Counselling Agreement and Terms & Conditions

About this agreement

This agreement explains the arrangements for individual online counselling and psychotherapy with Mentemira for adults aged 18 and over. It sets out what you can expect from us and the practical terms of working together.

Mentemira Limited is a company registered in England and Wales. Mentemira Limited handles bookings and payments. The therapist you book with provides your counselling and keeps their own clinical notes. For questions about these arrangements, please contact your therapist or email [email protected].

When you first book, you are asked to read and agree to this agreement. A copy is always available on our website under Terms & Conditions. Please ask if anything is unclear or if you need the information in a different format. Your therapist will also give you an opportunity to discuss the agreement at the beginning of your work together.

Your therapist and counselling

Your therapist’s profile provides information about their qualifications, experience, approach and professional membership. You are welcome to ask about their training or experience at any time.

Your therapist will talk with you about what you would like from counselling and how you will work together. Counselling can sometimes involve difficult or painful feelings. You will have opportunities to review how the counselling is going.

All Mentemira therapists follow the BACP Ethical Framework.

We aim to offer respectful, inclusive counselling that recognises individual differences. Please discuss any access needs or reasonable adjustments with your therapist.

Sessions and frequency

Sessions last 50 minutes unless another duration has been agreed in advance. The frequency and expected duration of counselling, including any limits on the number of sessions, will be discussed with your therapist.

You can agree a regular weekly slot with your therapist. Flexible appointments are subject to availability.

Please arrive on time. If you arrive late, your session will normally finish at the scheduled time and the agreed fee remains payable. If your therapist is late, they will discuss how to make up the time or adjust the charge.

Fees and payment

Our standard fees for 50-minute sessions are:

• Standard individual session: £70.
• Agreed weekly session: £65.
• Student session: £60, subject to eligibility and availability agreed before booking.

Your fee will be confirmed before counselling begins.

Payment is made through the booking system unless another arrangement is agreed. For recurring weekly appointments, where you have authorised recurring payments, your card is charged 48 hours before each session.

Fees may be reviewed periodically. Any proposed change to your fee will be discussed with you in advance and confirmed in writing, including when it would take effect, so that you can consider its effect on continuing counselling.

Cancellation and rescheduling

You can cancel or rearrange an appointment without charge by giving at least 48 hours’ notice before its scheduled start.

If you cancel or rearrange with less than 48 hours’ notice, or do not attend, the full agreed session fee is payable.

Please use the booking system to cancel or rearrange, or contact your therapist directly if you cannot use it.

If your therapist cancels, you will not be charged. Any payment already taken will be refunded or transferred to a rearranged appointment, according to your preference.

Insurance-funded counselling

Your therapist will confirm the insurance session fee, authorisation requirements, any excess or contribution, and any information your insurer needs before counselling begins. Please check your cover and tell us about changes to your authorisation.

If you cancel or rearrange with less than 48 hours’ notice, or do not attend, you must pay a £65 cancellation fee yourself. This fee is not charged to your insurer.

Your therapist will discuss any report or information your insurer requests with you before sharing it.

Working online

Sessions normally take place through Google Meet. Acuity Scheduling is used for bookings and Stripe for card payments. Our Privacy Policy provides information about the digital services used by the practice and how your personal information is handled.

Online counselling can be effective, but it has practical limits, including possible interruptions, privacy issues, technological problems and limits to what your therapist can do in an emergency.

Online sessions require a private space, a reliable internet connection and a device you can use for video calls. Keep your meeting link private and use a device that others cannot access during your session.

Please join from a private space where you can speak without being overheard. Headphones may help. Do not attend while driving. Your therapist is also responsible for protecting privacy in their own session setting. If finding privacy is difficult, discuss this so that alternatives can be considered together.

Please keep your contact details up to date. If the video connection fails, your therapist will try to call you on the number you provided to continue the session or arrange what to do next.

Please tell your therapist where you are during each session, and let them know before attending from another country. This helps us plan for an emergency and check whether we can offer counselling in that location.

We cannot offer sessions while you are located in the USA, Canada or Australia. Other locations require advance confirmation that counselling can be provided within relevant insurance and legal requirements.

Confidentiality and supervision

What you tell your therapist in a session is confidential. Clinical notes are kept securely and separately from booking and payment records. Access is restricted in line with confidentiality and data protection requirements.

Your therapist discusses their work in regular clinical supervision. They may discuss aspects of your sessions with their supervisor, avoiding details that could identify you wherever possible. Their supervisor must also keep this information confidential.

