Privacy Policy

 

 

Counselling I CBT I DBT I Coaching

                                                                                

Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapists, Counsellors and Personal Development/Life Coaching

 

Psychotherapy / Counselling / Coaching Contract

Our primary focus is to provide safe and effective Therapy and Coaching in an environment based on respect and a commitment to your well-being.

The following is a summary of the terms and conditions under which therapy and coaching are provided.

 

Location

Therapy/coaching sessions are offered at BreakFree Therapy & Coaching Private Practice, Longcroft House, Victoria Avenue, London, EC2M 4NS.

Sometimes it may be necessary for me to see clients in their own home (Positive Behaviour Support clients only) or elsewhere, for example places where they may be encountering problems. The reasons for this will be discussed during the initial consultation, should this become necessary.

No emergency or out of hours service is provided. In emergencies, clients should consult their own GP or the Accident and Emergency service as appropriate.

Therapy and coaching can be delivered over the telephone or via video conference e.g. Skype and Zoom.

 

Time of sessions

Sessions usually last for 50-60 minutes, 90 minutes for initial session for Trauma Treatment. Generally, We will try to minimise the possibility of sessions overrunning because of our responsibility to our other clients.

 

Basic structure of sessions

You will normally be offered between 4 and 12 sessions of CBT, DBT and Trauma Treatment and 2 and 6 sessions for Coaching and Counselling. If the problem is chronic, complex or life-long, a longer therapy may be necessary and can be discussed. If more sessions are needed, this will be agreed with you or you may be referred on to a more suitable form of therapy.

Usually the first session includes a detailed assessment of your current problems. At the end of the first session, you may be given some questionnaires to complete which are an important part of the CBT process and provide additional information about your problems. After an initial meeting, it is usually possible to agree a plan for the therapy called a Bespoke Treatment Plan (BTP) or Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) and for us to have an idea of how many sessions will be needed.

 

Endings

The last few sessions of CBT includes working on relapse prevention.This involves looking at strategies to help you maintain the improvements you have achieved in therapy. Follow-up sessions may sometimes be useful.

 

Self help

Progress in therapy will often depend on the completion of between-session work called ‘Action Plan’, which is a vital part of CBT. As well as improving outcomes during therapy, it helps people learn how to become their own therapist, reducing the likelihood of the problems recurring in the future.

 

ICO/GDPR/Confidentiality

The law protects the relationship between a client and a counsellor or psychotherapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission.  There are exceptions, and these include suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse, threat of serious bodily harm to another person/s, serious intention to cause harm to oneself despite effort to help.                                                                                   

Data will be stored in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR EU 2016/679).

Mostly clients information is recorded in paper form.  This is not transferred to an electronic system and will not be shared with third parties unless it is with the written permission of the client.  If a client is referred by a Consultant Psychiatrist or a Medical Professional, then a progress report may be provided.  If a client is paying via their insurance policy, the Insurance Company may require a clinical assessment before approving sessions or may require a progress report.  The Consultant Psychiatrist, Medical Professionals and Insurance Companies are also bound by GDPR law and confidentiality.

 

Data collected include: Name, Address, Date of Birth, Profession, Telephone Number, Medical and Psychiatric Information, Previous Therapies, Problem/s, Goals, Priority Problem, Emotional Assessment of Problem, Specific Trigger Events, Assessment of Beliefs, Financial Details e.g. Debit or Credit Card Number, Agreed Homework.

 

In accordance with professional practice, we will sometimes discuss our work in supervision with professional colleagues. No identifying information will be used in these discussions. The main purpose of supervision is to help maintain high professional standards through peer discussion and the sharing of good practice. The Clinical Supervisor is also bound by law to maintain confidentiality.

 

Only relevant information is taken, and these notes are held securely.

 

Details of therapy sessions will be kept in the strictest confidence. Notes will be made of sessions as is standard practice, and these will be stored securely and with coded forms of identification as an extra safeguard. You may request a copy of your notes at any point.

 

Electronic systems holding client information such as an assessment or a progress report are password protected and secure.  Encrypted emails are used.

 

Clients have the:

>right to be informed;

>right of access;

>right to rectification;

>right to erasure;

>right to restrict processing;

>right to data portability;

>the right to object; and

>the right not to be subject to automated decision-making.

 

Client notes are kept for 5 years and then safely destroyed.  Any financial details are destroyed when therapy ends.

At no time will identifying information about you be given to anyone outside of the therapy relationship unless any of the exceptions, as outlined below, apply.

If you have been referred by a Doctor, employer or insurance company, a brief note of presenting problems and progress may be given and a discharge report sent once therapy has ended. If you wish, you may see copies of letters before they are sent and amend them if there are any concerns about the content.

 

Data Protection

Cookies

This website is operated by BreakFree Therapy & Coaching. The site uses cookies to distinguish you from other users and this helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our site and also to improve our site. 

A cookie is a small file of letter and numbers that are stored on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive. We use the following cookies.

Targeting Cookies

These cookies record your visit to our site, the pages you have visitied and the links you have followed. This information will be used by us to make our site and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests.   

If you wish to remove cookies placed on your device by our site or stop our site placing further cookies on your device you can do this at any time (learn how to do this) by visiting: www.aboutcookies.org.

 

Breaking confidentiality

There are rare occasions where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. These are:

> When there is risk of harm to others relating to serious crime (eg.

Issues of child abuse, drug trafficking, money laundering or terrorism).

> When there is thought to be an imminent risk of your causing serious harm to yourself or others.

Wherever possible, these serious concerns will always be discussed with you before any breach of confidentiality takes place. They are exceptional circumstances. In normal circumstances your right to confidentiality will be valued very highly.

 

Fees

Our standard fee for private therapy is £75 per session for Remote/Virtual or £90 Face-to-Face Therapy are offered via our 'Treatment Plans' only, which are displayed on our website: www.breakfreetherapycoaching.com. Fees are payable at the beginning of each session and client can either pay for individual sessions or the full treatment plan. Once a treatment plan is discussed, agreed and the contract signed, client/patient commits to paying for the whole treatment plan whether or not he/she decides to follow through the entire course of treatment. 

 

Cancellations and non-attendance

If you have any difficulties making an appointment, please notify me as soon as possible. No charge will be made for appointments cancelled with 24 hours notice. Appointments cancelled with less than 48 hours notice will result in the entire session becoming due. The full standard fee will apply if you fail to attend an appointment without notice. Your card will be charged to recover payments for unnotified missed session/s, unless advised otherwise. 

 

Termination of therapy

You have the right to terminate the therapy at any point. Wherever possible however, it is better that the ending of therapy is planned for and agreed between us both.

  

This policy constitutes a contract between you the client and BreakFree Therapy & Coaching and is intended to explain the practicalities of the therapy agreement. Please ensure that you have read it carefully before signing. By signing, you are agreeing to the above terms and conditions (which include the provision for breach of confidentiality in those rare circumstances described above). We reserve the right to amend this agreement at anytime without prior notice. 

  

As above, no contact will be made with your GP without your expressed permission unless any of the rare exceptions above apply

 

We Are Here To Listen And Help You Find Your Way.

We offer face to face and Virtual Therapy and Coaching via Zoom, Microsoft teams & Telephone.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for an informal chat and then You can decide which of the services we provide will help you to make some positive changes in your life:-
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