Client Agreement: Adults

Hello, 

Please take a moment to read through the following agreement and complete the required sections.

This agreement outlines the structure of the sessions and helps ensure that I can support you in a way that is ethical, effective, and tailored to your needs. 

I am a registered member of the following professional bodies: 

• The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) 

• The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) 

• The Association of Dance and Movement Psychotherapy (ADMP) 

I hold an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate for working with both adults and children. While I am not qualified to diagnose mental health or neurological conditions, I may offer holistic guidance and signposting to appropriate services where relevant to support the therapeutic process. 

Therapy provides a confidential, non-judgemental space where personal issues can be explored safely and with trust. If you ever have any questions or concerns, ethical or otherwise, please don’t hesitate to raise them with me. 

If anything is unclear or you’d like to discuss further, feel free to get in touch.

Best wishes, 

Heidi McCallion 

The Attuned Room, Integrative Psychotherapy

Session duration & payment 

Each session lasts 50 minutes, and if you’re more than 10 minutes late, we’ll still finish at the scheduled time. 

Payment is requested via Monzo payment link, sent as a text message. Payment must be received before the session can take place. 

Your session fee is outlined in this contract and is subject to a yearly increase (usually in January of each year) in line with rising costs such as membership fees, insurance, and room hire. If you're ever in need of a formal letter or report, there may be an additional charge, this will always be discussed with you in advance. 

If you're experiencing financial difficulty, I strongly encourage you to talk to me. We can explore a sliding payment scale to support you and help avoid sudden endings to your therapy. We’ll regularly review our work together to ensure it continues to meet your needs. 

Cancellation Policy & Communication

Cancellations made: 

• Less than 48 hours' notice: 50% of the session fee will be charged.

• Less than 24 hours' notice: The full session fee will be charged.

• Outstanding payments: Any outstanding cancellation fees must be settled before further sessions can take place.

If I need to cancel

As I have a young family, there may occasionally be times when I need to cancel a session unexpectedly, for example, if my child is unwell. If this happens, I will always give you as much notice as possible and do my best to rearrange our session promptly. You will never be charged for a session that I cancel.

With this in mind, I feel it is only fair to offer my clients the same understanding and flexibility when life gets in the way.

For this reason, every client is entitled to one cancellation without charge every 12 months, even if it falls within the usual 24 or 48 hour cancellation period.

Your 12 month period begins on the date you sign this agreement and your cancellation allowance will automatically renew every 12 months.

For existing clients, signing this updated agreement will reset your cancellation allowance, meaning you will receive a new cancellation pass from the date of signing, regardless of any previous cancellations.

Once your cancellation allowance has been used, the usual cancellation policy will apply until your next 12 month period begins.

Holidays & Therapy Breaks

I understand that there may be times when you need to take a break from therapy due to holidays, work commitments, personal circumstances or other life events.

I am happy to hold your regular therapy appointment for up to three consecutive weeks without charge, provided that any planned absences are communicated in advance and in accordance with my usual cancellation policy.

If you are planning a longer break, I ask that you discuss this with me in advance so we can consider how best to manage the pause in our therapeutic work.

Extended Breaks & Retainer Fees

If you wish to pause therapy for more than three consecutive weeks while keeping your regular appointment, a one off retainer fee of £100 can be arranged to secure your slot.

This arrangement is generally available for breaks of up to six consecutive weeks in total, including the initial three weeks without charge.

Any planned break of longer than six weeks would need to be discussed with me individually, taking into consideration your therapeutic needs, the continuity of our work and my appointment availability.

If you choose not to pay the retainer, you are still very welcome to return to therapy following your break. I will do my best to accommodate you, although your previous appointment time cannot be guaranteed.

Contact Between Sessions

Please note that I do not provide a crisis or emergency service, and messages or emails sent outside working hours may not be seen until the next working day. To maintain professional boundaries and confidentiality, I kindly ask that clients do not contact me via social media.  

If you require urgent support, please contact one of the following services: 

• Immediate danger (24/7) • Call 999 or attend your nearest A&E department 

• Urgent mental health support (24/7) • NHS 111 – select Option 2 

• Someone to talk to (24/7) • Samaritans – 116 123 • Shout Crisis Text Line – text SHOUT to 85258 

• Local Birmingham support (9am–11pm) • Birmingham Mind – 0121 262 3555 / 0800 915 9292 

Confidentiality & Safeguarding

Our sessions are strictly confidential, what you share stays within the therapy space. However, there are a few important exceptions: 

• If there is convincing evidence that you intend to harm yourself or someone else. 

• Specific legal requirements, for example but not limited to, where there is convincing evidence, you are involved in acts of terrorism, safeguarding issues around children and vulnerable adults. 

