Therapy contract between clients and Susan Collini

Please be aware that the wording of this contract may change to reflect changes in Legislation and also professional guidance relating to protocols within different fields of therapy treatments.

The contract

This represents the agreement between you, the client, and your therapist Susan Collini.

Therapist’s responsibilities

• To be available at the agreed times.
• To maintain safe, professional boundaries.
• To regard all contact and information as confidential unless that information is required, by Law, to be shared with other professionals.
• To work within the NCH (National Council of Hypnotherapy) Ethical Framework (a copy is available upon request).
• In the unlikely event of the therapist cancelling an appointment, an alternative will be offered as soon as it is practical to do so.
• The therapist, Susan, promises openness, honesty and respect whilst helping you explore whatever brings you to a therapy environment. Treatment plans are individually tailored to best meet the client’s needs, based on what has been shared by the client.

Confidentiality

All notes and personal details relating to clients are stored securely and are kept for the statutory time requirement after therapy has ceased. Susan may ask permission to make an audio recording of sessions so she can focus on the client rather than writing notes all through the session. Clients can request that audio recordings are not made, if it makes them feel uncomfortable. Recordings are deleted once they have been revisited by Susan for delivering insight/clarification. Personal details and client therapy notes are kept separate with coded references between the two providing an extra level of confidentiality

Client’s responsibilities

• To read the list of contraindications at the bottom of this contract and to advise the therapist, Susan Collini, of any potential issues you feel might indicate unsuitability for proceeding with therapy, prior to attending the first session. This isn’t to say you won’t be able to proceed, but openness about a possible issue is not only necessary but essential.
• To attend all sessions punctually. It will not always be possible to extend sessions if a client is late and refunds for missed session time are not provided or carried over to future sessions.
• To give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice if you have to cancel an appointment. The exception to this is related to developing a sore throat, cough, sneezing or Covid-related symptoms. In such cases your therapist, Susan,  will accept cancellation without loss of therapy fee, within 24 hours of your appointment.
• Communications with Susan outside therapy sessions should be kept to a reasonalble (occasional) messaging and email, or in response to communication from Susan between treatment sessions.
• The client should respect that Susan has other clients and that responses to messages/emails may well take up to 48 hours or longer.
• The client must agree to give permission for Susan to contact their GP or other health professionals they are involved with, if she feels it is in the interest of the client, or others, to do so.
• The client must inform the therapist, Susan, when they start working wth another therapist at the same time, as this might lead to confusion and be unhelpful to your therapeutic journey. It does not mean that sessions with Susan will have to cease, but a discussion is very necessary in consideration of client wellbeing.
• Susan Collini utilises short-term hypnotherapy programmes, longer-term hypno-psychotherapy programmes and IEMT (integral Eye Movement Therapy) programmes to support clients to reach the goals they seek. Susan’s approach is what is known as person-centered, meaning that the aim of treatment is not to ‘fix’ but to empower self-healing through development of greater awareness, willingness and motivation in the client to make the desired change(s).

Therapist supervision

It is an ethical requirement for accredited therapists to work with regular supervision, specifically to monitor the methods and skills being used by the therapist when working with individual clients. The client’s case may be discussed during supervision sessions but the client’s name or any identifiable information is not shared with the supervisor.

Contraindications for hypnotherapy

• Psychotic Disorders: Hypnotherapy is typically contraindicated for individuals with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. It can potentially make symptoms worse.
• Severe Personality Disorders: People with severe personality disorders may find hypnosis challenging in various ways.
• Hypnotherapy may not be suitable for individuals with certain medical conditions such as epilepsy, as it could potentially trigger seizures.

Please have an awareness of the following

• Individuals with severe cognitive impairments may not be best suited to engage effectively with hypnotherapy, per se, but there could be other more suitable therapy options that might be helpful.
• Hypnotherapy relies on a cooperative relationship between the client and the therapist. If a client is unwilling or unable to engage in the process, for whatever reason, it is unlikely to deliver a successful outcome and clients must accept that in such situations a lack of desired outcome is not the ‘fault’ of the therapist or therapy delivered.
• People with severe communication difficulties may not benefit from therapeutic treatments that rely on successful verbal communication. This is particularly relevant to individuals with hearing loss or where English is not the client’s main/preferred language.
• Being under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs during a session will not be tolerated and the session will be terminated and no refund for the session provided.
• If a client is unable to provide informed consent due to age, cognitive impairment or other factors, it may not be appropriate to continue with treatment.
• Certain cultures may have ethical or cultural objections to aspects of hypnotherapy and if this is likely to cause issue with the client or close relative,  a discussion around any particular concerns really needs to take place, prior to entering into the proposed treatment plan.