Contracting

• When you begin working with a practitioner (a Psychotherapist or Supervisor) with enlightn, they will talk with you about contracting for your work together. This formalises the professional relationship and sets out expectations, boundaries and arrangements for the duration of your work. This page sets out the key parts of that process and will apply to all online appointments with enlightn including free consultation and introductory appointments, as well as Psychotherapy and Supervision appointments.

Meeting technology

• We use online meeting technology based on the Zoom platform. You do not have to have a Zoom account; however, for the best experience, you should install the Zoom app on the device you will be using for your meeting. For more information, you can find details about Zoom’s privacy policy here.

Contact between appointments

• You can contact your practitioner between appointments. However, they may not work every day, so there may be some delay in responding to you. If you email your psychotherapist, they will usually reply to acknowledge this but will not engage in email or text 'discussion' between sessions. A brief online meeting or telephone call may be helpful, and you will not be charged for this. However, a conversation over 15 minutes will be chargeable at your usual per-session fee. You should expect your practitioner to discuss any additional contacts with you during your planned appointments. This could include the possibility of meeting more frequently.

Cancellation and non-attendance

• All planned appointments are expected to go ahead and will be charged for, other than where agreed in advance (e.g. holidays) or the practitioner is unavailable. Sessions cancelled by the client with less than 24 hours notice will always be charged for. If you cannot attend a session for any reason, your practitioner will try and agree on an alternative time in the same week, subject to their availability.

Timing

• Appointments that begin after the agreed time due to late arrival cannot be extended beyond the usual finish time.

Confidentiality and ethical practice

• Everything discussed in Psychotherapy and Supervision is treated as confidential within the enlightn service. We work within the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Counselling and Psychotherapy and individual practitionaers may adhere to additional ethical codes relevant to their professional memberships and accreditations. There are times when your information will be shared with others, as outlined below.

• As part of the couples therapy process you may meet individually with your psychotherapist to discuss the relationship from your perspective. This work remains confidential between you and your psychotherapist, and will not automatically be introduced into future couples sessions.

• Your practitioner has a responsibility and commitment to work under regular Supervision. This means that they will share and discuss some of the information of sessions with their Supervisor (usually another psychotherapist and external to enlightn) and potentially with peers (within enlightn), always within a strictly confidential and professional framework. Similar professional commitments and confidentiality agreements bind external Supervisors and will only know you by your first name or initials. When we know that you have a relationship or other ethical conflict with a member of the enlightn team, your practitioner will not share their work with you with peers.

• Confidentiality may be broken (i.e. your practitioner will share information about you with relevant people) when there is evidence or serious concern that you may harm yourself or others or when directed by the law. In these instances, the practitioner could contact the appropriate services or individuals without your consent. You will be informed in advance whenever possible, and only in case of an imminent threat or potential for harm might the practitioner make this decision without consulting you. In all other cases, your information will be shared and/or requested only with your consent.

Complaints

• We recognise that there can be occasions when things go wrong, or you may be unhappy with the service you receive. We encourage you to discuss this with your practitioner directly. If this is not possible, inappropriate, or does not lead to a resolution you can also raise a concern or make a complaint by contacting the Clinical Lead at enlightn at clinical.lead@enlightn.online or through our usual contact methods at www.enlightn.online.