TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms & Conditions

Kirsty Stimpson (KAS Therapy) 

1. Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), number 408042. I adhere to the BACP ethical framework, and am subject to their Professional Conduct Procedure. I have professional indemnity insurance with Holistic Insurance Services.
   
   

1. Time - Sessions are 50 minutes long, unless we agree otherwise. The times, dates and frequency can be discussed at the first session. The counselling is open-ended, so there is no limit to the number of sessions.
   
   

2. Fees - The fee is £60 per 50-minute appointment, payable by direct electronic bank transfer (BACS) which I will provide you before the session. If the fee is not paid prior to the session, the session will not be able to take place. Bank details will be provided once the first session is booked.
   
   

3. Location - Sessions are held online via Google Meet. Please ensure you are in a private, quiet, and confidential space for each session. I will also be in a private setting where I cannot be overheard or interrupted. I will send you over the meeting link prior to our first session. If we have arranged for a face-to-face appointment, then I will provide you with the details of my face-to-face private practice prior to arranging our first session.
   
   

4. Confidentiality -  Everything shared in sessions is treated as strictly confidential. I would only break confidentiality if:

• You give clear consent for me to share information.

• I am legally compelled to do so by a court of law.

• I believe there is a serious risk of harm to yourself or others (including a child or vulnerable adult).

• There is information relating to terrorism, money laundering, or serious crime.
  
  Whenever possible, I will discuss this with you before sharing any information and seek your consent before making a disclosure.
  
  

6. Confidentiality in my own supervision - To maintain ethical practice and client safety, I regularly discuss my work with a clinical supervisor who is also a trained counsellor. Any material shared is anonymised to protect your identity and confidentiality.
   
   

7. Record Keeping and Data Privacy- I record your name, contact details (email and telephone), address, age and GP. I use this information for essential administrative tasks. I do not share it with others without your consent unless I am legally or ethically required to do so, as in the confidentiality statement above. During our sessions, you may share sensitive personal information with me, but I do not routinely record this. I keep brief, factual notes of each session on a password-protected digital file. Your contact details and signed contract are stored separately and securely. Records are kept for seven years after counselling ends, in accordance with GDPR guidelines, then permanently destroyed in a non-recoverable format. You have the right to view, correct, or request deletion of your data at any time.
   
   

8. Contact between sessions - We will normally have no personal or professional relationship other than counsellor and client. If this changes in any way (e.g. we became colleagues in another setting), then we will discuss how this might affect your counselling.
   
   

9. I can only see you by prior appointment - You are welcome to contact me between sessions to discuss practical matters, such as rescheduling sessions. I usually reply to emails within two working days. Please bring all other issues (e.g. personal matters, thoughts and feelings about the counselling, events in your life) to your next session. If you require urgent assistance, please contact NHS direct (call 111), your GP, the emergency services (call 999) or the Samaritans (freephone 116 123).
   
   

10. Cancellations and holidays - If I need to cancel a session due to illness or unforeseen circumstances, I will contact you as soon as possible to rearrange the appointment. 

• If you are unable to make a session, please let me know as soon as possible, then we can arrange another session, which will usually be at the same time/day in the following week. More than 24 hours’ notice of cancellations is greatly appreciated and incurs no fee. If you arrive late, unfortunately, I will not be able to extend the session, as this will affect my other appointments.

• For late cancellations (less than 24 hours’ notice), I charge the full fee. If there is an outstanding fee, then I will not be able to arrange another session until that fee is paid. 

• I aim to give at least two weeks’ notice of planned breaks or holidays, such as if I am away on a training course or a planned break. 

• Please let me know in advance of any breaks you intend to take. I in turn will give you notice of mine.
  
  If you miss an appointment, I will contact you to see if you’d like to reschedule. If I don’t hear from you within a week, then I will assume you no longer wish to continue with counselling, but please do get back in touch if you’d like to restart your sessions.

11. Complaints Process:

If you have concerns about any aspect of your counselling, please raise them with me directly so we can address them together. If you feel unable to do so or are not satisfied with my response, you can contact the BACP at www.bacp.co.uk

12. Reviewing and ending counselling - Reviewing how your counselling is going will be a natural part of our work. We can also dedicate whole sessions to reviewing the counselling, if you feel that would be useful.

You may end counselling at any time. Sometimes it can be valuable to have  a planned final session rather than stopping more suddenly, so please let me know if you would like to talk about ending our work together, but this is entirely up to you.

If there is anything you wish to discuss further, then please feel free to reach out to me and we can talk this through together.