This is my contract with clients. Please read it carefully. It is assumed that you have accepted these terms and conditions if you proceed with therapy. I am a Fellow of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) and bound to abide by their Code of Ethics and Practice which can be found at www.cosrt.org.uk.
1 Payment of fees
Each session is payable in advance of the session by bank transfer. Sessions may be one, one and a half, or two hours long by prior arrangement. Fees are reviewed annually, in January.
2 Minimum notice of 48 hours/two working days for cancellations
If you need to cancel, change or postpone an appointment with less than two full working days (48 hours) notice, the full fee is payable. I greatly appreciate being given as much notice of change as possible.
3 Confidentiality
The content of the therapy session is confidential between client and therapist except in these circumstances:
I receive regular supervision (as do all therapists registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) with another qualified and highly experienced therapist. Should I discuss aspects of my work with you in supervision, I refer to you by your first name only. My supervisor is also bound by a code of Ethics and Practice.
If a consultant or GP has referred you to me, I usually write a short, initial assessment for the referrer and a brief report on completion of the therapy. Private Health Companies often request progress reports at intervals. I am happy to discuss these reports with you.
If compelled by a Court of Law to disclose any information or any notes I may keep.
If needed to enable the management of any complaint against me by you, or if I have to take steps to recover unpaid fees.
In cases where your own safety or the safety of others may be in question the rule of confidentiality is waived.
In the event of my being unexpectedly unable to continue to practice due to accident or sudden incapacity, a qualified colleague bound by the same rules of confidentiality will contact you to inform you and enquire about your wishes for further therapy.
4 Safety
On the day of your session please avoid alcoholic drinks and recreational drugs before we meet.
5 Data Protection
I am the Data Controller for purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 and GDPR 2018. Records are kept in a locked filing cabinet in my office and retained for 5 years after the end of our work together. With prior agreement we may audio or video record our sessions.
Sometimes permission is asked by a client, their solicitors, the police or the courts to have access to client records. As these are not suitable for use in legal proceedings, I reserve the right to resist such requests to produce these in court. Any request made by the above for a written report will be considered on a case by case basis on receipt of written consent by you to the request. Any such report will be restricted to brief details of attendance dates and numbers of sessions attended.
You may wish to exercise your rights under the Act and make a subject access request in respect of your personal information held by me. If the therapy has been provided to a couple, I can only release the information if both partners have given written consent.
At our initial session I will record personal information to enable me to contact you in the event of a change of availability or unexpected problem with our bookings. Normally I hold names, email and postal addresses, and phone numbers and date of birth. These are for emergency use only, and you may restrict the details to one contact if you prefer. Your date of birth identifies you if I need to contact your doctor, and you will be informed if I consider this to be advisable.
My full Data Protection and Privacy Policy is available on my web site, www.margaretramage.com and is current at the time this agreement is signed.
6 Legal aspects
The delivery of the therapy service under this contract is deemed to be delivered within the United Kingdom, whether through meeting in person or by electronic means such as phone, Skype or any other agreed platform, and this contract is to be interpreted and governed under and by the laws of England and Wales.
7 The experience of therapy
The overall experience of therapy is intended to be healing and supportive, sometimes challenging, and we may not get the confidence that it can help until we have had a few sessions, between 4 and 6 is usually sufficient to give an indication.
If either of us thinks it is time to bring the therapy to an end, we will discuss this together and decide whether and how to do that. Sometimes one session is enough to make sure the decision is a good one, sometimes we may agree a fixed number of sessions to come to full closure.
As part of my ongoing commitment to improve my work, I would like your permission to contact you for a short review 3-6 months after our work together has come to an end. It would take the form of a brief phone call, or an email. Please let me know if this would not be acceptable.
8 Contact between sessions
Contact between sessions can be by phone call, text or email, usually for the purpose of arranging or rearranging appointments, and it is kept to a minimum. I do not communicate with you via social media, or befriend you on Facebook, as that would risk breaching our confidentiality agreement. Should we meet unexpectedly outside of a session, I would acknowledge you and move on, and not engage in any conversation.