Contract

I am a member of COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland) professional body and adhere to their statement of Ethics and Code of Practice as can be seen here: Statement_of_Ethics_CURRENT_Nov_1412-08-14.pdf
At our initial meeting(s) we will work together to identify the problem or issue that you would like help with. I will ask you about the problem(s), how they trouble you, and when and how they started, as well as about any other treatment or support you have had or are having now. This may take one or two meetings. At the end of this period (the assessment) we will agree on your goals for therapy, decide if I am likely to be able to help you, and if you would like to continue working with me. You will be under no obligation to continue working with me.
If we agree that we will work together to address your goals I will initially offer you a specific number of sessions. This is usually six. We can revise this to have more or fewer sessions and will routinely review your progress. You can end therapy at any point without further cost.
Sessions usually last for 50 minutes. Sometimes it is clinically useful to have longer, or shorter sessions and we can discuss that if relevant. If you are late for one of our sessions, we will be able to meet for the scheduled time but will not be able to continue beyond the time we had scheduled to meet.
I will endeavour to let you know at least 2 weeks in advance when I am going on holiday. However, there may be times when sessions are cancelled because of illness or because of other commitments at shorter notice. I will always give you as much notice as possible if I need to change our sessions and will offer you an alternative time to meet.
The cost of therapy includes any written materials I supply, but not the cost of books I recommend; however, most books are available through the local library at no cost.
If payments are not made on time and as agreed, I reserve the right to end our treatment sessions.
If 2 appointments in a row are cancelled at short notice or not kept I reserve the right to stop our work together.

Face-to-Face sessions

Face to face sessions will take place in a therapy room based within a Psychology practice at Mearns Castle Golf Academy, Waterfoot Road, Newton Mearns, Glasgow, G77 5RR
Face to face sessions cost £55 per session unless a reduced fee has been discussed and agreed.
Payment is required 48 hours in advance of face-to-face sessions. I reserve the right to cancel the appointment if payment is not sent within this timeframe.
Payment is by bank transfer
If you fail to attend an appointment or cancel less than 48 hours in advance, I reserve the right to retain your payment/ charge you the full amount for the missed session.
CCTV cameras may be in operation in the main building and waiting room area.

Online and telephone sessions

Online and telephone counselling is a way of remotely accessing counselling using internet technology. It can be convenient option if you want to have counselling without having to travel.
As with face-to-face counselling, appointments are generally held on a weekly basis at the same time on the same day. There may be some flexibility around this.
For an online or telephone counselling session to go ahead I need to be satisfied that you are in a confidential, quiet and safe environment, where you are unlikely to be interrupted. This would generally be at home and not ‘out and about’ or a car. A private space at work may be acceptable. However, as counselling can be emotional and uncover some difficult feelings, it is important to consider that it could be difficult to return immediately to work after a session. If you are accessing a counselling session from anywhere other than home you will be required to share the address of your location for safeguarding reasons.
If you are interrupted during an online session or are in a situation where you are concerned about lack of privacy, a pre agreed ‘safe word’ can be used and the session terminated. There will be no refund of session fee if this occurs.
General requirements for online counselling are internet access (recommended broadband speed of above 15-20Mbps), a built in or plug in camera and a built in, plug in or wireless speaker/microphone.
I use Doxy.me for online counselling. It is a web-based Telehealth platform.
It does not require you to download any software or set up any accounts. This link provides further information for using Doxy.me as a therapy client: For patients: Troubleshooting guide | Doxy.me Help Center for Free and Premium Plans
It is a secure platform and is HIPPA and GDPR compliant.
Doxy uses end to end encryption for data transferred during calls. Minimal data is kept at rest as no audio or video recordings are made and call content is not saved. You can read more about security using the Doxy platform here: Security and privacy overview | Doxy.me Help Center for Free and Premium Plans
I will send a Doxy.me link by email prior to our session. Clicking on the link at the appointment time will take you to a virtual waiting room where I will be notified that you are there.
The same link will be used for each session.
If there are technical issues that we are unable to overcome we will swap to telephone counselling for that session. I will phone you.
Online and telephone session fee is £55 unless a discounted fee has been previously discussed and arranged.
Payment for online sessions is required 24 hours in advance of the appointment. I reserve the right to cancel the appointment if payment is not sent within this timeframe.
Payment is by bank transfer
If you fail to attend an appointment or cancel less than 24 hours in advance, I reserve the right to retain your payment/ charge you the full amount for the missed session.
Specific to online or telephone counselling I may email resources or worksheets relevant to our work together either as something to do, read or consider in-between sessions or to have a visual aid to refer to during the next session. There is no requirement to reply to any emails sent with resources.
If I become concerned about your physical or mental welfare during an online or telephone session to the point I considered there was immediate and serious risk I would contact 999 and also phone your provided emergency contact.

