HELLO

About me

Hello. I am Sarah Eva. I am an experienced psychotherapist and an accredited EMDR practitioner and consultant (supervisor). I am a qualified CBT therapist and have completed training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) Levels 1 and 2.

I provide safe and confidential therapy services to adults and adolescents (16+) for a range of presenting difficulties, from depression and anxiety, including OCD, to childhood trauma, including sexual abuse and complex PTSD. I have a clinic in the south east of England and offer online therapy sessions.

I am accredited with BACP and EMDR UK, and I draw from a range of evidence-based therapeutic models based on current and advanced interventions that I can personalise according to the unique needs of my clients.

I have been offering therapy since 2000 and supporting people emotionally for over 30 years. I have worked in the voluntary, educational, public and private sectors including Barnardo’s, Fegans and The Priory.

I am an approved psychotherapist for all major healthcare providers including AXA, CBT Clinics and Vitality.

About therapy

It can be difficult to seek therapy for ourselves or for the people we love. It is a courageous step requiring consideration and commitment. When we view our life events in self-negating ways, we can become psychologically stuck. We may avoid exciting challenges, stay in jobs where we are miserable, engage in unhelpful and problematic relationships, and pursue destructive patterns of behaviour. Often, we are so overwhelmed that we neglect to identify our strengths and competencies.

It is a fact of life that we will all experience difficulties. Throughout our lifespan, we will all encounter loss, fear, disappointment and distress. People who are important to us will die, leave us or behave badly. These experiences may leave us feeling hurt but the way that we process these painful but normal life events may further exacerbate our emotional distress. The good news is that there is much research to confirm that an empathic and effective therapy experience can alleviate and resolve this unnecessary distress.

YOUR QUESTIONS

What can I do in a crisis?

Counselling is not an emergency service. If you find yourself or your child in a crisis involving self-harm or suicide, seek immediate professional help. Contact your GP, NHS 24 (111) or the Samaritans (116 123), or visit A&E. Befrienders Worldwide is another source of support.

How do I arrange sessions with you?

If you have any queries, please phone or text me on 07887525158. If I am not available then please leave me a message. Alternatively, email me at sarah@valleytherapy.co. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible to arrange a free 15-20 minute initial consultation by phone or video chat.

Are you the right therapist for me?

During our initial contact, we will explore whether I can support you with your difficulties. If I feel I am not the best fit for you, I will recommend other therapists or organisations that will be more appropriate.

How many sessions will I need?

We will usually agree this in our first session according to your specific therapeutic needs. Sometimes clients prefer short term arrangements of 10 sessions whereas others opt for an ongoing arrangement. Sessions are 50 minutes long, on a weekly basis (unless otherwise agreed), and generally take place during the same weekly time slot. I have a waiting list option if my practice is full which I attend to and update constantly. If I can, I will also offer holding sessions until we can meet on a regular weekly basis. Whatever we agree can be reviewed and amended at any time according to your therapeutic requirements.

How much are your fees and how do I pay?

Self-funded session fees are £90. Payment is due on the day of the session. Fees can be paid by bank transfer and receipts issued on request. Clients will receive an invoice reminder by email before their session. If your sessions will be covered by your health insurance, I will invoice them directly according to the arrangement that you have with your provider. You will be liable for any excess.

Will my health insurance pay for my sessions?

In the first instance, talk to your provider about this. I am affiliated with most major health insurance organisations including AXA, CBT Clinics and Vitality. Fees vary according to your health provider. Please discuss this with me in your initial consultation.

What happens if I cannot attend a session?

All sessions will be charged in full unless notice of two weeks is given. If you cannot make it to your session, I am able to offer you an online alternative. If you wish to end your counselling sessions altogether, you may do so at any time. I would still require two weeks’ notice. I do ask that you consider attending at least one final session after you have made this decision to ensure a supportive therapeutic ending. I would appreciate two weeks’ notice in writing of any planned holidays. I will give you adequate notice of my holidays.

What do I need to know about session etiquette?

Please do not attend sessions if you are under the influence of any intoxicating substances. Likewise, please do not drink alcohol or smoke during sessions. Set your phone to silent unless you need to keep it on for an emergency situation.

Will you write reports or letters if requested?

Brief letters to confirm your attendance are free. If you require a report or an extensive letter this will be charged at £90 an hour. I reserve the right to decline this request if I believe it not to be in your best interest.

How do I make contact out of session?

