Terms and Conditions of Service

Adult (age 16+) Counselling, Psychotherapy/Psychology, Coaching

1)    Free2BMe’s role and obligations

Free2BMe is responsible for:

1.     Initial assessment of your support needs

2.     Referring you to a suitable practitioner within our team of independent registered professionals

3.     Verifying the qualifications, registration status and insurance of all our staff and independent providers and checking ongoing compliance

4.     Providing a suitable, secure system for handling bookings, payments, and session notes

5.     If the initial match between your practitioner is not successful, referring you to an appropriate alternative practitioner within our service or if this is not possible, signposting alternatives outside the service.

2)    Fees and payments

Our database, Kiku, will provide a facility for secure card payments for new clients from July 17th 2023 onwards. When you book your first session, you will usually be sent a link to sign up for an account to pay using Kiku. Using Kiku to pay for your sessions means you can take advantage of payment reminders, easily see your payment and booking history, and save your card details on a secure system for your convenience. If you are unable to pay in this way, please let us know, and you can pay via bank transfer at the details below instead.

(If you began your therapy/coaching before July 2023 or are a returning client, you may continue to pay via your usual method.)

Block payments for multiple sessions can also be made via bank transfer, and if someone else is paying on your behalf, they can pay via bank transfer or an alternative card payment link. Please email info@free2bmetherapyservices.com if you need an invoice and we will provide one.

Bank details:

Sort code: 60-83-71

Account number: 80017157

Account name: Free2BMe Therapy Services Ltd

First session

Payment for your first session must be made at least 24h before the first session. We reserve the right to cancel an appointment if payment is not made within this timeframe.

Subsequent sessions

Payment should be made no later than the day of your session.

2.1) Late payments

If your payment for your session has not been made on the day of your session, you will receive a reminder to settle your account. A further appointment cannot be booked if payments are not up to date. This includes cancellation fee payments under our policy below. If you are experiencing any difficulty with payments, please let your therapist/coach know, or email us at info@free2bmetherapyservices.com and we will be happy to discuss your situation.

2.2) Fee increases

Session fees are reviewed on a yearly basis. Fees are calculated based on operating costs for us and for our practitioners, market rates, and practitioner training, experience and specialism. Clients will always be given a minimum of 8 weeks’ notice for any fee increase and fees will not increase more than once in any 12-month period.

3)    Attendance and cancellations/rearranging sessions

3.1) Cancellation policy and fees

If you need to cancel or rearrange a session, please inform your therapist/coach with at least 24hrs notice. Sessions cancelled with less than 24hrs notice or not attended without prior notice will incur the full session fee (or for sessions funded by an employer/insurer, the session would be taken off the total number allocated). We will discuss exceptional circumstances or emergencies on a case-by-case basis, but we cannot waive or reduce a fee for these reasons more than once in any 12-month period.

We also do not consider it ethical practice to allow a client to regularly incur cancellation fees and not benefit from the fees being paid to us. Therefore, if sessions are cancelled late/not attended on two consecutive weeks or three times in any six-week period, we will need to consider whether we can continue offering sessions. If you anticipate having difficulty attending sessions, please discuss with your therapist/coach.

3.2) Holidays/other breaks in therapy

We can accommodate breaks of up to 4 weeks. If you need to take a longer break than this, please discuss this with your therapist. We cannot guarantee that any regular therapy slot can be held for more than 4 weeks. Coaching can be more flexible in this regard.

3.3 Frequency of therapy sessions

Therapy sessions are offered either weekly or fortnightly. We do not offer less frequent therapy sessions, unless as part of an agreed ending plan with a therapist who is able and willing to accommodate this on a temporary basis. Coaching can be more flexible in this regard.

3.4) Therapist/coach holidays and other absences

We expect practitioners to take regular breaks from work as part of maintaining good self-care. Some of our practitioners may take regular short breaks, or longer breaks of 3-4 weeks, particularly around summer holidays and Christmas. Practitioners should give clients reasonable notice of planned absences from work. In the case of unplanned absences, your therapist/coach will inform you as soon as is practically possible, or a Free2BMe team member will contact you if they are not able to.

If your therapist/coach needs to take more than 4 consecutive weeks’ leave, we will offer either to pause your sessions until they return or to transfer to another practitioner in the team, either temporarily or permanently. If your therapist/coach is unable to return to work or leaves the organisation without notice, you will be informed and offered another practitioner within the team as soon as possible. In these circumstances we will offer your initial session with a new practitioner free of charge. In the event of us not being able to offer you another suitable practitioner, we will do our best to signpost or refer you to other suitable services.

4)    Confidentiality

4.1) Limits of confidentiality

What you say in your sessions is treated as confidential, but there are limits to this. Your therapist/coach may need to break confidentiality if they become aware of a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, including vulnerable adults or children. Practitioners have legal responsibilities regarding reporting certain types of serious crime, including but not limited to terrorism, illegal drug dealing, money laundering and violent or sexual crime. If this were to arise, your therapist would always try to discuss this with you and involve you in this process wherever possible. Ethical therapy and coaching also require attending clinical/coaching supervision regularly. Supervision discussions are bound by the same limits of confidentiality.

