Terms and Conditions

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By attending either an initial consultation or regular counselling sessions, you agree to the following terms and conditions. This is an agreement between you as the client named below, The Edinburgh Counselling Service and your counsellor. This gives CONSENT to your counsellor to work with you. 

The following is agreed by the client: 

• Confidentiality: The content of your counselling sessions is confidential, except as follows: 

1. Professional supervision: all counsellors are required to have professional supervision to maintain the efficacy of their practice and to safeguard the interests of their clients. My supervisors are also bound by strict codes of confidentiality. 

2. Serious harm/compliance with law: I may share information where I have reason to believe that this may prevent serious harm being caused to you or another – in this case, where possible, I would do this with your knowledge and consent. I may also share information where the law requires me to do so and/or where I would be at risk of prosecution if that information was not passed on. 

• Attendance: You will get the most out of therapy if you come consistently every week. I do on occasion see clients on a fortnightly, monthly or irregular basis, but we must first explore this together and decide that this is the best way forward for you. 

• Time: Sessions finish after 50 minutes. If I have more time and I think you need it, I will always offer to extend your session for no extra cost. On the other hand, if you come late, I can only give you until the end of your session as there is likely to be someone booked in after you. 

• Cancellation Policy: Due to high demand, initial consultations are strictly non-refundable. I understand that sometimes it's just not possible to make it to your appointment. However, I honour our time slot regardless of whether you turn up, and there is a cost for the therapy space that I need to cover whether or not you attend. If you are unable to attend a session, at least 72 hours’ notice is required. If a session is cancelled with sufficient notice and payment has already been taken, the payment will roll over to the next session. If less than 72 hours’ notice is given, the full fee will be charged. Arriving more than 15 minutes late to an appointment constitutes missed. If there are more than two cancellations or missed appointments within any two month period, the full fee will be charged for any further missed or cancelled sessions. Depending on the circumstances, it may also be appropriate to end our counselling sessions together. This is because counselling requires a level of commitment to facilitate the counselling process. If you miss a session unexpectedly, The Edinburgh Counselling Service may email you to ask whether you would like your usual session the following week.

• Payment: Individual counselling sessions cost £60, and can be paid in advance of each session individually, or in blocks of 4 sessions (£240) or 6 sessions (£360). Payment is always in advance and session fees are to be paid at time of booking each appointment. Couples, family and group counselling sessions cost £75 per 50 minute appointment and £120 per 90 minute appointment. When we arrange your next appointment at the end of each session, you will be expected to make payment afterwards. We use this payment method as our practice is usually full, so please ensure you pay promptly to secure your session as slots book fast. All session fees will be paid at least 72 hours before the appointment to the Edinburgh Counselling Service. Our administrative team will send out a gentle reminder around 72 hours before your appointment, if payment has not yet been received. If payment is not received at this stage, unfortunately the session cannot take place. Repeated late payment will result in therapy being suspended. You will be provided with the relevant bank details at the time of booking. 

•Annual Fee Review: Please note I review my fees annually. However, I work long term with clients so if you're not in a position to pay the increased fee, due to a reduction in income, or financial instability, please let me know and we can discuss a mutually agreeable way forward, and revisit once your finances are stabilised. 

• Contact between sessions: The therapy relationship begins and ends at the therapy room. Basic queries are welcome to the Edinburgh Counselling Service via email but other questions should be presented during therapy sessions. Therapy issues are not discussed by phone or email, unless there are special circumstances that we’ve agreed to beforehand. This is to help protect my client’s confidentiality. Similarly, Edinburgh is a small city, so there is a chance we could bump into each other outside of the therapy room. If this happens, you are more than welcome to pop over and say hello! In these situations, I will follow your lead, and never acknowledge you first. Please note I don’t mean to ignore you, this is simply to protect your confidentiality. If you ever find yourself in a crisis/emergency situation and you require urgent help, I have included some contacts and resources at the end of this agreement which you can refer to. 

• Ending Therapy: If and when you decide to end therapy, I ask that you let me know and we leave space of at least 1-2 sessions to process our ending together. This is to facilitate closure and ensure a therapeutic ending. You can read more about this here. 

• GP Consent: You agree that if necessary, your therapist and/or The Edinburgh Counselling Service can contact your General Medical Practitioner and/or other professionals currently involved in your care.  Only in exceptional circumstances would contact be made without your prior knowledge.
You understand that my therapist and The Edinburgh Counselling Service are bound by a strict code of ethics and confidentiality and that generally only in extreme situations where there is risk to yourself or to other people would contact be made.  

•Concession counselling: The Edinburgh Counselling Service wants to help make therapy more accessible for people from all walks of life. For this reason, we hold a certain amount of concession spaces for those experiencing financial hardship who otherwise would not be able to access therapy. Concessions (£30+) are for weekly face to face appointments and are held for a maximum of six months after which point we may need to reevaluate your financial situation and renegotiate your payment amount. This ensures that those who may be waiting for a concession space are not waiting indefinitely. By attending these sessions, you agree that you understand that low cost counselling sessions are provided by either a Counselling Psychology Trainee, Trainee Counsellor or Psychotherapist in their final year of training. All trainees are closely supervised by the Director of the Edinburgh Counselling Service, their clinical supervisor and their training institution to ensure a high quality of counselling provision.

• By attending counselling with us, you are confirming that you are a legal adult and do not class yourself as a ‘vulnerable adult’ (therefore disabled or mentally ill AND unable to self-care or communicate effectively or protect yourself from exploitation or abuse). If you are under 16 you have your parent’s consent to undergo therapy.

• By attending counselling with us, you are agreeing that safety instructions will be followed by you as the client and you as the client indemnify the counsellor and The Edinburgh Counselling Service from any damage or injury at any level and to any person resulting from the therapeutic work or attending our premises.

Declaration: By attending any sessions with us, you confirm that you have read the terms and conditions and agree to those terms. You undertake therapy on the understanding that it is a collaborative process, and that progress depends in part upon your own motivation and participation.