If you need to make contact regarding practical matters, I can be contacted by email, text or telephone and endeavour to respond to you within 48 hours and during my normal office hours of Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 6 pm, as time permits. You will benefit most if you ask therapy questions in your sessions. If parents have questions, they will usually be invited into the beginning of session if it is appropriate.

What are your professional associations?

I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and a UKRC Registered Independent Practitioner. I am an accredited EMDR UK practitioner and consultant (supervisor). My counselling work is clinically supervised to the required standards and I hold public liability and professional indemnity insurance.

ONLINE SESSIONS

I have been offering online therapy sessions for several years using secure video chat software over the Internet. The effectiveness of online therapy is supported by research and therapeutic approaches like CBT and EMDR are available through this medium. I have undertaken accredited online training with ACTO to enable me to offer an effective and professional service to my clients.

Can anybody have online therapy?

Under current ethical guidelines for online counselling, I may have to recommend alternative avenues of support if you are experiencing significant distress, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Face-to-face sessions will provide a more appropriate level of support in these circumstances.

Who can benefit from online therapy sessions?

Online therapy can benefit clients who are unable to attend sessions in person because they are away at school or university, travelling for work, lack good transport links or have time constraints. Clients who find it difficult to leave home because of fear, illness or mobility problems will benefit from online sessions.

How do I know if online sessions are suitable for me?

We can arrange a free 15-30 minute online or phone assessment session. I will ask you about your mental health, including any suicidal thinking and behaviours. This will ensure whether online sessions are appropriate and will be supportive for you, and enable you to ask me any questions that you may have. If online therapy is not the best fit for you and you are unable to attend in person then I will help you to find a more suitable arrangement in your area.

How do you accommodate for the differences in online versus face-to-face sessions?

Online sessions are structured appropriately so that there is time to debrief and clarify the content of a session. It is more common to have misunderstandings in online sessions due to missed information so we will plan and prepare for this eventuality in our first session.

Where should I be for my sessions?

Please ensure that you are in quiet environment where background noise is minimised and you are able to talk without fear of being heard or interrupted.

What do I need?

You will need access to a computer, tablet or smartphone with webcam facilities and sufficient data bandwidth allocation on wifi or 4G.

What platform will we use for our online sessions?

I use Zoom, a safe, secure and free software platform that is also available as an app for smartphones and tablets.

If I haven't had much experience of video chat, will this affect our sessions?

I will guide you through the process so that you feel more comfortable managing any technical challenges.

What happens if our session is disrupted due to technical problems?

In the event of any technical failures, we will be able to revert to phone for the remainder of our session.

SUPERVISION

As a clinical supervisor and accredited EMDR consultant, my goal is to create a supportive supervision environment tailored to the unique goals, well-being, and needs of each supervisee. While supervision involves certain structured tasks and responsibilities, I prioritise a personalised approach to help my supervisees thrive.

Since 2007, I have managed a busy private practice now based in the Hanover area of Brighton, though many of my sessions with clients and supervisees are currently online. I work with individuals aged 16 and above, and my experience spans a range of settings. For example, I have provided therapeutic support for charities like Barnardos, working with young people exhibiting sexually harmful behaviour, their carers, and other professionals, such as teachers and social workers. I've also supported young people dealing with issues related to fostering and adoption.

Additionally, I worked for a wonderful charity in Tunbridge Wells, offering counselling and support to individuals, young people, couples, and families. During my time there, I facilitated parenting courses and provided therapy in local primary and secondary schools. I have also worked at Priory hospitals in Ticehurst and Brighton, where my role included conducting assessments, providing individual psychotherapy sessions, leading keyworking sessions, and facilitating psychoeducational CBT groups for adults and young people.

Professional development is a key aspect of my career and, since completing my humanistic training in 2002, I have attended numerous conferences and workshops. I’ve continued to expand my expertise in various modalities that complement my foundational training, including completing a CBT/REBT diploma at Goldsmiths University in 2008, IFS Level 2 in 2021, and somatic trauma training in 2023. I've been fortunate to have learned from some of the most respected theorists in the field, including Windy Dryden, Cece Sykes, Stephen Porges, Sandi Richman, Babette Rothschild, and Bruce Hersey.

I am passionate about supporting professionals in developing their EMDR practice and, if needed, helping them work towards EMDR accreditation or consultancy. Many therapists find it challenging to integrate EMDR into their practice after initial training. This can leave them feeling deskilled and hesitant to continue using this highly effective approach, despite its strong evidence base for treating trauma, anxiety, depression, OCD, childhood sexual abuse, and other issues.

