VIVA Therapy
Couples Therapy Agreement
Thank you for accepting our offer of couples therapy.
At VIVA We believe that respect and positive regard for the individuals and for the relationship is very important. We trust that each one of us has the knowledge within us to find understanding of ourselves and to heal, and that our role as therapists is to enable you to discover that within yourself.
We very much look forward to working with you in therapy and we set out below the boundaries within which we and your therapist will work with you.
We trust the information below will be helpful; however, if you have any queries, please let your therapist know and they will be happy to discuss it with you. You can also email Anne Lewis with any queries at hello@vivatherapy.co.uk.
Session times
As a client of VIVA you understand that your sessions will be online only, that each session will last 60 minutes, and you will both meet with your therapist on a weekly basis. We understand that from time to time it may be that you are not both able to attend your session and it should then be agreed with your therapist whether you continue with the booked session with one of you or wait until the next session when you can both attend.
The nature of couples therapy means that it can be beneficial for your therapist to meet with you as individuals from time to time and this happens at the start of your therapy with your therapist. They will meet with you both together in the first session, followed by two individual sessions. This is for assessment purposes and allows your therapist to get to know you as a couple and as the individuals you are. If your therapist feels it might be useful to meet as individuals in future sessions, they will discuss this with you.
To get the most out of your therapy, we ask for a weekly commitment. However, we offer longer-term therapy, and for couples this can look like: initially meeting with your therapist on a weekly basis for 6-10 sessions, moving to fortnightly, and eventually moving to monthly sessions for as long as you both find therapy helpful.
Your therapist will usually try to place clients who want to move to fortnightly and monthly sessions opposite each other, so that they can then offer the weekly session to a new client. Please note that this may mean that your session time and day will move, but this will be discussed with you.
Please know that we are happy for you to restrict the number of sessions to a set number as this is your therapy, so please do not hesitate to let your therapist know if you would prefer or need to keep the sessions to a set number. We would advise, however, considering having a minimum of six sessions as research shows that this is the minimum number of sessions in terms of benefit for clients.
Please note that your therapist will take regular breaks across the year to ensure they avoid burn out and they will notify you of their leave dates in advance.
We understand that you might be late to start your session from time to time; however, if you arrive late for your session, your therapist will not go beyond your usual finishing time as this will impact on other client sessions. If it is possible to go over time, your therapist will let you know.
Your therapist will endeavour not to be late to your session time; however, if they are late to one of your sessions, then you will have the whole session time, unless your therapist is not able to do so, or you both agree to arrange the session for another time.
If you are going on holiday, or need to miss sessions for any other reason, please let your therapist know your dates as soon as possible. Likewise, if your therapist is not able to make a session with you, they will give you as much notice as possible.
What happens when our appointment time arrives?
We use the video-conferencing platforms provided by Google Meet or Zoom, dependent on therapist preference, for online counselling sessions. Your therapist will let you know which platform they use and you can download the relevant app onto your phone or laptop if you would like to; however, the link we send you for your session should open up in your browser without the need to download the app.
In preparation for your session:
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you will need to ensure you log in from a quiet and private space.
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You may like to have a glass of water to hand.
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Please ensure that you switch off all notifications on your phone and laptop for the duration of our session.
After your session, you should ensure you have closed all Internet pages that relate to our time together to maintain your privacy from other people.
If you have any questions before your first session, please email your therapist at hello@vivatherapy.co.uk.
Technology Problems
Technological interruptions may happen during your sessions and you and your therapist will both need to take steps to minimise this. However, if your session is affected by technology problems that affect your or your therapist’s ability to communicate effectively for the session, you should both:
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Log out of the system;
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Attempt to log back in and your therapist will then try to reconnect with you;
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If this doesn’t work, you may both agree to have the remaining part of the session by telephone, otherwise your therapist will email you to arrange a new date for the session and you will not be charged for the current session.
Fees
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Sessions for individuals £60 per session
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Couples therapy is 60 minutes long and £90 per session
We review our fees on an annual basis. If we increase our fees, we will provide you with at least one month’s notice.
