Terms and Conditions for Psychological Therapy
Confidentiality
All the sessions are confidential between the psychologist and the client. It is important that during your discussions, you feel you can talk openly with your practitioner and that your right to privacy is protected. This generally means that your practitioner cannot discuss you or your case with any third parties without your consent.
There are, however, some limits to confidentiality:
Records
Fernwood Clinic is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and is compliant with GDPR legislation which came into effect on the 25th of May 2018. We also follow professional guidelines for registered psychologists.
We keep the following information about our clients to allow us to administer your therapy and to evaluate the outcome. This information includes:
We use cloud-based, fully encrypted medical software to securely store client information. Any paper forms you fill out or notes the therapist takes during the sessions are scanned, attached to your records and then destroyed. There is no client information stored on the premises.
Please note that email communication is not technically secure, and we encourage you to only share minimal amount of information via email. We delete all emails one month after your final appointment.
We retain clinical records for 3 years after your final appointment, after which time they are destroyed.
Fees
Our assessment sessions and therapy sessions last 50 minutes and are charged at the same flat rate listed on our website.
Our prices usually increase every couple of years due to inflation and increased living costs. Where this does occur, we will notify you well in advance.
Payment of Fees
We accept payment by card after your session at the Clinic.
Private Medical Insurance
If you hold Private Medical Insurance (PMI), please check the reimbursement level that will be available to you from your relevant provider for the therapy. If your PMI reimbursement does not cover the fee in full, you must pay the difference between the fee and the PMI reimbursement.
If you have not already done so, please inform us of your PMI's Authorisation Code and of the limits to the funding available.
We can normally handle invoices directly with the insurance company. We will inform you if we are not able to do so.
Cancellation policy
If you are unable to attend your appointment please let us know as soon as possible. 48 hours notice is required for cancellation or rescheduling of your appointment. Where there is less notice, or you fail to attend your appointment, the fee for that session will be incurred.
The therapist will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible in terms of holidays or of any need to cancel a future appointment.
If you have any questions, with regards to our Terms and Conditions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
All the sessions are confidential between the psychologist and the client. It is important that during your discussions, you feel you can talk openly with your practitioner and that your right to privacy is protected. This generally means that your practitioner cannot discuss you or your case with any third parties without your consent.
There are, however, some limits to confidentiality:
- Psychologists regularly present their work in clinical supervision. The aim of this is to monitor and improve the clinical work undertaken. All supervision is done on a confidential basis and only using the client’s first name.
- At times a psychologist may need to contact the client’s GP or other professional involved. This would normally be done with the client’s permission and would be discussed in the session prior to any contact. However, if the client’s or another person’s safety were severely jeopardised in the practitioner’s view, they may contact the external services without the client’s permission.
- There are some limits to confidentiality such as Prevention of Terrorism and Drug Trafficking Acts.
- In a court of law a psychologist may be required to answer questions about a client.
- We recommend that parents are aware of the general session content for clients under 16 years old so that they can support change and assist with any homework between sessions. We will work with the young person to decide what information they would be comfortable communicating.
Records
Fernwood Clinic is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and is compliant with GDPR legislation which came into effect on the 25th of May 2018. We also follow professional guidelines for registered psychologists.
We keep the following information about our clients to allow us to administer your therapy and to evaluate the outcome. This information includes:
- Contact details, such as name, address and telephone number
- Personal details, such as age and gender
- Working notes from each session
- Insurance details if appropriate
- Clinical questionnaire results
- Clinical letters and reports if requested
We use cloud-based, fully encrypted medical software to securely store client information. Any paper forms you fill out or notes the therapist takes during the sessions are scanned, attached to your records and then destroyed. There is no client information stored on the premises.
Please note that email communication is not technically secure, and we encourage you to only share minimal amount of information via email. We delete all emails one month after your final appointment.
We retain clinical records for 3 years after your final appointment, after which time they are destroyed.
Fees
Our assessment sessions and therapy sessions last 50 minutes and are charged at the same flat rate listed on our website.
Our prices usually increase every couple of years due to inflation and increased living costs. Where this does occur, we will notify you well in advance.
Payment of Fees
We accept payment by card after your session at the Clinic.
Private Medical Insurance
If you hold Private Medical Insurance (PMI), please check the reimbursement level that will be available to you from your relevant provider for the therapy. If your PMI reimbursement does not cover the fee in full, you must pay the difference between the fee and the PMI reimbursement.
If you have not already done so, please inform us of your PMI's Authorisation Code and of the limits to the funding available.
We can normally handle invoices directly with the insurance company. We will inform you if we are not able to do so.
Cancellation policy
If you are unable to attend your appointment please let us know as soon as possible. 48 hours notice is required for cancellation or rescheduling of your appointment. Where there is less notice, or you fail to attend your appointment, the fee for that session will be incurred.
The therapist will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible in terms of holidays or of any need to cancel a future appointment.
If you have any questions, with regards to our Terms and Conditions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
