FAQs

Policies

Cancellation

Sessions can be cancelled or rescheduled by messaging, calling or emailing. If you give more than 24 hours notice, there will be no charge. If you give less than 24 hours notice or if you miss the session, you will still need to pay in full.

If I believe a client is under the influence of alcohol/non-prescription drugs, I will end the session immediately.

If I am unable to attend a session due to an accident or illness, the next mutually convenient day and time will be offered. I will give as much notice as possible of any holidays or training, which might mean session day/times are not available.

Confidentiality

As a counsellor, my first responsibility is to my client. Everything you bring to therapy will be treated confidentially, except in the following circumstances:

• There is a risk of serious harm to you or other people
• You disclose a serious unreported crime
• A court has made a legal order (subpoena)

Should any of these exceptional circumstances arise, I will speak to you about the requirement for me to pass information on.

I attend monthly supervision, when I speak to my supervisor about my client work. My supervisor ensures that I am working legally and ethically. My supervisor is also bound by confidentiality and will not discuss the contents of our sessions with anyone else.

With regards confidentiality around children and young people, see the ‘Working with Children and Young People’ information in the policies section.

Working with Children and Young People

I am a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, with regards working with children and adults. PVG is a membership scheme for people who do regulated work with children and vulnerable adults. It is managed by Disclosure Scotland, which is an executive agency of the Scottish Government.

Information for parents and carers:

As a counsellor, my first responsibility is to my client. Everything a child or young person brings to therapy will be treated confidentially.

I believe that counselling has the best chance of being effective when a child or young person is permitted to keep their counselling relationship private. I appreciate that parents and carers place their trust in me and I understand that updates may be helpful. With this in mind, please note the following:

• Please allow your child to decide whether they want to talk to you about their sessions and how much or how little they wish to tell you.
• If your child discloses something that I believe indicates risk of serious harm to themselves or to others, then I will be in touch with you (which I will tell the child I am going to do).
• Feel free to contact me to request an update on how the sessions are going. I will then consult with your child and provide an appropriate answer, which preserves confidentiality.
• I check in with my clients on a regular basis to see if they are finding the work we are doing together helpful. If they are not, then we will bring our work to a close.

Privacy

I, Lisa Folly, adhere to current data protection legislation, including General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information, from initial point of contact, through to after your therapy has ended.

I am registered as the Data Controller for my business with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and take the protection of your data very seriously. The ICO is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. I will collect, store and process basic personal data about you and I am responsible for keeping it safe and secure.

I collect your:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Phone number
• Email address
• Next of kin / emergency contact
• GP's name and address

In the case of children and young people, this will be the contact details of parents/carers.

I need these details to administer and deliver the service you have requested, and to comply with any legal or professional body responsibilities that ensue in the delivery of that service.

I will use your details to contact you and to record my electronic session notes. I will store your personal information on my electronic devices, which are password protected. Session notes are anonymised, and will be stored in a separate file to the one in which your personal details are held – no information is shared with a third party. Your personal details will be deleted as soon as our work together ends. Anonymised session notes will be retained for a period of five years, after which they will be permanently deleted. If you would like me to delete these sooner, just let me know.

You have a right at any time to ask what information I hold on you.

If you feel there has been a breach of your data and you wish to raise a complaint, you can contact me directly in the first instance. If my response is not acceptable to you, you can contact the Information Commissioners Office. For more information go to ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

Living Will

In the event of my death or incapacitation, a nominated person will access the names and contact details of my current clients. This nominated person will contact my clients to inform them of my situation.