I collect GP and emergency contact details for all clients. These details would only be used if I believe thereis a serious risk to your safety or wellbeing and support from a medical professional or emergency contact is needed. Wherever possible, I will discuss any need to breach confidentiality with you first and will only share information that is necessary to protect life or ensure safety, unless otherwise agreed. 

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

As a practitioner, I am committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of my therapeutic work. This includes being responsive to neurodiversity, additional needs, disabilities, access needs and mental health conditions. I actively work to identify and remove barriers to inclusion and strive to create a space where every individual feels respected and valued. If at any point you feel these values are not being upheld, I welcome your feedback and suggestions. 

Chance Meetings

Maintaining boundaries outside the therapy room is important. If we meet by chance in public, I’ll be guided by you, how (or if) we interact is entirely your choice, and I’ll always prioritise your confidentiality.  

Supervision

As a registered member of BACP, UKCP, and ADMP, I am required to have regular supervision. This helps ensure that my work remains safe, ethical, and effective. Aspects of our sessions may be discussed in supervision, but your full name and any identifying details are removed. My supervisor is a qualified and accredited psychotherapist, bound by the same confidentiality standards as I am. 

Termination of Therapy

You are free to end therapy at any time. Where possible, I encourage giving notice so that we can work towards a thoughtful ending and reflect on the work completed together. 

Therapy can sometimes feel emotionally difficult, and there may be times when you feel unsure about continuing. I encourage you to talk to me about these feelings where possible, so we can explore them together. I will not end therapy abruptly except in exceptional circumstances, and any decision to end our work would be discussed with you sensitively and openly. 

Therapeutic Executor

In line with professional ethical requirements, I have appointed a trusted colleague to manage the administration of my practice in the event of my death or incapacity. This may include contacting clients, signposting to appropriate support, and securely managing or destroying records confidentially. My appointed therapeutic executor is Emma Craddock, a fellow ADMP member bound by the same professional confidentiality standards. 

GDPR, Data Protection & Clinical Record Keeping

How I collect and store your information

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and manage personal information in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

I use a secure online practice management system to store information necessary for our therapeutic work. This includes your contact details, address, GP information, emergency contact, intake and assessment forms, client agreement and other relevant information you choose to share.

Your information is stored securely and is only accessed or used where necessary for the management of your therapy, professional responsibilities and safeguarding.

Clinical notes and record keeping

I keep brief clinical notes following our sessions. These usually include:

• The date and type of session, whether in person or online.

• Key themes relevant to our therapeutic work.

• Significant clinical decisions, actions or recommendations.

• Any relevant risk assessments, disclosures or safeguarding concerns.

These notes are intentionally brief and are not a transcript or detailed account of everything you share with me. Where other people are discussed, I avoid recording unnecessary identifying information about them.

Keeping appropriate clinical records is part of safe and ethical psychotherapy practice and supports clinical decision making, continuity of care and professional accountability, in line with the standards of UKCP, BACP and ADMP.

Use of AI in Therapy

I do not use AI recording or transcription software during our sessions. I also ask that clients do not use AI tools to record or transcribe our therapeutic work without discussing this with me first.

This is to protect confidentiality, maintain a safe and private therapeutic space, and ensure we both understand how any technology might be used within our work together.

Confidentiality and information sharing

Your personal information and clinical records are treated as confidential.

I will not ordinarily share information with third parties without your knowledge or agreement. However, there may be circumstances where disclosure is necessary, such as significant safeguarding concerns, serious risk of harm, legal obligations or other circumstances where sharing information is legally and professionally justified.

Wherever possible and appropriate, I will discuss this with you beforehand and only share the information necessary.

How long I keep your records

Your client agreement, assessment information and clinical records will normally be retained for seven years after our therapeutic work has ended.

In some circumstances, records may need to be kept for longer due to legal, safeguarding, professional or insurance requirements.

After the appropriate retention period, records will be securely destroyed. Personal information will not be retained longer than necessary under my data retention policy.

Your rights and access to information

Under UK data protection legislation, you have rights relating to your personal information, including the right to:

• Request access to the personal information and clinical records I hold about you.

• Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected.

• Request the deletion of certain information where legally applicable.

• Raise concerns about how your personal information is handled.

These rights may be subject to certain legal exceptions, including circumstances where clinical or safeguarding records must be retained.

You can also raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

If you have any questions about the information I keep, how it is stored or why it is necessary, please feel free to ask.

Complaint 

If there is anything within this agreement that you do not understand, or if you would prefer it in a different format, please let me know. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our work together, I hope you would feel able to discuss this with me directly. 

If you feel unable to do this, or wish to make a formal complaint, you can contact the BACP Get Help with Counselling Concerns service for confidential guidance: 

Phone: 01455 883300 Email: gethelp@bacp.co.uk Address: BACP, 15 St John’s Business Park, Lutterworth, LE17 4HB 

I look forward to supporting you further :)