I, too, found it initially challenging to integrate EMDR into my work, but I was fortunate to receive guidance from an experienced EMDR supervisor who played a vital role in helping me incorporate EMDR into my practice and later achieve my own accreditation and consultancy. This experience has fueled my passion for supporting supervisees in their professional growth, particularly those who are newly trained in EMDR, by helping them build the confidence needed to deepen their skills, and effectively integrate EMDR into their existing practice.

Please contact me if you would like to arrange a discovery call to discuss your supervision questions and requirements.

MY THERAPEUTIC APPROACH

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)

I have been using EMDR with adults and adolescents to treat a range of emotional difficulties for a number of years. EMDR has been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but is now viewed as an effective psychotherapeutic treatment of many presentations including OCD, complex PTSD, phobias, depression, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, child sexual abuse, and trauma response symptoms experienced from adverse events like bullying and childhood difficulties.

EMDR is a therapeutic process that uses bilateral stimulation in the brain through eye movements, sound or pulsations. Focusing on a distressful (or positive) experience along with bilateral stimulation results in the brain processing traumatic memories. This is a unique and evidence-based approach that is endorsed by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organisation( WHO).

To find out more about EMDR, refer to the EMDR Association.

Internal family systems (IFS)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a type of therapy pioneered in the USA by Richard Schwartz. It combines systems theory with the construct that a personality is made up of a variety of different parts. It is a transformative, evidence-based psychological modality of psychotherapy which has been shown to be highly effective in treating depression, anxiety, trauma and phobias. It is a powerful form of therapy to process trauma and create a more harmonious relationship with ourselves and therefore with others in our lives. IFS is a non-pathologizing talking therapy that is often used in conjunction with EMDR.

IFS understands we have a core “self” that is unchanging. We also have “parts” of us that have been impacted by our life experiences. These can be identified as the defences and protections that have built up over time as a result of challenging, difficult and sometimes traumatic experiences. These defences and protections may be sophisticated and deeply embedded, especially following acute or cumulative stress. Most people recognise that we have an inner critic or perhaps experience polarities in parts of us over choices we make around food or relationships, for example. This can be experienced as conflict within ourselves which can be distressing and problematic.

IFS understands that all of our parts have good intentions for us despite their often dysfunctional ways to defend us or protect us. Our inner critic can be very difficult to experience but is likely to be protecting us from perceived failures. Often people come to therapy when a part of themselves is being activated by their current situation.The goal of IFS is integration of our parts so that we are more attuned to all aspects of ourselves.

An analogy of this is that we are an orchestra and “self” is the conductor. Our various parts are the musicians that make up the orchestra. If the musicians do not take instruction from the conductor or play their own tunes oblivious of the other musicians, the resulting music will probably be discordant. Alternatively, if parts are guided by the conductor and play together then the resulting sound is harmonious.

If you want to find out more about IFS, visit IFS Institute.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

CBT enables us to identify and address the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that often create and maintain our problems. This collaborative and psychoeducational approach allows us to explore and make changes to unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. CBT enables us to learn strategies and techniques to understand and address our difficulties.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends CBT for many common mental health problems including depression and anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder, OCD, panic disorder, body dysmorphic disorder and PTSD.

To find out more about CBT, see mind.org.uk.

Treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be an incredibly debilitating mental health problem. The World Health Organization ranks OCD as one of the 10 most disabling conditions in terms of lost income and decreased quality of life. It is estimated that in the UK about 1.2% of the population will be affected by OCD, which is more than 750,000 people living with OCD at any one time.

Unfortunately, OCD has a reputation of being difficult to treat. However, in my experience, using evidenced-based therapeutic approaches can result in successful treatment of OCD. Recovery from OCD doesn’t mean that people do not experience intrusions because we all experience negative automatic thoughts known as NATs. They are involuntary, commonly bizarre and can be sexual, harmful, religious and alarming in nature. Importantly, we have no control over these thoughts. When people experience OCD, it is the meaning that they make of the thoughts that causes most distress.

The treatment of OCD is one of my specialties. I have undertaken advanced training in relation to OCD and use a combination of therapeutic approaches including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), exposure response prevention (ERP), internal family systems (IFS) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR).

TESTIMONIALS

Female client, 18 years old

“CBT has enabled me to deal with my panic attacks by learning what the causes were, how to spot negative patterns of thinking and simple techniques to deal with the spiralling thoughts. It is a completely safe and comfortable environment; Sarah is very kind and easy to talk to. I don’t know how I would have coped with my A Levels without her support.”

