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Cancellation Policy

If for any unforeseen circumstances it becomes necessary to cancel an appointment, we will endeavour to provide you with a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. You may hear from your Trainee / Associate Therapist or Jennie.

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You will be required to attend all booked appointments promptly and at the date and time agreed. If you are unable to attend an appointment, you must also endeavour to provide 48 hours’ notice by calling, texting or emailing your Therapist.

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If you provide less 48 hours’ notice, you agree to pay a remittance of 50% of the agreed session costs and if you provide less than 24 hours’ notice, you agree to pay the full session cost.

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If you would prefer to move from face to face sessions to remote sessions, please provide your Therapist with 14 days’ notice.

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If you need to cancel lots of sessions due to unforeseen circumstances, we will discuss whether this is the right time for you to engage in therapy.

Ethical Standards

As your Therapist is registered with a professional body, they are bound by their ethical code of practice. For example, CBT Therapists are registered with the BABCP and you can view these standards at: www.babcp.com.

 

Art Therapists are usually registered with HCPC or BAAT. Counsellors are usually registered with BACP. Psychologists are usually registered with BPS. Coaches are usually registered with ICF. Psychiatrists are usually registered with GMC.

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If you are not sure who your Clinician is registered with, please let us know and we can share this with you.

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In order to maintain high ethical standards, your Clinician will receive regularly (usually monthly) supervision from a qualified colleague, as well as ad-hoc supervision, when required. Trainees usually receive weekly supervision.

 

Supervision enables Clinicians to explore the work completed, the treatment plan, progress or problems, and Supervisors to give advice and monitor that we are completing work to a high standard.

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In order to gain or maintain accreditation with their professional body, your Clinician must keep logs of all client and supervision hours, as well as continued professional development.

Therapeutic Relationships

Therapy is built on a good therapeutic relationship. This means, that your Clinician wants to have a good relationship with you in order for your therapy to be as successful as possible.

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Although this is the case, we also need to set some boundaries to ensure the relationship stays professional and to protect your confidentiality.

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Your Clinician will be on a variety of social media platforms, both publicly and privately. To maintain a good therapeutic relationship, your Clinician will not accept friend requests on private social media accounts.

 

You are welcome to add and engage with us on our business accounts however please be aware that these platforms are not secure, so you should not share personal details via direct messages.

We always strive to maintain your confidentiality, but if you post publicly, for example by commenting on a social media post, other people could see this. In these circumstances, we may generically respond to you which may feel a bit strange. If we bump into each other in public, we will not acknowledge you unless you acknowledge us.

Your Therapist will not search for you on social media without your consent, or unless it is part of an agreed treatment plan.

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You should also never contact your Clinician in a crisis, in case they are unable to respond.

Confidentiality

Your attendance and the content of your sessions will be kept confidential.

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Your Clinician will keep some clinical notes about our sessions, your presentation, homework and risk which will be kept confidential and will be destroyed after therapy. You are assigned a code (e.g. JC1) and documents are password protected.

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You may decide that you are happy for your Clinician to discuss your appointments with someone else. If this is the case, your Clinician will ask you to put this in writing with their contact details. This is usually added to your intake documents on a Google Form.

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We will ask you for your GP’s contact details. This is so that we can inform your GP about concerns relating to your risk to self (e.g. thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way).

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The only circumstances where we may divulge confidential information is if we believe that you present a potential risk to yourself or others. This includes suicidal thoughts, crimes, or safeguarding concerns. We will aim to discuss with you, but this may not be possible and we retain the right to discuss concerns without consent.

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Your Trainee Therapist will be discussing your case with Jennie (their Clinical Supervisor) weekly. Your Associate Therapist may discuss your case with Jennie also. Jennie also maintains your confidentiality. As part of their University course, your Trainee Therapist may discuss your case in supervision or written work, but all personal details will be omitted.

Risk Management

We have a responsibility to monitor risks to you and others. Although your Clinician will be there to support you, throughout therapy you are expected to follow an agreed RMP which will be created collaboratively.

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If you are unable to manage your own risk, we will discuss whether now is a good time to engage in therapy. If you disclose risk to yourself, your Clinician will contact your GP to ask them to also support you.

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You should not contact Chiltern Talking Therapies in a crisis as we may not be able to respond.

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Here is an example RMP:

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If my mood or symptoms deteriorate, I agree to the following risk management plan:

  • To contact my GP and request an urgent appointment.

  • To call the Samaritans on 116 123 (available 24/7).

  • To text the Shout crisis text line by texting ‘shout’ to 85258 (available 24/7).

  • To contact my local crisis team.

  • To go to A&E, or if I cannot get there safely, to call 999.

Difficulties

In the first instance, you should discuss your concerns with your Clinician. Your therapy can be adapted and your Clinician will always be happy to receive feedback.

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If you would like to end therapy for any reason, please make your Clinician aware so that you can work towards and ending. This might include referral or signposting to another Clinician or service.

