Terms and Conditions | Addiction Therapy

TERMS & CONDITIONS

The following terms and conditions outline the services that Therapy ACB will provide, the cost of the services provided, when and how you should pay, and what happens if the work is cancelled by either party.

INITIAL DISCUSSION: You will have had the opportunity for an initial free-of-charge discussion lasting up to 15 minutes. During the initial discussion, you will have been asked for an outline of the reasons you may need the support of a psychological therapist. You are receiving this notice because we have agreed to proceed to a first appointment.

REGISTRATION AND PERSONAL INFORMATION: Once you have agreed to a first appointment, you will be sent a link to complete a Registration and Personal Information questionnaire. You must complete and return this questionnaire no later than 48 hours before your first appointment. By completing the questionnaire and by attending appointments, you are providing consent to engage with Therapy ACB.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SAFEGUARDING: If you do not attend a scheduled appointment without giving me prior notice, I reserve the right to take steps to ensure your safety. This means that, at my discretion, I will make attempts to contact you using the information you have provided to me. If I am unable to make contact with you, I will attempt to contact the person you have nominated on your Registration and Personal Information form. I may also contact your GP and, if I believe there to be significant potential risk to your wellbeing, I may contact the police. An alternative Risk and Safeguarding Plan may be agreed at my discretion.

DATA CONFIDENTIALITY: A Privacy Statement is available on the website (Therapyacb.co.uk). We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), adhering to the requirement for safe and effective use of personal data, including health and social care information. Your confidentiality will be fully respected within certain limitations. It is not possible to cover every possible situation in which challenges about confidentiality might emerge, but they are likely to involve situations where a) there is a significant identifiable risk to you or others, b) there are child protection issues, c) there is a legal requirement to share information with the police and/or court. Therapy ACB will take all reasonable steps to keep personal data safe and, before sharing any personal information, your consent will be sought wherever viable. In certain circumstances (e.g., safeguarding concerns or for legal reasons), your information may have to be shared even if you do not provide consent. If such circumstances were to arise, you would be informed about which information is being shared and the reasons for sharing without your consent.

In all other situations, the psychologist will only pass on personal information to a third party (usually in a report) when asked to do so by you. If a third party requests a report, the psychologist will ask for your consent before forwarding the report. If you wanted specific information withheld in a report, you must make this clear before the report is written and forwarded.

Practitioner Psychologists are required to undergo clinical supervision, to maintain professional standards in their practice. During supervision, the psychologist may discuss your case with another professional (normally another HCPC registered psychologist) who is bound by the same codes of conduct as your psychologist. However, you would remain anonymous as information that could identify you would not be disclosed in such supervision.

You are also required to abide by confidentiality. You may not make an audio and/or visual recording of sessions without explicit permission from the psychologist. Should recording be agreed, any recordings would be exclusively for your personal use (i.e. for the purposes of 'note taking') and must not be shared with others under any circumstances. Sharing recordings without consent may be a breach of GDPR legislation.

PAYMENT: Payment is made on a session-by-session basis or as a 'bundle' and is to be made prior to your therapy session or 'bundle' of sessions. Payment for single sessions is to be made at least 24 hours in advance of your session and payment for 'bundles' in advance of the first session. Bank details for BACS transfer will be provided to you. In the payment reference section, please include your initials and the date of your appointment if relevant (e.g., A P 01/05/24).

CANCELLATION OF A SESSION: If you cancel a session less than 24 hours before an appointment, then 100% of the total cost will be payable. Cancellation/rescheduling can be done by email: Bernadette@therapyacb.co.uk or by telephone/text: 07301 202091. If more than 24 hours’ notice is given to cancel an appointment, there will be no charge for that appointment. If the psychologist cancels the appointment at any time before the start of the appointment, there will be no charge.

Where a 'bundle' of sessions has been arranged and paid for in advance, any session not attended without a minimum of 24 hours notice, will be charged for. If more than 24 hours notice of cancellation is given, the missed appointment can be re-arranged. No more than one session in any four-session bundle can be cancelled and rearranged in this way.

Where a client is engaged in long term therapy and there are known anticipated breaks in sessions, (e.g., planned or booked holiday) the client should inform the psychologist of the dates in advance. The psychologist will also advise you of any likely or known breaks in treatment in advance.

TERMINATION OF A SESSION AND/OR TREATMENT: The psychologist is not required to continue the session beyond the booked finishing time, but may do so if deemed appropriate. If you are attending sessions ‘in-person’, the psychologist reserves the right to terminate a session, without refund, if the psychologist believes that you pose a personal risk to the psychologist or anyone in, or near, the clinic setting. In such circumstances, the appropriate authorities will be notified. If, during treatment, the psychologist determines that further treatment is not appropriate, then the psychologist reserves the right to terminate treatment.

LATE ARRIVAL: The psychologist reserves the right to charge you for the whole timeslot provided, regardless of late arrival or early departure. For example, if you have booked an appointment from 10.00am and arrive at 10.20am, you will only have 40 minutes remaining, but will be charged for the full hour. If you have not arrived within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time, the psychologist reserves the right to cancel the session and you will still be charged for the full timeslot.

REPORTS: The psychologist charges for all written reports, with the price depending on the length of time that it takes to write the report. A quotation for writing a report(s) can be provided via email. Payment for reports are made in advance of the report being written. The psychologist will agree with you the likely timescale for completing the report (i.e. the date you will receive the report(s)). All reports will be based on the psychologist’s professional opinion.

FEES: Sessions are charged at £85 per 50 – 60 minute session, which is payable as described above. Four session Starter Bundles are charged at £300.

Psychological reports and letters are priced on an individual basis following discussion on the requirements of the document.

DESIRED OUTCOMES/GOALS: Whilst the psychologist will make all reasonable efforts to help you reach the desired outcome, it is not the psychologist’s responsibility to ensure that the desired outcome is achieved. The psychologist cannot provide a guarantee of outcome and refunds are not provided where treatment has not been successful in reaching your desired outcome. Please read the notes on my website on ‘Making the most of Therapy’ for further information.

HCPC REGISTRATION: The psychologist is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, which is the regulator for practitioner psychologists and whose primary role is to protect the public. Information about the HCPC can be found at: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/, where you can also check to ensure that your psychologist is on the register.

COMPLAINTS: The psychologist will be happy to handle complaints in person or via phone but, if you prefer, complaints can be sent via email. The psychologist will aim to respond to your complaint within fourteen days.

INSURANCE: The psychologist has insurance that provides professional indemnity cover.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS AGREEMENT: Thank you for reading the above terms and conditions. If you have any questions before deciding to proceed, please contact me via email (email: Bernadette@Therapyacb.co.uk) or telephone 07301 202091.

By attending your first appointment, whether in-person, by phone or online, you are agreeing to the above terms and conditions.