4.2) Session notes

Therapists are required to keep brief session notes on a secure system. Coaches may also keep session notes, but they are not required to do so. You can request a copy of these notes at any time if you wish to do so.

4.3) Support needs and third parties

Other than in the circumstances outlined in section 4.1, we will not communicate with anyone else about you or any services you are receiving from us. If you want someone else to be able to communicate with us on your behalf, you can give permission for this via email. If a third party is paying for sessions on your behalf, we may need to ask for permission to communicate with them regarding payments and invoicing, but on the understanding that no other matters are discussed.

We understand that sometimes people with neurological differences may need additional support from others to engage in therapy/coaching and we are committed to working with clients’ needs wherever possible. Requests for third party support must always be discussed with the therapist/coach prior to the session so that limits and boundaries can be outlined and agreed. If the request does not come directly from the client, we will always seek the client’s permission before agreeing to include a third party. Please be aware that our practitioners reserve the right to terminate or refuse to carry out a session if a third party attends a session without prior agreement, and we do not allow children under 18 to be present in sessions in any capacity (other than if they are the client).

Clients or referring agencies are responsible for sourcing and choosing their own support/interpreting services where needed and are responsible for any costs.

4.4) Ancillary work

“Ancillary work” is defined as additional administrative work outside sessions that you may ask your therapist or coach to carry out on your behalf. This would cover, for example, supporting letters for referrals, education or employment-related matters, or accessing benefits such as PIP. We would only do this on request, and you would always see what has been written and be asked to approve it or request any changes before any communication about you is sent. Ancillary work is charged pro-rata at the therapist/coach’s usual hourly rate.

5)    Remote sessions

“Remote” is defined as sessions conducted via a technological medium that allows the client and practitioner to be in different locations. This includes video calls, telephone calls, and synchronous text communication such as SMS or other text-based messaging apps. Sometimes, remote sessions may involve blending more than one of these forms of communication.

There are additional confidentiality considerations for remote sessions as follows:

1)    You must have a confidential place for online and telephone sessions. It does not have to be in your home, but it cannot be a public place such as a park, as this compromises confidentiality and safety.  

2)    We recommend that antivirus software is installed on your device, and your sessions are held on a device that is for your sole use.

3)    Your therapist/coach should discuss alternative options for if you lose connection during the session. Please be aware that if the session ends suddenly and your therapist/coach is concerned about your welfare and cannot contact you to check you are safe, they may need to call your emergency contact or your GP.

4)    We recommend preparing for your session by having necessary items for your comfort with you such as tissues, a drink, etc.

5)    Where possible, choose a time for your session where you are unlikely to be disturbed, and check your internet connection before the session begins, as practitioners cannot extend sessions for time lost due to poor connection or interruptions.

6)    If your therapist/coach experiences technical difficulties on their end, they will discuss with you how to make up any lost session time.

Before your first session, the therapist/coach will discuss with you the platform(s) they use for online therapy and will assist you in downloading/accessing the software/website required if you have not used it before.

5.1 Remote therapy outside the UK and Ireland 

Please speak with your therapist if you intend to travel overseas and wish to continue your sessions while outside your home country, as we will need to check the laws governing counselling and psychotherapy in your destination country before agreeing to provide a service while you are away. In the UK, counselling and psychotherapy are not subject to statutory regulation, and we usually can provide services to clients residing in other countries with a similar system of voluntary governance, but in some other countries, there are strict laws governing who can and cannot offer these services within their borders.

Any remote therapy offered to clients residing outside the UK, including the Irish Republic, is bound by the law governing the legal system that applies to the practitioner (usually determined by the practitioner’s country of residence and/or their membership body), and any contractual disputes will be considered under that legal system.

Coaching is not subject to the same restrictions and can be practiced in most cases across borders.

6)    Complaints

 Our therapists are associate independent practitioners, which means that they are responsible for the quality of the therapeutic work they undertake with you. In the event of an issue arising in therapy which you are unable to resolve directly with your therapist, they will inform you of how to resolve the matter with their professional body. We verify that all our therapists are registered with professional bodies, which have their own complaint resolution processes.

If the relationship between you and your therapist irretrievably breaks down, Free2BMe will make best efforts to either match you with a suitable practitioner within the organisation or suggest alternatives.

7)    Data Protection

In agreeing to work with Free2BMe Therapy Services, you agree that your personal information may be kept and stored by Free2BMe Therapy Services in line with the Data Protection Act. By signing this agreement, you consent to Free2BMe Therapy Services processing your personal data for the purpose of providing you with the service you have requested. Your data will be held securely and will not be shared with any third parties unless you give your explicit permission, other than in the exceptional circumstances outlined in the Confidentiality section.

8)    Confirmation

In attending your first therapy/coaching session, you agree that you have read, understood, and will be bound by the terms and conditions in this agreement. A copy of this agreement can be provided to you on request for your own reference.