This working agreement gives you some information about my practice, and the policies I have in place to ensure my work is ethical, sustainable and aligned with my values. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of this further.

I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) which means that I am bound by their Framework for Ethics and Good Practice (2018). A copy of this is available to you upon request. This framework covers such matters as confidentiality and my supervision, and means that if you are dissatisfied with my work and feel that I am not taking your complaint seriously, you can approach the BACP to seek redress and support.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What we speak about in our sessions will remain confidential and will not be passed on to anyone else without your consent, except in the following circumstances:

Danger to self – Your safety is of the utmost importance to me. If you tell me that you intend to end your life, or seriously harm yourself, I will take steps to try and prevent this from happening. I would always seek to involve you in this process by asking for your consent to seek support for you, and enquiring about what kind of support would feel most helpful, but where this is not possible, I would contact your emergency contact, GP surgery or emergency services, as feels appropriate to the situation.

(Please know that suicidal thoughts, feelings or acts of self-harm can be safely shared and explored in the therapy space in confidence, and without risk of disclosure. This policy applies only to active and current intent to end your life or seriously harm yourself.)

Harm to others – If you tell me that you intend to seriously harm another person, or if you make me aware of any abuse to a child or a vulnerable adult, I will let the relevant person or authority know, in order to safeguard the person in question.

Money Laundering or Acts of Terrorism – If you make me aware of any money laundering or acts of terrorism, I am legally obliged to report this to the relevant authorities.

Consent to release information – If you give me written permission and direction to release all or part of your records to another person, agency or institution, I will do so.

Supervision – I regularly consult with a clinical supervisor and professional peers, all of whom are BACP registered professionals. This is to ensure that I am offering the best service I can, that the quality of my work remains high and that the delivery of counselling services meets ethical requirements. I may talk about our work together in supervision, but you will not be identifiable to anyone but me.

Personal Data - I hold some of your personal data, keep a record of your attendance and may make brief notes about our sessions. Please see separate Data Protection Policy for information on how your data is handled.

Meeting outside the therapy space - To respect your privacy, I will not acknowledge you if we encounter each other in a public space. If you choose to greet me, I will gladly respond.

Frequency and Duration of Sessions and Payments

Counselling sessions are usually weekly unless otherwise agreed. Each session lasts 50 minutes.

My fee is currently £55 per session.

This is payable by bank transfer to Laura Wray, account number: 32037859, sort Code: 23-69-72.

Please use your name or initials as payment reference and make payment on or before the day of your session.

Please note that my accountant will have access to my bank statements which will include payer name and amount paid. If you would prefer to use an alternative form of payment, please let me know.

I review my fees annually. If there are to be any increases in fees, I will give a minimum of two months notice of this.

Cancellation and No-Show Policy

Cancellations - I ask that you give as much notice as possible when you need to cancel a session. In order to sustain my business, cancelled sessions for which less than 24 hours notice is given will be charged in full.

No-Shows - If you don’t show up to a scheduled session, I will send an email to check whether you will be attending. I will usually wait in the online session for ten minutes and then will end the call. No-shows will be charged in full. If you do not attend a session and I do not hear from you, I will assume that you no longer wish to carry on with counselling at this time unless you make further contact.

Online sessions

For our online sessions together, it’s important to choose a space that is private, where you are unlikely to be disturbed or overheard. If this is not possible, please let me know during our intro session so that we can find a way forward that feels comfortable for both of us. The use of headphones is fine. I ask that you do not record sessions. I will never record our sessions and will conduct them from a private space where I will not be overheard. I occasionally work from different locations and you may notice that my background changes from time to time.

It’s important for effective therapy, that we have a distraction-free space where we can be fully present so I ask that you treat online sessions in the same way you would an in-person one, i.e. do not eat, move around, or engage in other activities while we are in session. If you need a break or are feeling distracted by something, please let me know so we can work around this.

For therapeutic reasons, I reserve the right to end our session if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs and unable to be present for our work together.

Online sessions are held via Zoom, and should internet connectivity be compromised, we may arrange to continue the session via phone, or re-arrange for a mutually convenient alternative time.

Please fill in the form and sign below to confirm that you have read and understood this agreement. If you would like a copy of the agreement to be emailed to you for your records, do let me know.