Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions of Treatment

Session length:

Most sessions are 75 minutes in length. Assessment sessions can be up to 2 hours. Smoking cessation is approximately 2 hours.

Payment:

Our first face-to-face meeting will usually be deemed an assessment session. This session may be longer than usual as it is essential that I have all the relevant information before I start working with you.

Payment for an online session is taken in advance. Payment for a face-to-face session is usually made in advance. At your assessment session, you will therefore be expected to pay for the assessment and the first therapy session, either with cash or cheque on the day (or card payment if this option is available), or via bank transfer or Paypal within a few days of meeting. This is because of the preparation work that I will be doing on your behalf before your next session. Once you confirm your wish to go ahead, you will become a preferred client with therapy time allocated exclusively to you.

You can also make payment at the end of a face-to-face session.

For a full list of current fees, please see my Fees List at www.thinkingfree.co.uk/pricing.php

Modern lives are complex and sometimes things get in the way of sessions. Individual and extreme circumstances such as accident, illness or other unforeseen issues will of course be taken into account. The following terms and conditions of treatment are here to promote fairness and transparency.

Pre-booking sessions:

You will have the option to pre-book session times or to book on a session by session basis. If you pre-book sessions, you will be guaranteed the appointment you require each time. Payment is required in advance for all pre-booked sessions, which are then reserved for you. If you book on a session by session basis, I cannot guarantee the availability of a suitable appointment time for your next session. If, for any reason, you do not need all pre-booked sessions, any unused pre-paid sessions will be refunded.

Cancellation and refund policy:

Therapy time is in high demand and often booked up well in advance. Those clients who do not show up or postpone at the last minute deprive other people of these sessions and incur costs for the therapist. In order to promote fairness, I have the following cancellation policy.

Sometimes it is unavoidable that you need to cancel or postpone a treatment session. If for any reason you do need to cancel or postpone your session and you DO give me at least 24 hours’ notice, then no payment will be due (except where indicated below). Any payment taken in advance for this session will be used to pay for the next rescheduled session.

If you cancel your treatment session giving me less than 24 hours’ notice or no notice then full or partial payment for the session may be due, at my discretion. I reserve the right to retain pre-paid session fees in whole or in part if I have incurred time preparing for a session which is then canceled.

Treatment plans paid in advance:

Some therapy plans are paid in advance in full. If the canceled appointment is part of a multi-session treatment plan, then this session will be deducted from the total number of sessions remaining, if less than 24 hours cancellation notice is given. Otherwise the session will roll over.

If the session was a free top up session to help boost your success, then you will lose the rest of your free allocated sessions.

Termination of treatment by me:

In exceptional cases where it becomes apparent that there is no progress, no commitment or lack of participation on the part of the client, or repeated cancellations or postponements, I may terminate the course of treatment. If payment has been made in advance for any remaining sessions, these will be refunded in full.

Clients that are abusive or that are deemed to be threatening will have their sessions terminated or treatment refused, and no refund will be given.

Termination of treatment by you:

You are completely free to terminate a course of treatment at any time, although please be aware that results are rarely instantaneous and rely on your participation, commitment and motivation as well as the therapy treatment itself. Cancellation of a treatment plan with appropriate notice will entitle you to a partial refund of unused sessions, which is equal to the session fee, minus any room hire fees or preparation time already incurred in arranging your treatment. You also have the option of putting your sessions on hold until you are ready to restart.

Lateness:

Please call or text me on 07407 193395 if you are running even a little bit late and leave a message if I am unable to answer. If you do arrive late then you will simply get the rest of YOUR allocated booking time, unless I can accommodate a full session. This will depend on my commitments on the day. Payment will still be due for the full session booked for you.

My inability to attend:

At times I may unfortunately have to cancel or reschedule appointments, but it will only be if it is absolutely necessary and in extreme situations, such as illness or weather. I cannot always foresee events if booking clients in advance. Working so closely with people I sometimes however pick up illnesses such as colds and sore throats this means it would be unprofessional for me to practice and risk passing on. In such circumstances, I will try to give as much notice as possible and you will be offered the next available appointment suitable for you.

Please note that individual results can vary and refunds for sessions already attended will NOT be actioned under any circumstances.

Safety:

Abuse and anti-social behaviour or aggression, whether physical or verbal, to the therapist or any other staff at the clinics will not be tolerated under any circumstances. If this should occur, treatment will be immediately terminated, and no refunds given.

Complaints policy and procedure:

I try my best to provide therapies that are effective and suitable for each client. No therapy can be 100% guaranteed to work with every person and no promise is made to resolve any issue in a given timescale. Therapy works differently for each individual and therefore levels of success and length of treatment may vary, as can end results and length of success. No refunds will be given for therapy already received under these terms.

Results can vary and I cannot guarantee results. Therapy is not a replacement for medical treatment, psychological or psychiatric services or counseling.

Any complaints about treatment should be made in the first instance via me and I will make every attempt to resolve any issues informally and quickly.

If no resolution is reached, you are then free to complain to the relevant professional body, each of which will have their own complaints procedure.

Contact:

I am happy for clients to contact me outside therapy hours and, for the occasional call and email, there is no additional charge. If you have a question, concern or simply need to talk, I would rather you called than worry about something. You can contact me via mobile on 07407 193395, or email john@thinkingfree.co.uk

Please remember that due to the nature of my work I often have my phone switched off during working hours and so will respond as soon as I can. Please leave your name on any texts or messages as I do not store client contacts on my phone for confidentiality reasons.

Current Fees

An up-to-date list of fees is available online at www.thinkingfree.co.uk/pricing.php

Assessment Session (90 mins) – £85

£75 per session

Sessions are normally 75 minutes in length, with the option to extend your session at £15 per 15 minutes extra.

Data protection and Privacy Policy

Your rights under the Data Protection Act and my policy regarding this can be found online here. Please let me know if you wish to have a printed copy. Commencement of therapy is considered an acceptance of these policy.

www.thinkingfree.co.uk/documents/GDPR_Privacy_Policy.pdf