You are welcome to contact me between sessions to discuss practical matters, such as rescheduling sessions. I usually reply to emails within two working days. Please bring all other issues (e.g. personal matters, thoughts and feelings about the counselling, events in your life) to your next session. If you feel you need an extra session before your scheduled one, please let me know — it may not be possible, but I will do my best to arrange one. If you require urgent assistance, please contact NHS direct (call 111), your GP, the emergency services (call 999) or the Samaritans (freephone 116 123).
     

  10. Cancellations - Due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances, I might need to cancel a session. I will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and to arrange an alternative appointment. If I am due to be on holiday or working away, e.g. on a training course, then I will try to give you at least two weeks’ notice.

    If you are unable to make a session, please let me know as soon as possible, then we can arrange another session, which will usually be at the same time/day in the following week. More than 24 hours’ notice of cancellations is greatly appreciated and incurs no fee. If you arrive late, unfortunately I will not be able to extend the session, as this will affect my other appointments.

    For late cancellations (less than 24 hours’ notice), I charge the full fee. If there is an outstanding fee, then I will not be able to arrange another session until that fee is paid.

    If you miss an appointment, I will contact you to see if you’d like to reschedule. If I don’t hear from you within a week, then I will assume you no longer wish to continue with counselling, but please do get back in touch if you’d like to restart your sessions.I will ask that you let me know of any intended breaks or holidays that you will be taking. I in turn will give you notice of mine.
     

  11. Reviewing and ending counselling - Reviewing how your counselling is going will be a natural part of our work. We can also dedicate whole sessions to reviewing the counselling, if you feel that would be useful.

    You may end counselling at any time. Sometimes it can be valuable to have a planned final session rather than stopping more suddenly, so please let me know if you would like to talk about ending our work together, but this is entirely up to you.

Privacy Statement

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and any information that I keep is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 18) and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation. See Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk

To begin working together, I will record your name and preferred contact details (for example, telephone number, email address). I will also ask for an emergency contact, and the name of your GP surgery - this would only be to use in a strict emergency. I use this information only for essential administrative tasks: contacting you and arranging appointments. I do not share it with others without your consent unless I am legally or ethically required to do so, as in the confidentiality statement covered in the contract. 

In the event of my death or incapacity through ill-health, a colleague will have access to your contact details so that you can be informed.

During our work, you might verbally share a range of sensitive personal information, but I do not routinely record it. I might sometimes make brief notes about our sessions, but these are kept separately from your contact details and are anonymised, so they do not identify you. 

Storing and deleting your information 

Any personal data I have recorded or that is contained in documents given to me by you or by third parties in the course of our work will be stored securely, either in a locked filing cabinet or in a password protected digital folder and kept for a maximum of 6 years after the counselling ends, then deleted. 

Your consent and rights

When we start working together, I will ask if you consent to me using your personal data as described in this statement. It is your right to see the data I hold about you and to request that it be corrected (if you believe there are inaccuracies) or deleted. If you would like this to happen or have any other questions about privacy or confidentiality, then please contact me and I will attempt to resolve your query as soon as possible.

 

Website data 

My website host (Wix) uses various processes to monitor when and how the site is visited. I do not have access to any of your personal data within these systems, which only show me anonymised numerical information about the site’s usage.  If you fill in a form on my website, that data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent to me.

 

If you have difficulty understanding this information or want to ask more questions, please contact me.

Office hours:

Monday:        10.00am - 19:00pm

Tuesday:        09.00am - 17:00pm

Wednesday:  15.00pm - 16:00pm

Thursday:      09.00am - 19:00pm

Friday:           10.00am - 17.00pm

Locations:

 

Dummer, Tadley and Online 

Contact:

 

Phone: +44 (0)7521 498606

Email: info@nancybrownliecounselling.com

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