Male client, 18 years old

“Following a road accident and previous childhood trauma, I undertook a 10 session plan for anxiety and PTSD. My therapy has helped me overcome aspects of my life I previously found challenging and has made me a more confident person. The EMDR sessions I did had an instant impact. I reevaluated my attitude towards these incidents so that they no longer affected my day to day life. I found Sarah incredibly helpful as she allowed these sessions to run at a pace I was comfortable with, as well as helping me understand how I can manage my emotions outside the sessions.”

Female client, 16 years old

“My therapy allowed me to think on a deeper level about why I have a problem and how it originally started which helped me to understand my illness more. I can honestly say, without my therapy, my life would be different and I can’t thank Sarah enough for how she has helped me through the dark stages in my life.”

Male client, 49 years old

“The CBT sessions have helped me to develop resilience against negative thoughts about myself. I have been able to move on from disabling anxiety because of the supportive counselling I am receiving. The sessions are a safe haven and have helped me regain my self confidence.”

Female client, 35 years old

“Meeting Sarah has been life changing for me. She truly understands the intricacies of OCD. Most importantly there is no thought, impulse or obsession that will shock her and you will begin to feel at ease opening up to her very quickly. She helps give you perspective on the illness and helps you to develop the tools and techniques you will need to prevent it from taking over your life. She has an amazing understanding of exposure therapy which is crucial in overcoming OCD. I will be eternally grateful for the impact she has had on my life”

CURRICULUM VITAE

I am an experienced psychotherapist and an accredited EMDR practitioner and consultant (supervisor) based in Brighton. I am a qualified CBT therapist and have completed training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) Levels 1 and 2. I enable adults and young people (16+) to understand and manage a broad range of emotional and behavioural difficulties. I am capable of quickly developing a collaborative and compassionate rapport with my clients. I use a variety of evidenced-based therapeutic interventions that are tailored to support my clients’ treatment.

Experience

Private psychotherapy practice
2006 to present
Working with adults and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and offering effective treatments for depression, anger, stress, personal growth, loss, PTSD, trauma, abuse, and anxiety, including GAD, SAD, OCD and phobias.

Priory Hospital Ticehurst House
November 2008 to April 2016
Offering CBT-based therapeutic treatments for adults and young people.

Priory Hospital Brighton and Hove
September 2012 to December 2013
Providing assessments, individual counselling sessions, keyworking sessions and facilitating psychoeducational CBT groups for adults and young people.

Barnardo’s Chilston Project
January 2010 to December 2014
Working therapeutically with young people with sexually harmful behaviour or at risk of abuse, their carers, and other professionals, including teachers and social workers.

Barnardo’s Apex Project
December 2009 to January 2014
Providing supported lodgings and emotional support to a young asylum seeker.

November 2008 to November 2009
Working with young people with issues concerning fostering and adoption.

Fegans, Tunbridge Wells
April 2005 to April 2012
Counselling and support for individuals, young people, couples and families, facilitating parenting courses, and providing therapy in local primary and secondary schools.

Barnardo’s at Meadows School
February 1998 to March 2005
Providing direct work and facilitating young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties to engage educationally.

Previous experience with young people
1990 to 1991: St James’ School, learning support assistant.
1989 to 1990: Tunbridge Wells Probation Service, voluntary probation assistant.
1983 to 1984: Heatherlands, working with disabled adults and children.
1984 to present: Raising children.

Accreditation and memberships

Accredited EMDR UK and Ireland practitioner and consultant (supervisor)

Accredited member of British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

Vocational qualifications

EMDR Europe Accredited Clinical Supervisor/Consultant
EMDR Europe (2023)

Somatic trauma therapy
Babette Rothschild (2023)

EMDR Europe Consultant's Training
EMDR Europe (2022)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 2
Internal Family Systems UK (2021)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 1
Internal Family Systems UK (2019)

General Certificate in Online Counselling Skills (ACTO accredited)
Online Training for Counsellors (2018)

Schema therapy training level 1
Schema Therapy Scotland (2017)

EMDR Europe accredited level 1 child and adolescent training
Joanne Morris-Smith (2016)

EMDR training parts 1, 2 and 3
Richman EMDR Training (2015–2016)

Introduction to child-focused systemic practice
YMCA Sussex Central (2010)

Working with children with harmful sexual behaviour
Barnardo’s Chilston Service’s Linked Workshop Training Programme (2010)

Parenting adolescents programme: a problem-solving approach
Trust for the study of adolescence (2009)

