Therapy Guidelines & Privacy Policy

Guidelines for Therapy and Privacy Notice

You are agreeing to see me, Hayley McAuley, at Curious Counselling & Psychotherapy either face to face at one of my designated practices, or in an online capacity for the purpose of Counselling, Psychotherapy or Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT).

If you are attending face to face sessions, some of my practice venues either do not have a waiting room, or have clients for other services using the waiting room, so please try to arrive at your appointment time and if you are a little early, please wait until your allocated time before entering the building.

Online sessions are run via Zoom which is an online conferencing service and is securely encrypted for your security. A link to the session will be sent the night before your appointment. If you do not receive the link, please do notify me as soon as possible and at least an hour before your session is due to start.

Sessions are 50 minutes long, once a week unless otherwise agreed. This ensures continuity of therapy and avoids disruption for other clients.

Payment for online sessions must be made in advance and no less than 2 hours before the session is due to start. Payment for face to face sessions are to be paid in advance of the session via BACS or Paypal or at the start of the session either by cash or card payment. Cheques are not accepted.

If you are unable to make your appointment, please give me at least 48 hours’ notice if possible. There will be no charge for this. However, less than 48 hours’ notice will incur full fees. This is because at such short notice, your appointment cannot be offered to someone else.

In the event that I have to cancel a session due to ill health or an emergency situation, you will not be charged for this session. I endeavour to do my very best to notify you of any changes and will offer you an alternative arrangement.

I am unable to see you if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The session will be terminated immediately to ensure your safety. Full session fees will still be payable.

I am unable to take calls between appointments but you are welcome to either leave an answerphone message, send an email or text if you need to change or cancel an appointment and I will get back to you within 24 hours.

There are periods of time that I will take annual leave and you will be informed of any dates in good time in order for us to adjust your schedule.

There may be some rare instances where I feel that during our initial sessions, it has become apparent that I may need to refer you to someone more specialised in a specific area of expertise. This is to ensure that you get the very best therapy that you need. Your options will be explained to you.

Young children (under the age of 16) will require parental consent before we can commence any work together. Parents will be asked to sign this document on behalf of the child and to declare that they have been shown the privacy notice at the bottom of this contract. There are some circumstances where children under the age of 16 can seek help without parental consent if they are deemed to be Gillick Competent and if there is no risk of danger to the child; their right to privacy is maintained.

Confidentiality - Anything that you say in your session is kept in the strictest of confidence. There are however, some specific exclusions where I would be required to break confidentiality either due to legal requirements or for ethical reasons. These are:
A serious risk of harm to yourself or others
As part of a court issued request for information
If you disclose information regarding acts of terrorism, money laundering or drug trafficking
If you disclose information in relation to safeguarding concerns of a vulnerable adult or child.

If any of the above issues arise, I will discuss this with you and work out a way forward.
I am a member of the National Register of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (NRPC), for Counselling and Psychotherapy and am bound by their code of ethics. I am also a member of The Terence Watts BWRT Institute as a Registered Practitioner Member and adhere to the code of ethics of the Institute when using BWRT. This means that I am required to have regular supervision to ensure that I am offering the best service to my clients. This involves discussing my client work (which is anonymised) with my supervisor who is also bound by the same rules regarding confidentiality.

If we happen to unexpectedly meet in public, I will not approach or acknowledge you. This is ensure that your privacy and safety is upheld at all times. If you feel you wish to acknowledge me, I will await your cue.

PRIVACY NOTICE: I am GDPR compliant and registered with the Information Commissioners Office and adhere to their code of conduct in relation to storing personal information. I only keep your details for as long as is necessary which is determined by my Public Liability Insurance (7 years). Your client file intake form which holds your personal information is stored electronically on a password protected hard drive. Any other information regarding your sessions, such as brief notes are client numbered, omitting any personal information and these are kept in a locked cabinet. You can access a copy of your file or ask for it to be destroyed but you must submit this request in writing either via email or post.