Thank you for being here. I value the trust families place in me, and I want the way we work together to feel clear, supportive, and respectful. These terms outline how I offer sessions, communicate, and hold boundaries, so our work together feels safe and well-contained.
By booking and paying for a session, you confirm that you’ve read, understood, and agreed to the terms below.
1. Purpose and Scope
Therapy offers a confidential space to explore difficulties, build emotional understanding, and support wellbeing. It’s not a substitute for medical assessment, psychiatric care, diagnosis, or emergency support, and can’t guarantee outcomes or resolve every difficulty alone.
I offer therapeutic support for children, young people (16+, with appropriate consent — see Section 2), parents, carers, and parenting consultations.
I do not provide emergency or crisis intervention, psychiatric assessment, formal diagnostic reports, or court reports/legal documentation. If you or your child is in crisis or at risk, please contact your GP, NHS 111, emergency services, or a crisis helpline immediately.
2. Young People Aged 16+
- Young people aged 16+ can consent to their own therapy, in line with UK guidance on capacity and confidentiality.
- A brief initial parent consultation can sometimes be arranged, or we may meet together.
- Ongoing updates to parents are agreed collaboratively with the young person, respecting their confidentiality while ensuring safety.
- Where there are safeguarding or psychiatric risk concerns, information will be shared following statutory guidance.
3. Booking and Payment
Sessions are by appointment and advance payment only — a time offered isn’t secured, and won’t be held, until paid for. Payment confirms your agreement to these terms. Accepted payment method: bank transfer to our business account.
Parent/family sessions can be booked either as a block (a single upfront commitment, offered at a discounted rate) or by payment per session (each session paid individually in advance, at the standard rate) — see Section 5. Blocks can’t be refunded and must be used within the agreed period; future availability can’t be guaranteed.
4. Communication
All general communication should be by email in the first instance. A same-day text or call is fine to notify lateness or sickness, but I don’t accept WhatsApp or clinical discussion by text. I’m not an emergency service and can’t respond to urgent or crisis messages. I work Monday–Wednesday; messages outside these days are answered on the next working day.
5. Cancellations and Missed Sessions
Weekly sessions (children/young people): booked and paid for as a block in advance, not individually. The block holds a dedicated, recurring space in the diary that can’t be offered elsewhere at short notice — so if a family takes a holiday outside term time, the session is still charged. Individual sessions within the block can’t be cancelled, rescheduled, or refunded, and missed sessions are charged in full regardless of reason.
Parent/family work (fortnightly): more flexible, and bookable as a block or by payment per session. Either way, at least 48 hours’ notice is needed to cancel or reschedule — with less notice, the session is charged in full (payment per session) or used from the block.
Payment by session: parent sessions can also be booked and paid for individually rather than as a block, though this doesn’t carry the discounted block rate. At least 48 hours’ notice is required to cancel or reschedule; less notice means the session can be charged in full.
Parent/family work (fortnightly): this has more flexibility. At least 48 hours’ notice is required to cancel or reschedule; less notice means the session is used from the block.
Lateness and sickness: let me know as soon as you can, a same-day text or call is fine. However fees and cancellation terms still apply. Late arrival reduces session time but is charged in full.
The following applies specifically to parent fortnightly blocks:
How Blocks Are Booked
At the start, we try to book all six sessions. If a gap comes up — over the summer holidays, for example — the next session is booked before the current one ends. Blocks are paid in full in advance and are non-refundable, whether fully used, partly used, or not yet started.
Staying in Touch — Planned breaks (school holidays, half-terms, my own holidays) are normal and need no special arrangement. If a session hasn’t been booked, I’ll email to check in — it’s then down to you to respond and rebook, as I can’t keep chasing.
Completing Your Block — The aim is to complete within six months of the first session, comfortably allowing for holidays and delays. If six months pass without a reply to a check-in email, the block is treated as lapsed and the space released — unless there’s a genuine reason, in which case just talk to me, I’m always here to listen.
6. Confidentiality and Records
Sessions are confidential, except where there is a safeguarding concern or a legal requirement to disclose (see Section 7 of the Privacy Policy). This is acted on regardless of age. For young people aged 16+, information is not shared with parents without their agreement, other than in these safeguarding or legal circumstances (see Section 2).
Brief session notes are held securely in line with GDPR. You can request access to your data as permitted by data protection law.
7. Telephone Sessions
Sessions are offered in person or by telephone; I do not currently offer online (video) sessions. Telephone sessions follow the same structure and confidentiality as in-person ones, and are available for parent/family work; children and young people are seen in person. You’re responsible for being in a private, appropriate environment for the call.
8. Professional Boundaries and Availability
I can’t accept social media friend requests or personal social media interaction, and I don’t work with clients who repeatedly challenge boundaries.
I work Monday–Wednesday; no sessions or message responses outside these days. I take regular extended holidays throughout the year, always notified in advance. No sessions run during this time, and messages are answered on my return. These boundaries are firm, to keep the practice sustainable.
9. Ending Therapy
Where possible, we’ll review progress and agree to an ending together, rather than stopping suddenly.It is good clinical practice to recommend at least two sessions to close the work thoughtfully. This is so children can process the ending, and parents/adults can reflect and plan next steps.
Therapy may end when goals are reached, a natural ending arises, either of us feels the work is no longer appropriate, or a referral elsewhere (CAMHS, Social Care, paediatrician, GP) would better serve you. I reserve the right to discontinue if the work is no longer effective.
10. Supervision
I attend regular professional supervision in line with my accrediting body’s requirements.
11. Complaints
If you’re ever unhappy with any aspect of the service you’ve received, please contact me directly in the first instance by email, so I have the chance to understand your concerns and put things right wherever possible. And then meet or I can call you to talk it through. Most concerns can be resolved this way.
If you remain unsatisfied, you have the right to make a formal complaint to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), my regulatory body, at www.nmc.org.uk.
12. Consent
By booking and paying for a session, you confirm that you’ve read and understood these terms, agree to follow the policies outlined, and understand the limits of the services provided.
If you have any questions, please email before booking.
With Thanks
Catherine