Diploma in cognitive behavioural therapy
Goldsmiths, University of London (2008)

Licensed and registered supported lodgings provider
Barnardo’s (2008–2016)

Parent group leader training
The Incredible Years (2007)

Solution-focused practice with children and families
Brief (2006)

Advanced diploma in person-centred counselling
West Kent College (2003)

Certificate in person-centred counselling
West Kent College (1998)

Continuing professional development

IFS Informed EMDR
EMDR UK: Bruce Hersey (2022)

EMDR toolbox: EMDR sex, love and porn addiction
East Anglia Regional Group: S Farrell, G McFarlane (2022)

EMDR toolbox: EMDR sex, love and porn addiction
East Anglia Regional Group: S Farrell, G McFarlane (2022)

EMDR conference
EMDR UK (2022)

The soma in EMDR
EMDR UK (2022)

IFS Trauma
IFSCA: Janina Fisher (2022)

Unleash your EMDR
EMDR Focus: Mark Brayne (2021)

EMDR and autism
N Fisher, C Van Diest, D Spain (2021)

EMDR pain, parts and identity
NScience: Arielle Swartz (2021)

Repairing attachment trauma: advanced approaches for deep healing and post-traumatic growth
PESI: Janina Fisher, Lisa Ferentz and Diane Poole Heller (2021)

Treating dissociative disorders
EMDR UK: Dolores Mosquera and Kathy Steele (2021)

New hope for treatment-resistant depression
Envision Services: Janina Fisher (2021)

An integrative approach to working with traumatic preverbal memories
Envision Services: Kathy Steele (2021)

Transformational chairwork
Stanton Psychology Services: Scott Kellogg and Amanda Garcia Torres (2021)

Exploring EMDR with Parts and complex trauma
EMDR East Anglia: Ana Gomez (2021)

EMDR: Working with adult clients with attachment trauma
EMDR West Midlands: Arun Mansukhani (2021)

EMDR, IFS and Parts
EMDR Focus (2021)

EMDR UK Online Conference & AGM
EMDR UK (2021)

IFS and trauma
IFSCA: Janina Fisher (2021)

The Emotional Regulation Toolkit
NScience: Karen Treisman (2021)

Working with chronic firefighters: addictions and eating disorders
IFSCA: Robert Falconer (2021)

Somatic IFS
IFSCA: Susan McConnel (2021)

Providing good clinical supervision
Association for Psychological Therapies (2021)

Unleash your EMDR: release the magic (working with attachment)
EMDR UK: Mark Brayne (2020)

Clinical applications of Internal Family Systems (IFS)
PESI: Frank Anderson (2020)

Bessel van der Kolk Trauma Interview Series: Richard Schwartz, Ph. D., Developer and Founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS)
PESI: Bessel van der Kolk and Richard Schwartz (2020)

Understanding reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic: insights from the polyvagal theory and the oxytocin hypothesis
Confer: Stephen Porges and Sue Carter (2020)

Discovery: IFS-informed EMDR with blended protectors
EMDRIA: Bruce Hersey (2020)

EMDR UK Virtual Conference & AGM
EMDR UK (2020)

EMDR in the treatment of OCD and trichotillomania
EMDR UK: Karsten Bohm (2020)

Integrating resource installation protocols into your EMDR practice
EMDRIA: Roy Kiessling (2019)

Toward an embodied self
The Steve Frankel Group: Sandra Paulsen (2019)

Treating complex trauma with Internal Family Systems (IFS)
PESI (2019)

Pain, parts, illness and identity: EMDR therapy and somatic psychology for chronic pain and illness
NScience: Arielle Schwartz (2019)

EMDR therapy with survivors of complex, early relational neglect and abuse
EMDR UK: Andrew Leeds (2019)

The art of EMDR: the use of imagination for resourcing and interweaves in attachment-focused EMDR
EMDR UK: Shawn Katz (2019)

Did I lock the door? Treating OCD with EMDR therapy, exposure and response prevention and ego state therapy
The Steve Frankel Group: Sandra Paulsen (2019)

When there are no words: EMDR preverbal trauma
The Steve Frankel Group: Sandra Paulsen (2018)

How to work with the part of trauma that can’t be verbalized
NICABM: Peter Levine (2018)

International Trauma Recovery Summit, Belfast
Action Trauma (2018)

The body keeps the score online trauma training
International ISC: Bessel van der Kolk (2017)

Masterclass with Dr Steven Porges. Child trauma: connectedness, emotional regulation and the polyvagal theory
The Centre for Child Mental Health (2017)