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If you would like to discuss concerns about your Trainee / Associate Clinician, you can contact Jennie at any time on 07949 889 492. If you would like to transition to working with a qualified or different Clinician, that is not a problem, you are allowed to change your mind, please let us know.

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If you have any cultural, literacy, or any other needs, please make your Clinician aware so that they can adapt sessions accordingly.

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CBT is time limited. You should not be receiving CBT for years, instead your Clinician should be preparing you for ending and utilising coping strategies independently.

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As has already been highlighted, CBT is an active therapy. Please do not expect change to happen if you are not making changes, are not completing homework, or not being completely open in sessions. If you are not ready to engage in CBT at this point in your life, that is ok.

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If you wish to make a complaint about your therapist, you can contact their accrediting body, for example, BABCP.

Ending Therapy

You are free to end therapy at any time, although it is recommended that this is planned for. Toward the end of therapy, your progress can be evaluated and (in CBT) a Relapse Prevention Plan will be created. This is designed to consolidate your knowledge and give you something to refer back to after treatment.

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If your Clinician has concerns about your ability to engage in therapy, this will be discussed with you and a plan will be put in place. This plan might involve referring you to another Clinician, or signposting you to an appropriate service.​

Feedback

If you would like to give feedback on your experiences, this would be greatly appreciated to improve your Clinician's practice and future client experiences.

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If you would like to give feedback to CTT about the service, please use this link - https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/MOCHK1/  

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Here's the link to our Google reviews (not anon) - 

https://g.page/r/CZqB_otYiZt4EBM/review 

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Here's the link to our Trust Pilot page (anon) - 

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/chilterntalkingtherapies.co.uk

Working with a Trainee

Chiltern Talking Therapies offers Trainee CBT Therapists the opportunity to practice with suitable clients. Trainees are attending University and working toward their accreditation to become a Qualified CBT Therapist.

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Trainees are heavily supervised by Jennie (qualified CBT Therapist and Owner of Chiltern Talking Therapies). They will have one hour of supervision per week, plus ad hoc supervision.

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When working with a Trainee CBT Therapist, sessions are usually audio or video recorded. This is not mandatory, but helps to develop the Trainee’s skills.

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Audio recordings are played in Supervision in order for the Qualified CBT Therapist to listen to the Trainee CBT Therapist and give feedback. The purpose of this Supervision is only to monitor ethics and CBT practice, as well as giving feedback on the Trainee CBT Therapist’s style. The client is not the focus of these Supervision sessions, instead this is to support the Trainee’s practice and sign off the required skills, knowledge and attitudes.

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With regard to confidentiality, the only person the Trainee CBT Therapist will discuss your case with is Jennie. Jennie may choose to discuss your case with her Clinical Supervisor. The only reason we would break confidentiality outside of our Supervision structure is in case of risk.

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Your difficulties appear suitable to work with a Trainee CBT Therapist, though if this changes you will be transferred to working with Jennie, or another suitably qualified Therapist, to ensure your needs are met.

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If you change your mind and do not want to work with a Trainee CBT Therapist, or no longer wish to be recorded, this is absolutely fine, please let us know.

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If you have any concerns about your Trainee CBT Therapist’s practice, you can contact Jennie directly on

07949 889 492 or chilterntalkingtherapies@gmail.com.

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Please take your time to consider this decision and feel free to contact Jennie to discuss further. If you would like the opportunity to speak to our Trainee before committing to working with them, please let us know and we will arrange a free 15 minute consultation.

Working with an Associate

Chiltern Talking Therapies works with a variety of Associates Therapists, Counsellors, Coaches and other Clinicians who are self-employed sub-contractors.

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Associate Clinicians will hold their own indemnity insurance and be registered with their accrediting body,

e.g. the BABCP. 

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Associate Clinicians are required to have regular clinical supervision, in line with their governing body recommendations. This could be with Jennie, or may be another Clinical Supervisor.

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With regard to confidentiality, the Associate Clinician will regularly discuss your case with their Clinical Supervisor, and periodically may discuss your case with Jennie (Owner). Jennie may also choose to discuss your case with her Clinical Supervisor. The only reason we would break confidentiality outside of this Supervision structure is in case of risk.

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Jennie will securely pass your details over to the Associate Clinician and they may want to ask questions throughout your treatment.

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If you decide that you do not want to work with the Associate Clinician, or change your mind at any time, you can be transferred to working with Jennie (if appropriate) or another suitably qualified Clinician to ensure your needs are met.

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If you have any concerns about your Associate Clinician’s practice, you can contact Jennie directly on

07949 889 492 or chilterntalkingtherapies@gmail.com. Please remember that you can also contact their governing body at any time if you are concerned.

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The cost for working with our Associate Clinicians depends on their level of experience and Accreditation status. You will be matched with the most appropriate Therapist to meet your needs.

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Please take your time to consider this decision and feel free to contact Jennie to discuss further. If you would like the opportunity to speak to the Associate Clinician before committing to working with them, please let us know and we will arrange a free 15 minute consultation.

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