Terms

Terms of Service

Dr. Zeljka McLean, CPsychol

Counselling Psychologist

07904805298

[email protected]

Private Practice:

Remote: Using Zoom platform

Face-to-face: Sevenoaks Clinic

Professional Registration

Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society (BPS)) – 188476

Member of Division of Counselling Psychology – BPS

Counselling Psychologist (HCPC Registered) – PYL040897

Code of Ethics

I adhere to the British Psychological Society (BPS) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Code of Ethics for Counselling Psychologists.

Therapeutic Contracts

Long and short term. Short term contracts are usually 6-8 sessions depending your reasons for seeking therapy and may be extended. Long term contracts have no definite end, but progress of therapy is reviewed regularly.

First Contact

I do not offer free initial sessions. I am however happy to have a 15 minute discussion with you to help you decide if you would like to make an appointment. If you do decide, you will need to read the Terms of Service and return the Client Information and Contract Agreement form (this will be emailed to you). Please fill these in and send electronically.

Please note that the receipt of the completed Client Information and Contract Agreement Form is needed for treatment to begin. Without this, sessions will not be scheduled.

Sessions

The sessions are 50 minutes in length, usually once per week, at the same time and day to which we agree. However, should you wish to have a higher or lower frequency of sessions, please feel free to discuss this with me.

Couples sessions

It is important that both partners are present for the session to begin. In cases where individual sessions are requested, these will be offered to both partners, ideally, before the next couples session.

Lateness

In case that you are late for the session, the time cannot be added at the end due to your booked time slot. In case that I am late to the session, I will offer you the full session if that is convenient to you. If not, the appropriate reduction of fee will be applied to your session.

Fees and Cancellations

The fee for one-to-one session is £130 and £150 for couples (please note that this is price of 50-minute remote sessions, prices of face-to-face sessions might differ depending on the clinic). This is also the price of the initial no-obligation session. The fee for remote sessions is payable via bank transfer (supplied before our initial session). You will be electronically invoiced for your sessions.

Please note that fees are to be paid on the day of treatment and following sessions will not be scheduled if payment is not received.

Please note that in addition to face to face sessions, intensive treatment, emergency treatment, additional communication and consultancy are charged accordingly after the initial assessment or result in higher session fees.

Fees are subject to review and will change depending on place of sessions. Next review will be in January 2025.

If you need to cancel a session, I would ask you for 24 hours notice so that there will not be any charge for the cancellation. If you cancel later than this, I will charge the full price of the session. If I need to cancel the session, I will also give you a minimum of 24 hours notice, but I will always aim to provide you with more time. In this case, I will find a suitable time for both of us as soon as possible for your session.

I will also let you know at least two weeks in advance of any holiday breaks and would ask you to let me know about yours so that we can work around these.

Confidentiality

Protection of confidentiality is very important for the development of trust in the therapeutic relationship. All of the details, which you disclose, will be treated with respect and confidence. In the exceptional case that you might disclose intent to harm yourself or others, it is my duty of care to involve other professionals (i.e., usually a health care professional or emergency services). However, this will usually be done with your consent and with your knowledge. We will discuss this in therapy and you will be aware of this taking place if it is necessary. The only exception to this is a serious emergency where there is no time for such a discussion (please see paragraph below).

In line with the safety during our remote sessions I will ask you to supply the address where you will be during our sessions. In an instance where you may end the call and I judge that you were under significant distress when the call ended and posing potential risk to yourself or others, I will attempt to phone you. In the case that you do not answer, I will phone your emergency contact. In the case of remote sessions this emergency contact must live near you and be able to reach you in this situation. They will be asked to make contact with me to ensure that you are safe. In the case where neither of these attempts are successful, I will contact the emergency services who will be sent to your address. I will also contact your GP.

I will ask you to supply your GP details. This is important to ensure avenues of communication should you require me to contact your GP during our sessions. I will not be contacting your GP without your request, unless this is required by your wider care team or post an emergency event (described above).

Remote Sessions

Remote sessions, in my experience, are very similar to face-to-face sessions with regards to therapeutic process and progression. I will be using the Zoom platform for our sessions. It is easy to download off the internet and set up. Please let me know if your device does not support this platform and I will be able to arrange sessions through Skype. In case that your device does not support either I can arrange telephone sessions instead.

My computer device will be hardwired into the internet in order to avoid Wi-Fi interruptions and I would advise that you ensure that you can stay connected during our sessions for the duration. If we do get interrupted, I will attempt to contact you again.

It is useful to find yourself a space without interruptions and put away any telephone devices during our sessions.

Support and Crisis Between Sessions

In our sessions I will attempt to establish your support network and discuss your avenues of support in your daily life. Outside of our sessions I cannot provide immediate support that you might require in a crisis. If you feel that you are in need of immediate help due to the risk of harm to yourself or others, I would advise you to contact:

1. Your General Practitioner (GP)

2. Attend your nearest A and E department

3. Call the Samaritans on 116 123

4. Search “Mental Health Helpline” on Google and you will come across a number of local options for support in a crisis and access to 24-hour telephone helplines, ranging from services offered by Mind, your local Council and the NHS.

Telephone Contact Outside Sessions

In the circumstances where substantial telephone or video contact of the therapeutic nature occurs between the scheduled sessions, I may need to charge you for this time. I am happy to clarify this and have a discussion.

At this stage only I have access to your data. Your information and files are password protected and encrypted on my computer. Your notes, which are de-identified (no name, time and day of session), will be protected by the same protocols and your hard copy files (if any) will not be carried or transported.

In the case that you would like your data to be shared with you GP, previous therapist, other health professional, school counsellor and the like, I will ask you to sign a release of information form. This provides your consent to your data being shared. In case of children under 16, the permission to share information with the parents will be assumed. However this will firstly be discussed with the child.

You can request copies of your data and this will be provided within 30 calendar days without any charge.

As per professional practice guidelines your data will be kept for seven years after your therapy has ended.

I will ask you for consent to terms of data protection and data sharing (in the Contract Agreement), so that I can process your information in the above-described way.

Adult ADHD Assessments

The above Terms also apply to the contract engagements during the Adult ADHD Assessment process (this process is defined in the ADHD Section). When you submit and sign the Client Information Form (ADHD Assessments) you will be consenting to the limited time contract (screening and assessment) and the writing of the report. The full report will only be sent to you for you to share with third parties when you feel this is appropriate.