Before booking an appointment, please read through the following terms and conditions and email me to indicate you agree.
Payment
Payments are to be made at time of booking. Once payment is received your appointment will be confirmed. I advise forwarding payment as soon as possible to ensure your appointment is secured.
Cancellations:
If for any reason you need to cancel or rearrange any sessions I request a minimum of 48 hours’ notice (or longer if possible), to enable me to offer the appointment to somebody else who may need it.
Less than 48 hours’ notice of any cancellations/amendments (unless due to an unavoidable emergency) will result in full session fee being owed.
Timekeeping
Sessions are 50 minutes in duration. I ask that you keep your sessions within the allocated time. Early starts or late finishes cannot be accommodated, as I wish to respect the privacy and valuable time of all my clients.
Contact in between sessions
Contact in between sessions should be limited to practical arrangements only. Therapeutic issues should be saved for during your sessions, due to confidentiality / privacy reasons.
Courses
Any courses which are paid for in advance are to be used within 6 months of initial booking. I do not offer refunds on any sessions which are not used up within this time.
Booking on behalf of somebody else
When therapy is booked on behalf of somebody else (eg booking on behalf of child or partner), it is essential that the client consents completely to attending the sessions.
Reports / recommendations / legal procedures
I do not offer any report writing or recommendations as part of my service.
Alcohol/Drug use
Attendance under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs will lead to immediate termination of the session without refund.
Case studies
I occasionally write case studies (brief articles outlining the work I have done with clients) to give people an insight into how therapy can help with various issues.
These are completely anonymous; however if you would prefer that I do not write about our work together please let me know in writing before we commence therapy.
Therapy expectations
During therapy, the client and therapist collaborate together, utilising a range of interventions in order to reach the desired outcome.
For best results I recommend a regular weekly schedule of sessions to ensure consistency and increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
As with all therapeutic or medical interventions, success cannot be guaranteed. However, I consistently see excellent results from clients who are highly motivated, actively participate in the process, and are willing to put into practice the strategies they learn during the sessions. Please see my testimonials page for feedback from previous clients.
Confidentiality
You can be assured that everything you share with me in the course of our work together will be treated as highly confidential.
However, there are some limits to confidentiality which you need to be aware of:
• In accordance with the ethical framework of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), I am required to undertake regular supervision. For this purpose, I may disclose some (anonymous) details of our work to my supervisor.
• If payment is being made by a 3rdparty I will keep them informed if any sessions are cancelled/unattended, in order to give refunds if necessary (I will not however disclose any details of what has been shared in sessions).
• In very rare cases I may be legally or ethically obliged to break confidentiality; for example where I consider your welfare or the welfare of others to be at risk (I will discuss this with you first if at all possible).
Online Therapy
I offer online therapy via video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Skype. When you access therapy in this way, I advise checking your device and making sure you have any necessary security systems updated, for your privacy and safety. You may also wish to check the terms and conditions of the platform you are using, to ensure that their privacy policy is acceptable to you. I do not offer refunds on any sessions which are disrupted because of technical problems on your side; however I will do my best to find a way for us to continue the session, for instance using a different platform, or switching to a regular telephone call if necessary.
Privacy
Secure Storage: Your data is stored securely and confidentially and used in a safe and ethical manner, in line with EU General Data Protection Regulations May 2018. It is not shared with other people without your consent, except in circumstances in which I am required to by law. Right to Access: You have the right to ask for a copy of your personal information, free of charge, in an electronic or paper format. You also have the right to ask me to amend or change any incorrect information about you. Right to be Forgotten: You have the right to ask me to erase any information that I hold about you. This includes your personal information that is no longer relevant to original purposes, or if you wish to withdraw consent. In all cases and when considering such requests, these rights are obligatory unless it is information that I have a legal obligation to retain. Data Portability: As the client, you have the right to receive your personal information which you previously provided, and also have the right to transfer that information to another party. For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, the data “controller” is Lisa Murphy.
Please see also our ‘Terms of use‘ page.