Counselling Agreement

Here is a sample Counselling Agreement:

Our initial agreement is to meet for [an agreed number and dates of sessions].

Fees

Sessions cost £40 per session.

A session lasts an hour.

This fee is payable for cancelled sessions, unless sufficient notice (24 hours) is given.

Counselling usually continues beyond the initial agreement and the same arrangements apply.

Confidentiality

My work is confidential, but there are legal limits to my confidentiality.

Situations which oblige me to break confidentiality are as follows:

• If a client has committed a serious criminal offence, or is involved in terrorist activity.
• If a child is being abused.
• If during our work it emerges that my client was sexually abused in childhood and there is the possibility of further abuse being committed, my responsibility is to work with my client to disclose, if possible to the authorities.
• If I consider there is serious danger to my client harming themselves or another person.

In all cases these decisions would be taken in consultation with my supervisor, and my client would be informed.

My work is conducted according to the Ethical Framework of Counselling of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), with whom I am an accredited counsellor (MBACP Accredited). As such my work, excluding identifying features, is supervised by a professional supervisor. Personal information (addresses, telephone numbers etc) is known only to me.

In the event of a complaint or dispute, clients are invited to raise this with my supervisor (details available on request).

If this doesn’t provide an acceptable answer then you may wish to contact BACP.

Further information about BACP is available from http://www.bacp.co.uk or: