Terms and Conditions

What you can expect from me as your therapist

Confidentiality

All our interaction (face to face, email, telephone, texts, etc) will remain strictly confidential, meaning that I will not share any information provided by you with anyone without your signed consent.

There are a few exceptions to this confidentiality rule:

If I feel that you are a danger to yourself or to others, at risk of abuse or neglect, or I have concerns relating to child protection, I will contact the necessary safeguarding organisations i.e., your GP or the police, to allow me to safeguard you and others.
If I am required by law through a court order for disclosure including coroner’s court.

Most standards of confidentiality applied in professional context are based on the Common Law concept of confidentiality where the duty to keep confidence is measured against the concept of ‘greater good’. The sharing of anonymous case histories with supervisors and peer-support groups is not a breach of professional confidentiality. The sharing of open case histories with supervisors and any referring NHS medical practitioner is also not a breach. I will be sharing non-identifiable details about you and about my work with you with my supervisor to ensure that you receive the most appropriate, safest and highest standard of therapeutic care.

My full confidential statement can be found on my website at
meadows-hypnotherapy.co.uk/confidentiality or I can provide you with a copy.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

I have a Data Protection Registration Certificate from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

I will keep notes / documents that detail my work with you, with your signed consent, and these will be stored in accordance with GDPR.

All hardcopy and paper documents will be kept locked in a secure filing cabinet within my home office. All electronic documents will be stored securely on a laptop which is password protected and on a secure EU-based server.

You are welcome to have a copy of any notes / documents that I have about you at any point. Please just ask.

Following your last session, your rights to confidentiality are permanent and all documents relating to you will be kept for 5 years as stipulated by Holistic Insurance Services, my insurance company. After which all documents will be safely and confidentiality destroyed.

Professionalism

I, the therapist, guarantee to apply my training, expertise and experience to your issues with the aim of achieving agreed goals in as reasonable time as possible.

I will ensure that I have professional civil liability insurance and registration with the relevant professional body (the National Hypnotherapy Society). I will adhere to the Code of Practice and Ethics stipulated by my registering body.

I will ensure that I:

• continue to use current best practice through continued professional development.
• practice safely by having a clinical supervisor.
• have a current DBS and that it is renewed in line with recommended guidance.

I will discuss openly and honestly with you if I feel that your treatment would be best provided by an alternative professional offering a different therapy.

Working with children (under 18 years old)

When working with children aged under 18 years old, I will adhere to the conditions stipulated by my insurance provider and guidance issued by the National Hypnotherapy Society.

This means that I will seek consent from the child’s parents and, where possible, the child or young person themselves. If the child and parent both would feel more comfortable with the parent or another trusted adult being present for the therapy, then they are welcome to stay.

The child is my client when I am working with them and therefore, they have the right to confidentiality. I am happy to provide parents with an overview of what we have covered in the session but for any more detailed information, I will need the child to give their consent.

Location of treatment

Sessions can take place at various locations, either a location of your choice, such as your home, or a hired venue.

If you choose to have therapy in your own home, please can you notify me of any safety precautions that I need to be aware of, such as a pet dog. There will need to be a suitable room which is private and where we will not be interrupted. No children or other adults can be present whilst therapy is taking place.

I request that you are appropriately dressed for the session.

Availability

You are welcome to contact me outside of your scheduled session by text or email. I will do my best to return messages or emails within 24 hours of receiving them.

My contact details are:

Call – 07467 307744
Email – jo@meadows-hypnotherapy.co.uk

Non-Judgement

I am not here to judge ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. My position as therapist is to help you make the changes that you wish to make. There may be times where you share information that may make you feel vulnerable however, please be reassured that I will treat your information sensitively and with respect.

Standards of behaviour

I will always act respectfully and to the best of my ability within my level of professional skill.