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.
Please also take a moment to review the cancellation policy outlined. 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 receivedbefore the session can take place.
Your session fee is outlined in this contract and is subject to a yearly increase 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:
Within 48 hours will incur a 50% session fee
Within 24 hours will incur the full session fee
Ongoing sessions cannot go ahead until this payment is made
In the rare event that I need to cancel a session; I’ll give as much notice as possible and aim to reschedule promptly.
Holidays & Therapy Breaks
It’s completely understandable that clients may need to take breaks from sessions for holidays or life events. However, I’m only able to hold your regular session slot for up to 3 weeks. After this time, the slot may need to be offered to someone else. I will always do my best to find another mutually convenient time on your return, but this can’t 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 Summary
I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and all personal data is managed in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your information is collected for the purposes of communication, record-keeping, therapeutic work, and safeguarding. Clinical notes are anonymised using initials only. The client agreement is the exception to this, as for safety and safeguarding purposes it must contain full identifying and emergency contact information. All records are stored securely on password-protected systems.
Your information will not be shared with third parties unless this is required for safeguarding, legal, or ethical reasons. Wherever possible, this will be discussed with you first. Client agreements, assessments, and anonymised clinical notes are retained for seven years after therapy has ended, after which they are securely destroyed. Once therapy has ended, I will delete any emergency contact details, as these individuals are not direct clients of mine.
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