Jane Clayton Psychotherapy, psychotherapist and counsellor in Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Therapeutic Contract

My full contract will be provided on confirmation of your first appointment. A summary of the key components of my contract are available below.

About me

My name is Jane Clayton and I am a qualified psychotherapist, working with individuals over the age of eighteen. There are a variety of approaches to the way practitioners work with their clients and I have been trained in a therapeutic approach called integrative counselling and psychotherapy. This means I use techniques and tools from a range of different modalities to create an individual approach for you, with the overarching aim to help you to develop self-awareness and new behaviours to improve your satisfaction with life.

Registration

I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (membership number: 00974256) which means I adhere to their code of ethics in my work. Click here for access to the BACP’s Ethical Framework.

I am committed to providing an anti-discriminatory service. If there is anything that you don’t understand about this agreement, or if you would prefer it in a different format, please let me know. Similarly, if you are not happy with any of our sessions or the standard of my work, I hope that you feel able to talk to me about this.

If you feel unable to talk to me or in the event of a serious complaint, please contact the BACP’s Get help with counselling concerns service, which provides confidential telephone and email guidance on what to do if you have concerns about your therapy or therapist.

Data protection

In order for us to work together safely, I need to keep some basic information about you. You will need to provide this information during your first session if we meet in person, or beforehand if we meet online. All personal details are stored securely using password protection and encryption where appropriate.

In line with the requirements of my insurer, I retain client records for a minimum period of 5 years and a maximum of 7 years from the conclusion of your therapy. If you return to therapy with me after 5 years, you will need to provide me with your details again. This is in line with the Data Protection Act (2018) and the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK-GDPR).

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ZB606556).

Notes

Once you become my client, you will be assigned an anonymous unique identification code. This is for my records only and prevents identification of who you are by any third party. Against this ID code, I will record brief notes of our sessions to help me work with you as effectively as possible. These notes are not shared with any third party unless they are requested for legal purposes via a court order. Should this happen, there is no personally identifiable information available in those notes. You can ask to see a copy of your notes at any time.

Subject to a full discussion between us and consideration from me regarding the request, I am willing to write relevant letters and reports, but will require your written permission for me to do this. I charge a fee for writing letters and reports, and this is based on the time it takes for me to write the document. Should you request a letter or report to be written, we will discuss the fee at this time.

Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality is the cornerstone of psychotherapy and it is important that you feel able to speak freely with me throughout our work together. I will honour the confidentiality of our work at all times, unless I think you or someone else, especially a child or vulnerable adult, is at immediate risk of harm. If I believe you are at risk of immediate harm, I may need to speak to your emergency contact or your GP, but I will always try to discuss this with you first so that you understand why I am taking this action. It is always my preference to breach confidentiality with your consent, but there may be times where it is not safe to do so. In the event of breaching confidentiality, I will also speak with my supervisor.

In certain cases where you declare a clear and definite intention to end your life, or if I have reason to believe this to be true, we may after careful discussion agree to put in place a keep safe policy where you agree to take certain measures, such as get in touch with your mental health crisis team or talk to the Samaritans, as a way of ensuring your safety.

I am not bound by confidentiality if, in good faith, I feel that I can assist in the prevention or detection of a serious crime. This includes safeguarding issues regarding children or vulnerable adults, acts of terrorism, or crimes regarding substantial financial gains and losses, such as drug trafficking.

You can ask me about confidentiality at any time and if you want more information on what happens when I need to breach confidentiality, I can provide you with a copy of my Safeguarding Procedure.

Supervision

As a registered member of the BACP, I am duty bound to participate in monthly clinical supervision with a qualified professional supervisor. This supervisor is also a qualified psychotherapist and is, therefore, also subject to the confidentiality rules outlined above.

Supervision sessions are designed to help me develop as a therapist and they support me to work as effectively as possible with my clients. During a supervision session, I may talk directly about something that has come up during your therapy. I will never provide details beyond your first name so my supervisor will not be able to identify who you are, and my intention is only to make sure I am best able to support you.

In keeping with the requirements of the BACP’s Ethical Framework I have appointed a trusted colleague to take over the administration of my practice in the event of my death or incapacity. It is their duty to deal with my appointments and destroy my notes in a confidential manner. This colleague is also a member of the BACP and is bound by the same professional confidentiality rules as set out in their Ethical Framework. In practice, this means that should I die or become incapacitated whilst you are a current client of mine, you will be contacted by my colleague and they will provide you with support and answer any questions you may have. They will not know anything about you or your therapy other than what you choose to share with them.

What to expect from therapy sessions

In making this contract, we will be agreeing to meet at a specific day and time for the duration of our work together, unless otherwise agreed. I offer counselling over short-, medium- and long-term periods depending on your individual need, and we will regularly review your progress during this time.

In order for us to work together safely, there need to be some boundaries:

Duration: each therapy session will last 55 minutes and, because I may have appointments before and after your session, we are not able to start early or overrun. I do not have a waiting room so please arrive for in-person sessions on time.
Lateness: if you are running late, please let me know via text message/WhatsApp. Your session will begin as soon as you arrive but will finish at the usual time. Extra time cannot be added due to lateness.
Working online: if we are working online, whether for all sessions or on an ad hoc basis, please ensure that you are in a private space where you will not be overhead or interrupted for the duration of the session.
Attending under the influence: I am unable to deliver effective therapy to clients who attend sessions under the influence of non-prescribed medication, drugs or alcohol. If there is a risk of this, we will discuss this at the outset of your therapy and we would agree a period of abstinence from the non-prescribed medication, drugs or alcohol prior to each session. If you attend a session whilst under the influence of non-prescribed medication, drugs or alcohol, or I believe that you are, we will discuss this in the session before the session is terminated. You will be charged in full.
Missed sessions: if you are unable to attend a session for any reason, please let me know as soon as possible. If you provide at least 24 hours’ notice, there will be no charge, but cancellations within 24 hours will be charged in full. I will be unable to book a further session for you until I have received payment for a missed session. Non-attendance without letting me know on two occasions will lead to our work together being terminated.
My absence: I will let you know via text, WhatsApp or phone call at the earliest opportunity if I have to cancel your session at short notice. Where possible, I will try to offer an alternative date/time during the same week.
Holidays: please let me know with as much notice as possible of any planned holidays. I will also do the same.
Contact between sessions: It is important to the therapeutic process for us to maintain the integrity of your sessions. As such, I am unable to offer ad hoc therapy over the phone or via text/WhatsApp between appointments but have provided a list of organisations who can provide support should you need it. This list is also available on the Useful Information page of my website.

Payment

Sessions must be paid for on the day of your session. If you forget to pay for your session, I will send a reminder by text/WhatsApp the following day. Failure to pay for a session will lead to future sessions being cancelled. If you are struggling to make payments for financial reasons, please talk to me about this.

Invoices for payment can be provided on request.

I review my fees on an annual basis in March and I will give you one calendar months’ notice of any proposed increase.

Contact details

My contact details will be provided on confirmation of your first appointment. As I run my therapy practice from a garden office at my home, I will have provided you with my address in order for you to attend in person sessions. Please respect mine and my family’s privacy and do not share these details with anyone else, and respect our home during your visit.