Terms and Conditions for Funded Therapy

1 May 2024

NB: This document outlines the general terms and conditions of my practice. However, there may be additional or alternative terms and conditions set by the third party who is funding your therapy (usually your insurance company or solicitor; referred to hereafter as a “funder”), which I (as a practitioner) and you are bound by. If there is a contradiction between these terms and conditions and those of your funder, then in most cases your funder’s terms and conditions will prevail.

Fees

Fees for psychological therapy sessions are agreed with your funder. Sessions usually occur weekly or fortnightly, and are usually 60 minutes in length unless agreed otherwise beforehand. Longer sessions will be charged on a pro rata basis.

If your therapy is provided by an insurance company, you will be responsible for paying any excess that is part of your policy. This may be paid to your insurer, but in some cases should be paid directly to me: please consult your insurance paperwork or contact your insurer if you are unsure. You also agree to pay any costs for work provided that is not covered by your policy. Any such additional work will be discussed and agreed before commencing. You also accept responsibility for any payments for therapy if your insurance policy lapses for any reason.

For any fees that you will need to pay, preferred method of payment is in advance by bank transfer or PayPal. In exceptional circumstances, I will accept cash payments. These can be paid at the end of a session.

During the coronavirus pandemic, most of my sessions will be held via telephone or video call, but if there is a clinical justification for meeting face-to-face, then this can be arranged. Face-to-face sessions will be at an agreed location, and this will usually be a therapy room. Every effort will be made to keep the therapy room consistent. I am able to do home visits in exceptional circumstances, but only if agreed in advance. Travelling time is calculated at £50 per hour or pro rata and mileage is charged at 45p per mile (LAA rates).

The Therapy Process

The therapy process is a collaborative one. This means you can let me know what you find helpful or unhelpful and share your own ideas on what will aid progress. Therapy is not necessarily a “quick fix” and it can take time and work to see changes. I cannot guarantee that sessions will result in improvement, but will do my utmost to provide effective treatment and help you achieve your goals.

Your progress can be regularly reviewed and I will only recommend further sessions if these are likely to be of benefit to you we can both agree clear goals. You are under no obligation to continue sessions if you would like to stop, and there may be occasions when we agree a “therapy break” would be helpful to allow time for changes to “bed in”. Your funder may set limits on the number of sessions that they will fund. This is usually a sufficient number of sessions for us to meet agreed goals. However, If we agree to continue therapy beyond this number of sessions, then you will be expected to pay the fees as a “self-funder”.

I will not suddenly or without warning terminate our contract, except in exceptional circumstances (e.g. if risk issues emerge that necessitate the termination of our work). This would be fully discussed at that time. In the normal course of events you will probably know when you are ready to finish therapy, and we will agree together on the work we need to do to prepare for this.

Lateness & session times

If you arrive late for your session the session will still end at the same time. If you arrive early, please wait in reception and I will come to collect you. This ensures that I am completely ready for you.

Cancellation policy

Please let me know of any holidays or planned breaks with as much notice as possible to preserve the continuity of our work. If you are unable to attend your appointment please let me know as soon as possible. 24 hours’ notice is required for cancellation, and you will not be charged for the session provided this notice is given. Where there is less notice, a fee of 50% of the session cost will be incurred. If you fail to attend your appointment and do not give notice, then the full charge will be incurred, as the slot cannot be re-allocated.  Depending on your agreement with your funder, you may be expected to pay for missed sessions yourself. If you repeatedly misses sessions, then I reserve the right to place therapy on hold until fees for missed sessions are paid in full. 

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I will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible of any need to cancel or rearrange a future appointment, but there may be occasions where I need to cancel or change your appointment at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances. If the reason for cancellation is because of my unavailability, then an alternative appointment will be arranged and you will only pay for the session you attend.

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I reserve the right to terminate a session if you are under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed medication to the degree that your ability to engage is impaired. This session will be charged as a full session. Please note any threats or acts of violence will invalidate any agreements or contracts and therapy will cease.

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Contact Arrangements

You are welcome to leave a voicemail or email for me between sessions, but such contact should be kept to booking or re-arranging appointments, brief queries or clarifications unless otherwise agreed. Please note that my hours for private work are limited, so it may take me some time to respond to any communications. More detailed concerns should, wherever possible, be brought to a face-to-face appointment. I am not able to provide therapeutic input between agreed session times.

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I do not provide any out-of-hours or emergency cover. In the event of a crisis or emergency, please contact your GP (out-of-hours dial 111), mental health single point of access team (in Kent this is 0300 222 0123), attend your local A&E department, or dial 999. You may also find the Samaritans (116 123, 24hours) or SANELine (0300 304 7000, 6pm-11pm) helpful.

Confidentiality and Privacy

Much of the content of therapy/supervision is confidential, and I adhere to HCPC standards of conduct and ethics and relevant data protection legislation (e.g. GDPR). However, there are exceptions to this. Please see the separate “Privacy Notice” for a detailed overview of how your data is used. Please note that I also have a secretary who will process some of your personal data as part of their duties. This will usually be to complete invoices, respond to routine emails or to send reports to appropriate parties. In accordance with the law, the information they would have access to will be kept to the minimum necessary.

Your insurance company may stipulate that you must provide your consent for me to share your personal data with them as a condition of their funding your policy. If this is the case, then failure to provide this consent may mean that you will need to either self-fund or terminate your therapy.

If you wish to record our therapy sessions then you may only do so with my agreement in advance. This is to ensure that a trusting, open therapeutic relationship is maintained.

Complaints procedure

Psychological therapies can at times be demanding, frustrating, and emotional. You may at times find this process very difficult. If you feel unhappy with any aspects of the treatment being offered please do try and communicate this verbally. This gives us both the chance to address and resolve issues.  For more serious complaints, or for matters that you do not feel able to raise with me, you have the right to speak to your funder.

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I am also regulated by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). Should you feel that you have cause for raising a formal complaint, please visit their website (https://www.hcpc-uk.org/) for details of how to do this.

I reserve the right to amend, add to or remove from these terms and conditions at any time. I will endeavour to give you notice of any changes that are materially adverse to you. If you have any questions with regards to these Terms and Conditions, please do not hesitate to contact me.