THE THERAPEUTIC JOURNEY
As a warranted counsellor, it is my duty to make sure that as my client, you are aware of what the therapeutic journey you’re about to embark on entails. For the most part, a client usually seeks the support of a counsellor in order to resolve problems or challenging situations. As a client, you may seek support because you want to talk about these issues with a professional or maybe because the people closest to you are concerned about you.
Furthermore, an important part of the therapeutic journey is the fact that confidentiality is maintained. This makes it easy for you, as the client, to have more trust in the counsellor and feel more comfortable discussing issues that are sensitive to you. However, confidentiality has its limitations.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND ITS LIMITATIONS
In essence, everything that you share in your sessions with me will remain confidential. However, there are important exceptions to this rule. It is very important that you understand what these exceptions are. In these exceptions, the law and my professional ethical guidelines require me to disclose information, whether or not I have your permission.
Exceptions to confidentiality include the following situations where you share that:
- You plan to cause serious harm to yourself or death
- You plan to cause serious harm or death to others
- You are doing things that can cause serious harm or death to you or someone else – even if you do not intend to harm yourself or another person
- You are presently being abused – physically, sexually or emotionally
- If a court case requests information about you
Moreover, you can always ask me questions about the kind of information that I am legally and ethically bound to disclose. Additionally, I will always inform you before disclosing any information, unless I feel that the information is time-sensitive. In that case, I will need to inform the respective authorities immediately.
COUNSELLING CONTRACT
Given these points, a counselling contract will be introduced to you, as the client, in the first session. Ultimately, the main goal of our therapeutic journey is your wellbeing and this journey can only be successful if both counsellor and client fulfil their respective rights and responsibilities. Furthermore, this contract includes a list of terms and conditions that both the client and the counsellor agree on prior to starting the therapeutic journey.
These terms and conditions include:
- Sessions and fees
- Cancellations and charges
- Confidentiality and it’s limitations
- Record-keeping
- Consent form
Should you have any questions regarding this contract, we can discuss it further during our first session.
GET IN TOUCH
It would be really great to hear from you. Feel free to contact me via Facebook, phone, email, chat or by filling in the form below.