Why the Vagal System Holds the Key to the Treatment of Trauma
NICABM: Steven Porges (2017)

EMDR and mindfulness
EMDR UK: Jamie Marich (2017)

Next level practitioner online trauma training
NICABM (2016)

Using EMDR with OCD and Morbid jealousy
EMDR North West Region: Paul Keenan and Robin Logie (2016)

The fragile self: working with narcissistic vulnerability, grandiosity, shame, and alienation
Confer: Phil Mollon (2015)

Transgender awareness
The Wilbury Clinic Ltd (2015)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
City Lit (2015)

Introduction to compassion-focused therapy for shame and self-critical difficulties
Paul Gilbert (2014)

Trauma-focused CBT for children and young people with PTSD
BABCP (2013)

Trauma-focused CBT to work with PTSD
CBT Psychology Training (2013)

OCD masterclass
CBT Psychology Training (2013)

Providing safe care for children and young people who are at risk of child sexual exploitation and/or trafficking
Barnardo’s (2012)

New directions in child and adolescent treatment: a sensorimotor psychotherapy approach
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute: Pat Ogden (2012)

Neuroscience and childhood trauma
Confer: Margot Sunderland (2009)

Psychological trauma in the body
Confer (2007)

Working with shame
City Lit (2006)

Play therapy skills
Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (2000)

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Protecting your confidentiality is an ethical, professional and legal requirement. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), your rights regarding information that I record about you, and your child if they are the client, are:

To be informed of what information I hold (this statement).

To see the information that I hold about you (free of charge for the first request).

To correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

To withdraw consent to me using your personal information.

To request your personal information be destroyed. I can decline if the information is needed for me to practice lawfully and competently, or if there is an adverse reason (such as a complaint or legal reason).

Session confidentiality

I adhere to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical framework which means our sessions are confidential. I may be legally or ethically obliged to break confidentiality when, for example, I consider your welfare or the welfare of others to be at risk. Wherever possible, I will consult with you beforehand to gain your consent.

Recording sessions

It may be helpful for you to record your sessions. The recordings are for your use only and not to be viewed or heard by others, or distributed in any other way or form.

Supervision

I am ethically bound by the BACP to be supported by supervision. All therapists have a duty to their clients to engage in supervision. This is either an individual arrangement or within a group of peers often led by a consultant who is an experienced clinician. My client work is discussed to enable my clients to have the best quality of therapy. In this context, clients are not identified other than by their first name.

Sharing information

If you or your child has been referred to me by another health professional, it is often helpful and necessary, especially for medication requirements, that the referrer is updated regarding your treatment plan. Updates are sent by encrypted email and are respectful of your privacy. They do not contain information about session content but communicate your progress and interventions used. I need your agreement to enable me to do this. If your child (under 18) is the client then I will need the agreement of both you and your child.

Storing your information

To enable me provide therapy, receive clinical supervision and consultation, and to maintain my accounts for billing and invoicing, I will require certain information from you that I will record and store safely. If your child is the client, I will need to record a combination of information from both you and your child.

How I process your information

All of the digital platforms that I use to store your information are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and have been specifically selected to ensure that I protect your privacy. All your information will be deleted 12 months after sessions end.

Client information management system (WriteUpp)

I store your personal identifying information securely within WriteUpp, a password-protected client information management system that can be accessed from my smartphone, tablet and computer. I store the following information in Writeupp: name, gender, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address, GP name and contact number, next of kin, health care provider, brief session summaries, medical reports. I am bound by my insurer, and ethically, to hold this information for seven years, after which it will be deleted.

Electronic devices

No sensitive information is stored on my password-protected smartphone, tablet or computer. I store your first name, phone number and email address in my contacts list. I may use my smartphone for text message communication of a non-sensitive nature.

My website

I do not store any client information on my website apart from anonymous and approved client testimonials.

Online sessions

Your email address is stored in the contacts list of the secure platforms I use for online sessions.

In the potential international context of online sessions, any complaints shall be construed and governed in all respects in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and any dispute or differences in relation to this agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Hardcopies

I keep non-identifying paper notes with the client’s first name. Paper notes are kept in a locked filing cabinet in my locked office. Paper notes include keywords about relationships, family history, career, school, counselling history, difficulties (reason for counselling), therapy goals, medical history, substance use, risk, resilience, psychometric measures, and session prompt.

Data breaches

If you wish to complain about data breaches then contact the Independent Commissioner’s Office.