Sample Counselling Contract

Counselling Agreement

Aim of Counselling: The aim of counselling is to provide you with a confidential opportunity for you to explore your thoughts and feelings in safety.  My role is to help you through this process without judgement or telling you what to do.  I may on occasions give information or offer suggestions.  If at any time I feel I cannot help you in this way, I will offer to refer you to someone who can.

Confidentiality: Our work together remains confidential and I will not discuss what we talk about in sessions outside of the sessions.  If however, I feel that either you or someone else were in danger or at risk of harm I would discuss with you first the possibility of breaking confidentiality. However, I retain the right to break confidentiality without prior consultation with you should I consider that the urgency of the situation requires me to act immediately to safeguard the physical safety of yourself or others

Supervision:  I am required to attended supervision in order to ensure that you receive the best possible service.  Any information the supervisor has about you will be treated in confidence. 

Ethical Standards: I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and bound by their ethical code of practice. These standards are available at www.bacp.co.uk

Sessions: Sessions last 1 hour and will be every week at a day and time suitable to you.  If for any reason I have to cancel a session I will aim to provide you with 48 hours notice, you will not be charged for the session.  Likewise I will expect you to give me 48 hours notice if you are unable to attend.  I reserve the right to charge for a missed session where no or insufficient notice is given.

Counselling Venue – please see address at the foot of this agreement

Number of sessions / ending counselling: When therapy is open-ended, as opposed to limited to 6 or 12 sessions it is important that ending therapy is not sudden so we will regularly review progress to help determine the duration of our work together.  Once an end date is agreed I would anticipate that we would have a minimum of 3 more sessions leading up to this date.

Re contracting: This is the opportunity to consider changes to this agreement that we negotiate and may include changes in dates and times, frequency of sessions and continuing our therapeutic

Insurance: I hold both public liability and professional indemnity insurance.

Cost - Session Fee £40.00

(Fees are reviewed yearly and any changes take effect from 1^st April).

Holidays: I will give a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice of any planned holiday dates when I will be unavailable. I require (where possible) at least 2 weeks from you of the same.

Complaints: Should you wish to make a complaint about the service you have been offered please contact the BACP at www.bacp.co.uk

If there is anything you are not sure about please let me know.

Please complete

Name…………………………………………………………………..

Signed.........................................................................              

Date................................... 

Telephone number…………………………………………………

Email…………………………………………………………………….

GP contact details:

GP name……………………………………………………………..

Surgery name / number……………………………………………………………………………………..