We ask that payment is made by bank transfer prior to each appointment using the following bank details:
VIVA Therapy
Monzo Bank
62141443
04-00-03
Please use your initials as a reference.
Late or non-payment of session fees may result in sessions being terminated, so if you should have any difficulties in paying the session fees, please discuss this with your therapist or email hello@vivatherapy.co.uk.
Cancellation policy
Please note that you need to give at least 48 hours’ notice if you need to cancel your session, after which you will need to pay the fee for the session.
We operate a weekly schedule and a 48-hour cancellation policy, which means that we will not charge any fee if you give notice of 48 hours, or more, to cancel. If you need to reschedule, your therapist will try to offer a suitable time in the same week and the fee will then be applied to that new appointment.
We understand that a 48-hour cancellation policy might feel punitive, but we decided on this amount of time so that our therapists can plan their professional and personal schedule. We want to reassure you that we avoid charging for a cancelled session where it feels reasonable to do so, and this is why, where we can, we aim to be flexible with rescheduling; however, if your therapist is unable to reschedule your appointment, we ask for the full fee to be paid.
Ending therapy
You have the right to end your therapy whenever you choose. We would, however, encourage you to have an ending session as it can have real therapeutic value for you.
Confidentiality
What you bring as a client to your counselling sessions will be kept confidential. The only exceptions are:
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All of the therapeutic counselling work done by your therapist is regularly supervised by a supervisor who is a senior practitioner. This is a requirement for therapists in the UK.
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As part of your therapist’s duty of care, if your therapist is concerned that you, or someone else, may come to some harm, they may need to talk to an appropriate person or agency, including their supervisor. However, if they feel they need to break confidentiality, your therapist will try to speak to you about this before they do so.
Supervision
Your therapist has a supervisor, who is an experienced counselling practitioner. All counsellors in the UK are required to work with a supervisor and it is a way of maintaining ethical practice. All client details however remain anonymous throughout supervision.
Ethical guidelines
Your therapist is registered with either the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) or with the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), both of which have been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Your therapist will follow the ethical framework set out by their relevant body. Details of which you can find here: NCPS Code of Ethical Practice BACP Ethical Framework.
Contact between sessions
If you need to let your therapist know you can or cannot make a session, you may contact us at hello@vivatherapy.co.uk or by text or WhatsApp to 07971 731991.
Your therapist may give you their mobile number and, if they do so, please note that their phone will not be available during sessions; therefore, if you telephone them directly, you will reach their voicemail and can leave a message.
If you are in distress and not feeling safe, please do not wait until you can get hold of your therapist. Please make sure you speak to someone and keep yourself safe. We would urge you to call the Samaritans on 116 123, or phone 999. The Samaritans are a free and confidential service, and your number will not show up on your telephone bill.
Social media
As therapists, we use social media, both professionally and personally; however, we wish to protect the boundaries within which our therapists work, and this means that it is not appropriate for you or our therapists to link up on their personal social media accounts during or following your working with them. You may, of course, follow VIVA’s social media accounts but, unless you identify yourself as a client, to maintain your confidentiality we will not acknowledge you as a client.
Privacy Policy and Your Data Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
All confidential information is held in accordance with the GDPR 2018.
For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, the data “controller” is Anne Lewis Counsellor. The ICO reference is A9091119.
Confirming this Agreement
This agreement, and any disputes arising out of or relating to its formation, interpretation, or performance, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales for the resolution of any such disputes.
Although you are coming to us as a couple for therapy, you are considered as individual clients of VIVA for the purposes of this Agreement.
Until such time as you or your therapist ends your therapy by continuing to arrange and access therapy sessions with VIVA Therapy you confirm that you are happy with the terms of the Therapy Agreement in the terms set out above. If you have any queries or concerns, you should email Anne Lewis at hello@vivatherapy.co.uk.
We warmly welcome you to VIVA and your therapist very much looks forward to working together with you.
Once you have read through the Agreement, please click on the link below to complete the client information form - you will both need to do complete this form. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Anne Lewis by email hello@vivatherapy.co.uk.
VIVA Therapy