If you ask your therapist to share information, they will agree with you what to share and with whom. If an insurer or organisation requests information, you will be told what is requested before it is shared. Any information routinely required for insurer-funded counselling will be explained before counselling begins.

There are limited circumstances in which your therapist may need to share information without your agreement:

• when the law requires disclosure, for example under a court order or where a specific legal reporting duty applies to information about terrorism or money laundering;
• when they believe sharing is necessary to protect you or someone else from serious harm, including concerns about the safety of a child or an adult at risk.

Depending on the circumstances, they may contact a GP, emergency services or a safeguarding service. Talking about distress, self-harm or suicidal thoughts does not automatically mean your therapist will contact anyone. Disclosing a past or suspected offence does not automatically mean it will be reported.

Wherever possible, safe and legally permitted, your therapist will discuss any disclosure with you first. If they need to share information without your agreement, they will share only what is needed and record why.

Records and data protection

Your therapist keeps brief, relevant session notes in secure electronic records. Mentemira also keeps information needed for bookings, payments and administration. Access is limited to those who need it for their role.

Records are normally kept for six years after counselling ends, unless a legal, safeguarding or insurance requirement means particular records must be retained longer. They are then securely deleted or destroyed.

Our Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, protected and shared, who is responsible for it, and your data protection rights. You can request access to your information and raise concerns about its accuracy or use. You can also ask for information to be corrected or deleted, although we may need to keep some records.

Recording and digital tools

Sessions must not be recorded or transcribed by either you or your therapist, including by an automated assistant. We do not enter confidential or identifying client information into AI tools.

Contact between sessions and urgent support

Please contact your therapist between sessions only about practical matters, such as appointments. Messages are not continuously monitored. Mentemira does not provide an emergency or crisis service.

If you are in England and need urgent mental health help, call NHS 111 and select the mental health option. If you need someone to talk to, you can call Samaritans on 116 123. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. If you are outside England, use the urgent mental health and emergency services where you are. Do not wait for a reply from your therapist.

If your support needs change, your therapist will discuss whether counselling remains appropriate and help you consider additional or alternative support.

Professional boundaries also apply to digital communication and social media. Personal social-media connections are not part of the counselling relationship.

Breaks and endings

Your therapist will give reasonable advance notice of planned breaks and discuss their impact with you.

You can end counselling at any time. An ending session can offer an opportunity to review your work together, but it is your choice. The cancellation policy applies to appointments already booked.

If your therapist needs to end counselling, they will explain why and, where safe and possible, give you notice, discuss the ending and help you consider other support.

Threatening, abusive or discriminatory behaviour towards therapists or staff will not be tolerated. If behaviour makes a session unsafe, your therapist may end the session immediately. Where safe and appropriate, they will discuss whether and how counselling can continue. Any charge for a session ended early will be considered fairly in light of what happened.

Our therapists have confidential arrangements in place in case they die or become too unwell to contact clients. An appointed colleague may use the contact details needed to let you know and help you consider other arrangements. The colleague must keep your information confidential. This is called a clinical will.

Letters, reports and resources

Letters or reports may be available within your therapist’s role and competence. Their purpose, intended recipient, content and fee will be discussed before preparation. Your permission is required for an agreed disclosure unless a legal obligation applies. Your therapist may decline requests outside their competence, including requests for diagnostic or expert evidence.

Mentemira provides counselling and psychotherapy, not formal diagnostic assessments. If you require a diagnosis, please speak to your GP.

Psychoeducational resources are optional supports and do not replace personalised therapy or medical advice. Mentemira’s materials are provided for your personal use unless stated otherwise and should not be reproduced or distributed without permission. Other authors’ materials remain subject to their own permissions.

Concerns and complaints

If something feels unhelpful or has gone wrong, you are welcome to discuss it with your therapist. If you prefer, you can contact Mentemira directly at [email protected]. If something has gone wrong, we will be open about it, take steps to limit or repair any harm, and apologise where appropriate.

Our Complaints Procedure explains the formal process.

Website information and disclaimer

Information and psychoeducational resources on this website are provided for general information. They are not a substitute for individual counselling, medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Although we take reasonable care to keep information accurate and current, it may not address your individual circumstances.

Governing law and jurisdiction

Mentemira Limited is registered in England and Wales. This agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales. You still have any consumer rights that apply to you, including any right to bring a claim in another country.

Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits any responsibility or right that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.