Terms

i. Sessions and fees

• Frequency: weekly (no more than 2 consecutive weeks missed).
• Session length: 50 minutes.
• Number of sessions and fee per session: as agreed at the initial consultation. Current fees are listed on the counselling page.

Fees are reviewed periodically. Any change will be discussed with you and confirmed in writing with at least one month's notice, and will never apply to sessions already booked.

ii. My commitments

As your therapist, I commit to:

• Be available at the agreed time and start and end sessions punctually
• Provide a quiet, private, and undisturbed space for our sessions
• Maintain safe and professional boundaries at all times
• Treat all contact and information as strictly confidential
• Encourage your autonomy and work collaboratively with you
• Work within the UKCP Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
• Attend regular clinical supervision to monitor and develop my practice
• Review our therapeutic work and relationship with you regularly
• If I need to cancel a session, offer an alternative appointment as soon as possible

iii. Attendance, cancellations and payment

Attendance and punctuality

• Attend sessions punctually at the agreed time.
• I will hold the session open for 10 minutes. If you have not arrived and I have not heard from you, the session will be considered cancelled.

Cancellations

• Give a minimum of 4 full working days' notice (Monday to Friday) when cancelling or changing an appointment.
• Where possible, one alternative time or day will be offered within the same week for sessions cancelled with sufficient notice.
• Refunds are only offered where the required notice period has been given.
• Sessions cancelled with less than 4 full working days' notice (Monday to Friday), or not attended, are charged at the full session fee.

Payments

• Payments are made in advance of sessions on a fortnightly or monthly basis as agreed.

iv. Holidays and planned absences

• A maximum of 2 consecutive sessions may be missed.
• A minimum of 10 full working days' notice (Monday to Friday) is required if 1 to 2 consecutive sessions will be missed.
• Where possible, alternative appointment times will be negotiated.

v. Contact between sessions

You can reach me by email at admin@martinaldertoncounsellor.com or text on 07799 563910. I check messages on working days (Monday to Friday) and aim to reply within two working days. I use messages for practical arrangements: booking, rescheduling, brief questions. I do not offer therapeutic support by message between sessions.

If you have not heard back from me within two working days, please do send your message again. Occasionally things are missed, and a resend is always welcome.

vi. Safety and risk

• You agree to allow me to contact your GP if there is a serious concern about risk to yourself or others.
• You agree to inform me if you are in, or considering entering into, any other therapeutic relationship.

vii. Confidentiality and its limits

Everything discussed in our sessions is treated as strictly confidential in line with the UKCP Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (clauses 18 to 22).

How I collect, hold and use your information, and your rights over it, are set out in my privacy notice.

viii. Supervision

I attend regular clinical supervision to maintain the quality of your care. Aspects of our work may be discussed. Your name and any identifying information will never be shared. My supervisor is bound by the same confidentiality commitment.

ix. Continuity of care

If I become seriously unwell, incapacitated, or die, arrangements are already in place so that you are not left without contact or care.

I have made a professional will. Under it, an experienced practitioner, bound by the same professional and confidentiality standards I work to, will make contact with you. Their role is limited: to let you know what has happened, to offer a small number of holding sessions if you would find that useful, and to help you find onward support if you choose it. They may access your contact details for this purpose only.

You do not need to do anything to put these arrangements in place, or to hold any names or details. They operate automatically.

x. Online sessions

• You are responsible for ensuring you are in a private, quiet, and confidential space.
• Please ensure a stable internet connection and that your device is charged.
• Sessions will not proceed if a third party can hear or observe without prior agreement.
• If the connection fails, I will attempt to contact you by phone.

xi. If you are in crisis

I am not an emergency service and cannot guarantee availability between sessions. If you need help before I can respond, please use one of these at any time:

• Emergency: 999, or go to your nearest A&E, if you or someone else is in immediate danger.
• Samaritans: 116 123, free, day or night.
• SHOUT: text 85258, free, for support by text.
• NHS 111, then option 2, for urgent mental health support.
• Your GP, who can arrange more urgent help if you need it.

If crisis support becomes something we need regularly, we will revisit these arrangements together and agree an individual safety plan.

xii. Scope and limitations

This service does not provide emergency or crisis intervention, psychiatric assessment or diagnosis, medical or prescribing advice, or legal advice.

xiii. Reports and additional work

Some pieces of work sit outside the therapy itself: letters, reports, and work commissioned by third parties such as GPs, insurers, employers, or solicitors. These carry their own professional time, clinical judgement, and liability, and are charged separately from session fees. Two categories apply, depending on who is requesting the work.

Category A: client-requested correspondence

Correspondence arising directly from your therapy and requested by you, for example a letter to your GP, confirmation of attendance, or a brief summary. The work is billed by time at your session rate, with a minimum charge of 30 minutes, paid in advance.

Category B: third-party commissioned work

Work commissioned by an organisation or third party, such as clinical summary reports, medico-legal reports, witness statements, and court attendance, requested by insurers, employers, EAP providers, or solicitors. This is charged at a single rate that does not vary by location, set to reflect the professional exposure the work carries:

• Reports and correspondence: £120 per hour
• Court and medico-legal work: £250 per hour
• Court attendance (reserved day): £1,500, fixed and non-refundable
• Minimum charge: 1 hour
• Payment: in advance, in full, before work begins

A reserved court day is charged whether or not the hearing proceeds, as the day cannot be offered to other clients or work.

Terms applying to all additional work

• Turnaround is normally 14 working days from a written request and cleared payment.
• Written consent is required before any information is disclosed to a third party.
• The content of any report remains a matter of clinical judgement. I am not able to produce a report that misrepresents the work we have done.
• A request may be declined where disclosure would be clinically unwise or not in your interest.

xiv. Ending therapy

Endings are a significant part of the therapeutic process. A closing process of 2 to 3 sessions is recommended once an ending has been agreed.

xv. Complaints

If you have concerns, please raise these with me directly in the first instance. If unresolved, you may contact the UKCP:

xvi. Changes to these terms

Any changes will be made with a minimum of 10 full working days' notice (Monday to Friday) by either party. The contract is subject to regular review.