Confidentiality, supervision, and note keeping

COSCA Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics require that I maintain your confidentiality and keep information about you safe and secure.
To protect you, as my client, to ensure safe and ethical practice I am required to have continued training and to engage in regular supervision Therefore I may discuss your case in supervision. I would not use any identifying details. My supervisor will also be bound by the NCPS Code of Practice and confidentiality.
Limited data such as name and date of payment may be shared for banking, accounting and tax purposes.
For purposes of supervision and accreditation I am required to take audio recordings of some sessions. I would discuss this with you and gain further consent for this if you are in agreement. There is no pressure or obligation to consent to this if I ask. If you decline this will not impact your ongoing therapy.
The client is not allowed to make audio or video recordings of sessions
I will take notes during and/or after our sessions and will keep these securely, in accordance with GDPR. I may also ask you to complete questionnaires about your experiences and / or symptoms and this will form part of your clinical notes. You can inspect these if you wish; just ask during one of our sessions.
Your clinical notes are kept confidentially. I will discuss them only with my clinical supervisor in anonymised form. In limited circumstances I can be required to share your clinical records in court, by a judge. If this happened, I would let you know.
There are some limits to confidentiality. I may be required to break confidentiality if I consider that there is a risk you may harm yourself or others or you are at risk of harm from someone else. I would be required to share information if safeguarding issues relating to vulnerable adults or children were disclosed. This could include sharing information with GP, other relevant medical professionals, social services or police. If I am considering breaking your confidence for the reasons outlined, I will normally discuss this with you first. There may be some emergency situations where discussion with you first would not be possible.
I am required to break confidentiality if I become aware of involvement in illegal activity. This includes knowledge or planning of acts of terrorism, money laundering, people trafficking, distribution of drugs and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and the breaking of any other statutory UK law. You should therefore be cautious about sharing any information with me that may mean I have to break confidentiality. If I am considering breaking your confidence for the reasons outlined, I will normally discuss this with you first. There may be some emergency situations where discussion with you first would not be possible.
If you have been referred by an outside agency, for example a solicitor or insurance company and there is a civil court case pending, I may be obliged to supply copies of our therapy records to an appropriate party providing you consent.
As an extra layer of reassurance with privacy I switch my mobile phone off during face-to-face therapy sessions and do not have any smart speaker devices such as 'Alexa' in the therapy room. I suggest clients consider this also.
I select third party providers on their reputation and those with relevant policies and procedures around data protection. These include Proton mail, Doxy.me. I would encourage clients to consider security around their own email provider and device security.
I do not take responsibility for any third party security breaches beyond my control.
I do not use AI when writing notes.

The therapeutic relationship, working together and ending therapy

Psychological therapy can often be demanding, frustrating, and emotional. Sometimes you may find treatment difficult or even want to end therapy. You may find that some ‘tasks’ you are given are very challenging and you should feel able to tell me this and to ask me for support. I want to hear about how you think treatment is going and how you are experiencing it and will ask you to review your treatment with me regularly
It is important that you understand the reasons behind our treatment together. If you feel unhappy or unsure about any aspects of the treatment, please try to tell me during our sessions. This gives both of us the chance to try to address the issue(s) and to resolve it/them. If you have serious concerns about my conduct or your treatment and cannot resolve this with me, you can complain to my professional body (see complaints policy below)
We will meet regularly at our timetabled sessions, usually once a week. If you are needing to cancel or rearrange an appointment you can do this by emailing j.lindsaycbt@protonmail.com
I do not offer you an emergency service. If, during a session, I become concerned about you harming yourself we will put together a ‘Safety Plan’ - what to do and how to seek help in an emergency.
Please do not contact me on social media – our relationship is professional and it is not appropriate or ethical for me to have a non-professional relationship with you outside the therapy room. This would be a breach of my professional ethical code.
Therapists are ethically required to avoid ‘dual relationships’. This means I cannot be your therapist if I know you in another capacity. I also cannot offer therapy to anyone who is a close contact to someone who is already my client. If this becomes apparent at any point, therapy will cease and I will sign post you on to another therapist.
I will refer or sign post you on to another therapist or health care professional, if I believe that I am not the best person to support your specific requirements. This may only become apparent as therapy progresses and I will discuss this with you and assist you to find the right support with your agreement.
I may email you resources between sessions, but there is no expectation for you to reply.
We will discuss your progress regularly and you should be aware when we approach the end of treatment. Before we end, we will discuss how to prevent relapse and any other professional help or support that might be useful.
I will not end our treatment suddenly or without discussing this with you, unless there are exception circumstances.
I have a Clinical Will that sets out what happens to my clinical practice in the event of my suddenly being unable to practice. It contains an appointed Clinical Executor to act on my behalf, also an experienced therapist, who would then contact existing clients to support and inform them of any change. They would ensure the deletion of existing records within the appropriate timeframe.
Please note any threats or acts of violence will invalidate this agreement and CBT will cease. Sessions will not take place if you arrive under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed medication.

Crisis

Reflect CBT is not a crisis or emergency service and my email account is not monitored outside office hours. If clients are struggling in-between sessions they should contact their GP, NHS 24 (111) or 999 if immediate risk to life. There is a list of crisis helplines such as the Samaritans 116 123 www.samaritans.org on the website contact page.

Complaints Policy

If you are unhappy with the service, I provide please discuss this with me. If you feel unable to do so or you are not satisfied by my response you have the right to complain to my professional body, COSCA Complaints :: COSCA - Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland

Last updated 6th September 2026