My media activities

I maintain an active social media presence. Online resources such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram enable me to reach a large audience to whom I can communicate psychological concepts that I hope can be useful in their lives. I hold my duty of care and confidentiality to my counselling and coaching clients as hugely important. I consider my media work to be related to, but completely separate from my clinical work.

Keeping Boundaries

The nature of an online presence can blur interpersonal boundaries, so it is important to be as clear as possible about how boundaries may be compromised. The nature of the digital world can sometimes stretch the boundaries of a service consucted from a consulting room boundaries, so I offer the best clarity I can below.

Data Protection

If you are a client you will have been asked to sign a GDPR compliant comprehensive contract.

If you have submitted intake information but have decided not to proceed then the details you have supplied will be distroyed.

E-mail

I am using Proton Mail, which is an encrypted e-mail service.

If you as a client are not using an encrypted e-mail service I will send any documentation to be completed with personal information in a passworded e-mail. Using the password, you may access the message, download any attachment(s) and upload any completed attachment(s). Any password-protected e-mails sent from my Proton Mail account to an unencrypted e-mail account will expire after 28 days, as it the default setting forthe Proton Mail service.

Often, it is best to rely on e-mail for non-confidential communications like setting up appointment times and things like that. In an effort to keep confidential content "in-session" it is best avoided in e-mails unless we discuss it beforehand (e.g. specifically using encrypted e-mail conselling as a medium).

I will always request your preferred email address when gathering intake information.

If you are concerned about the confidentiality of your e-mails you may wish to contact me by telephone instead.

I check e-mails only at fixed times during office hours – I avoid checking them on weekends and holidays. I endeavour to respond to all e-mails within 48 hours upon opening them. If I am away for an extended period, you will receive an automated 'out of office' response. E-mails should never be used in the event of an emergency - in a crisis situation ring the emergency services or an emergency support line such as The Samaritans: 116 123.

E-invoicing

Payments are accepted in advance of sessions taking place and are subject to a 48 hour cancellation / rescheduling policy. Please use the BACs details provided in the contract. E-invoices are available on request. Invoices are to be paid within 28 days of the invoice date.

Work done for charities is subject to VAT, as with any organisation. Charities are exempt from Corporation Tax but not from VAT.

Text messages

You may feel free to contact me by text message to alert me if you are running late for a session, re-scheduling subject to illness (subject to the 48 hour cancellation / rescheduling policy) or for similar scheduling reasons.

As a private practitioner I am unable to offer an emergency service, even by phone. Online services are ill-suited for crisis situations. Should you experience an emergency please contact either the emergency services or if you are feeling suicidal, ring an emergency support line such as The Samaritans: 116 123.

Please refer to the signposting information on this site, or within your Wecome Pack for counselling clients.

Telephone and Video-conferencing via Zoom

When working online you have achoice between working via phone conversations or video-conferencing.

While I do not generally run my practice remotely, there may be times when we have a session by telephone or video conferencing, for example, if either one of us is abroad or temporarily elsewhere in the UK. Any such sessions will be discussed in advance. I use the Zoom video conferencing system with all the security features enabled for counselling and coaching. It is fully encrypted and I have completed the Zoom GDPR Addendum for the Zoom account.

I aim to provide the same high level of service for my coaching clients as my counselling clients, and software choices come into this.

Should we ever decide to work together remotely I will give you further instructions about how to join.

When engaging via video conferencing, we both agree not to record sessions.

It is also crucial that you’re sure your environment from which you are conferencing with me is safe, secure, and confidential. I will discuss with you before te time how to prepare for working online, either by phone or e-mail if I have been unable to reach you.

Social Media

I maintain a public Facebook Page, and Instagram and TikTok as a way of promoting psychological ideas through the media, and to make people aware of workshops, conferences, or other events that I may be taking part in, or that might be of interest to followers. I send across relevant links and sometimes engage in public conversations on these topics.

Despite my online presence, I would prefer that our relationship remain as much as possible between us in the physical or digital consultation room. I will not knowingly enagage with clients in active work over social media. Whether you follow me or not is of course to your discretion, though I would suggest not to follow my personal accounts for reasons of confidentiality and preserving our therapeutic / coaching relationship that it’s advisable not to.

I, like many others, maintain a private Facebook account for personal reasons, and a LinkedIn account for professional ones. I aim to keep my Faceboook as private as possible. It would not be appropriate to be Facebook "friends" with current or former counselling clients. I acknowledge that there can be some overlap across social networks, and that this sometimes comes to light on Facebook. If this were the case, it would be something we would need to discuss in-session.

As the above, I have decided that it would not be appropriate to add current or former clients as "connections" on Linked-In.

Google Searches

I have found it is best to avoid encountering information about you that does not come directly from you, so in general practice I do not Google my clients.

I am aware, however, that clients will often Google prospective therapists / coaches as part of their process in choosing one. If you did so with me, and this produced any questions, I would be happy to address them with you. Going forward, I have found it is best to find out from each other what we need to know face-to-face.

Google Feedback Form

This platform has been chosen to best ensure your anonymity. If you wish to use it for submitting feedback on the work we have done together, know that your e-mail address is not collected and the form creator will be unable to see your IP address. Your IP address is only viewable by Google.