Terms and Conditions

The aim of this section is to clarify the terms under which I suggest we work together.

Our sessions will be for 60 -90 minutes and usually weekly, but it may be appropriate to arrange more or less frequent sessions depending on the stage of therapy. At our first or second meeting we come to an agreement about the number of sessions we want to arrange, maybe initially 4 – 6 sessions, at the end of which we review therapy and decide upon further sessions. A course of cognitive therapy usually lasts between 8 and 20 sessions but it can also be longer depending on your situation and difficulties.

For anyone paying privately, the cost of each session is negotiated prior to attendance and is payable by cash , cheque or BACS transfer prior to each session.

If you know that you cannot attend a session please let me know, giving me as much notice as you can. I too will inform you well in advance of any times I will be away. If I have to reschedule due to unforeseen circumstances, I will try to give you as much notice as possible but you can be assured that I will do my utmost not to cancel sessions at short notice. Once we have arranged a session the hour is yours and, even if you arrive late, we will still have to end on time. Also, if you miss or cancel a session with less than 24 hours notice, I will still have to ask you for the full fee as I have set this time aside for you.

Therapy requires a trusting relationship and, whilst I may encourage you to question and challenge established ways of thinking and acting, I will do this from a non-judgemental and accepting stance. However, our relationship will be confined to therapy so we shall not have contact outside of these sessions except to arrange appointments or to discuss any on-going difficulties you may encounter. If we were to meet accidentally outside of your session I would not acknowledge you first as you may not wish to explain to other people who I am.

In order to make sure that we both feel safe and that you can get the most out of your therapy session, it is important that you do not come under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If this poses a difficulty please let me know so that we can look for solutions to this together.

There may be times whilst you undergo therapy when you are distressed and you feel therapy is not helping you. I would like to encourage you to come and talk about these difficulties rather than suddenly end therapy. This will give you an opportunity to understand and resolve your distress.

I would like to encourage you to talk to me about any questions or concerns you may have regarding the above. If you feel you have understood and you feel happy with it please sign below.

Please click here to download a printable PDF file, which you can sign and date