The counselling style that I practice is Humanistic; grounded in the Person-Centred approach, and informed by principles from Transactional Analysis, Gestalt and Body Psychotherapy. You are free to ask any questions that you might have about this, or anything else, at any time during our relationship. How long our relationship may last will depend on what you want from therapy; it may be that you are looking for a problem focused approach, and much can be achieved short term, or you may want to make major changes in the way that you perceive yourself, others and the world around you, which can often be a longer process. It is important to regularly review progress to ensure that we are both working towards the same goals within our alliance as client and therapist.
Ending the alliance can be an important process, and wherever possible it should be planned between client and therapist, and any issues surrounding the ending explored together.
Confidentiality:
With regards to confidentiality, as the client you are free to discuss your therapy with others if you wish to do so; however, I work to the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) code of ethics and good practice (which can be found at www.bacp.co.uk) and this states that I may not disclose anything that is discussed during our sessions except in the following instances. Firstly, it is with the clients’ best interests at heart that I have my practice supervised by highly experienced colleagues, so I may discuss some of the content of our sessions in my regular supervision sessions; however, when this occurs, your name will not be used and your anonymity protected. Secondly, if I have good reason to believe that you intend to take your own life or harm others, I will take the appropriate action in order to prevent this (i.e. informing healthcare professionals/ emergency services), but I will discuss this with you first, unless extreme urgency is required. This should not, of course, impede you from exploring your thoughts and feelings around suicide, which can be an important issue to look at within the therapeutic process.
Sessions:
Sessions will take place in my practice room at 23 Grand Parade, Brighton, BN2 9QB. They will take place on the same day and time each week and will run for the agreed time of 50 minutes. Please arrive no more than 5 minutes before your scheduled start time. The fee that we have agreed is payable via bank transfer the day before each session.
Cancellation Policy:
I ask for 1 week’s notice if you are unable to attend your session for any reason. If you are unable to give 1 week’s notice, the full fee will be payable. Where possible I will do my best rearrange missed sessions.
Please text or email if you need to cancel an appointment, or are likely to be late, and please do bear in mind that a successful outcome in therapy depends on making a commitment to attend sessions regularly. Please also note that sessions will not take place if you are under the influence of alcohol or non-prescription drugs. You will not be charged if I am on holiday, or unable to attend a session for any other reason, and I will try to give you as much notice as possible when this occurs.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not use WhatsApp to communicate with clients; all communications and cancellation notices MUST be either by text or email. Any messages sent via WhatsApp will be left unread and deleted to protect confidentiality.
laura hordern counselling 