English

Informed Consent Agreement

Welcome to the counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy with Tania de Aquino Counselling is a healthy, positive, supported, authentic exploration into the issues and challenges that you may encounter; counselling often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems and issues, and reductions in negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression. However, there is no guarantee of what you personally will experience and all decisions regarding personal relationships remain the responsibility of the client. One important tool you may cultivate is how to have greater awareness, “mindfulness,” of your thoughts and feelings and why you are experiencing them when you experience them. We will work together to remedy maladaptive thinking, reframe negative ideas in your personal narrative, and develop an array of tools to allow you to lead a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Therapy is a relationship that works in part because of clearly defined rights and responsibilities held by each person. This frame helps to create the safety for you to be authentic and for me to support you in the challenges you are experiencing and exploring. As a client in counselling, you have certain rights that are important for you to know about because the goal of therapy is your well-being. There are also certain limitations to those rights that you should be aware of.

Confidentiality with the exception of certain specific exceptions described below, you have the absolute right to the confidentiality of your therapy. I cannot and will not tell anyone else what you have told me, or even that you are in therapy with me without your prior written permission. I will always act to protect your privacy even if you do release me in writing to share information about you. You may direct me to share information with whomever you chose, and you can change your mind and revoke that permission at any time.

All emails are retained in the logs of your or my Internet service provider. While under normal circumstances no one looks at these logs, they are, in theory, available to be read by the system administrator(s) of the Internet service provider.

The following are legal exceptions to your right to confidentiality. I would inform you of any time when I think I will have to put these into effect.

1. If I have good reason to believe that you will harm another person, I must attempt to inform that person and warn them of your intentions. I must also contact the police and ask them to protect your intended victim.

2. If I have good reason to believe that you are abusing or neglecting a child or dependent adult, or if you give me information about someone else who is doing this, I must immediately inform Child Protection Services or Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults Services.

3. If I believe that you are in imminent danger of harming yourself, I may legally break confidentiality and call the police or the county crisis team. I am not obligated to do this and would explore all other options with you before I took this step. If at that point you were unwilling to take steps to guarantee your safety, I would call the crisis team.

Questions and Termination

You have the right to ask questions about anything that happens in therapy. I am always willing to discuss how and why I am intervening in the manner that I am intervening, and we can always look for alternatives that might work better. You can ask me about my training for working with your concerns and can request that I refer you to someone else if you decide I’m not the right therapist for you. The length of your treatment and the timing of the termination depend upon your personal goals and the progress you achieve. You are free to leave therapy at any time. It is recommended to plan for your termination, in collaboration with your therapist.

Cancellation Policy

Please call me at 00447375962947 or email me on the email that is on the website if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment. I would appreciate whenever possible, if you need to cancel your appointment, to be cancelled with at least 2 hours in advance.

Record-keeping

I keep very brief records, interventions happened in session, and the topics we discussed. You have the right to request that I correct any errors in your file. You have the right to request that I make a copy of your file available to any other health care provider at your written request. I maintain your records in a secure location that cannot be accessed by anyone else.

Your Responsibilities as a Therapy Client

You are responsible for attending to your session on time and at the time we have scheduled. If you are late and there is a client scheduled directly after you, we will end on time and not run over into the next person’s session.

Fee

First consultation free. My fee is £25 per session is. It is payable via Stripe, on the website at the time of service. You agree to pay £25 per session.

Client Consent to online/ telephone therapy

I have read this statement, had sufficient time to be sure that I considered it carefully, asked any questions that I needed to, and understand it. I understand the limits to confidentiality required by law.
I agree to pay the fee of £25 per session, after my free initial 1 hour consultation. I understand my rights and responsibilities as a client, and my therapist’s responsibilities to me. I agree to undertake therapy with Caring Mind, and I know I can end therapy at any time I wish and that I can refuse any requests or suggestions made by Tania. I am over the age of eighteen.