Lauren Chase CBT Therapist–Client Contract (Informed Consent Agreement)

Therapist Information

Therapist: Lauren Chase, BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.
Practice Location: 110b Maxwell Avenue, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1HU.
Contact: laurenchasecbt@gmail.com. Tel: 07344146406
Professional Accreditation: British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

1. Nature of Therapy

I am a BABCP-accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist offering individual therapy sessions designed to help you understand and change unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour. Therapy involves active participation, including setting goals, completing agreed tasks between sessions, and regular review of progress.

2. Session Structure and Fees

- Sessions last 50 minutes.
- The fee is £50 per session.
- Payment should be made by bank transfer at least 24 hours before the session, or by cash at the commencement of the session.
- If you arrive late, the session will still end at the agreed time, 50 minutes from the scheduled start.

3. Cancellations and Missed Sessions

- Please provide as much notice as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule.
- Sessions cancelled within 24 hours of the appointment time will be charged in full.
- Exceptions may be made in genuine emergencies at the therapist’s discretion.

4. Confidentiality

All sessions are confidential. Information you share will not be disclosed to anyone outside therapy, except in the following situations:
- Where there is a risk of serious harm to yourself or others.
- Where required by law (e.g., safeguarding concerns).
- When disclosure is necessary for professional supervision (details are anonymised).

A full Privacy Policy is provided separately.

5. Record Keeping and Data Protection

- Minimal notes are kept to support clinical work, stored securely in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
- Your personal data will not be shared with third parties without your consent, except where legally required.
- You have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your records in accordance with data protection law.

6. Emergencies

Therapy sessions are not an emergency service.
In the event of an immediate risk to your safety or wellbeing, please contact:
- Emergency Services: 999
- NHS 24: 111
- Samaritans: 116 123 (24-hour helpline)
- Your GP or local A&E department

You will be asked to provide emergency contact details at the start of therapy, which will only be used in urgent circumstances.

7. Professional Standards

As a BABCP-accredited practitioner, I adhere to the BABCP Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics, which can be viewed at www.babcp.com.

 

Privacy Policy

 

Lauren Chase CBT is registered with the Information Commissioner's Register of Data Controllers (ICO) and is therefore transparent regarding the justification behind the gathering and storing of personal data.  

 

Personal information

Prior to commencement of therapy, you will be asked to provide informed consent which will involve providing personal information such as: Name, address, date of birth, telephone numbers, e-mail address, general health, GP details, next of kin.

 

How personal information is stored

All personal information and session notes are stored in a locked filing cabinet and retained for the legal requirement of 7 years, after which time will be shredded.

 

Contact details, such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses may be stored electronically and backed up in the cloud with a UK based company and deleted one month from the date of your last session.

 

E-mails will not be electronically retained and either deleted or printed and placed in your records within one month of sending. All text messages are deleted within one month of sending.

Telephone numbers will be stored in a mobile phone and deleted within one month of a final session.

 

Confidentiality

All sessions will be conducted in confidence. The date, session number and brief notes will be documented and stored appropriately.

 

Confidentiality, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR), will be maintained and applied to all records with the exception of the following:

 

  • When you have given your permission to share information, e.g. statistical data
  • In cases where we have a duty to share information such as when compelled to give evidence by the court of law
  • If it is considered there is a risk of harm to yourself or others or when it may be considered that confidentiality cannot be legally maintained. e.g.:
  • Safeguarding for adults (adult protection)
  • Safeguarding children (child protection)
  • Offences involving children under the age of 18
  • In cases of terrorism, fraud or money laundering

 

Permissions requested

Your permission will be requested for:

 

  • Making contact via your preferred method.
  • Leaving messages via your preferred contact method.
  • Sharing anonymous details with supervisor or for continued professional development (case studies or training).
  • Publishing of any marketing materials such as case studies or testimonials including those using a pseudonym.

 

Website

This privacy policy sets out how Lauren Chase CBT uses and protects any information that you provide when you visit this website. By visiting laurenchasecbt.com you accept and consent to the terms described and all identifiable information provided will be used in accordance with the privacy policy.

 

Online contact form

When the online form is completed, the following personal information may be gathered and stored in accordance with the policy: Name, telephone number, e-mail address, information relevant to your referral, any other information you choose to communicate.

 

This information is used for the purposes of making  contact, assessing needs, answering questions, and arranging sessions. .

 

Security

Transmission of data and information via the website is not a secure or an encrypted transmission method for sending your personal data, unless otherwise indicated on the website. Your attention is therefore drawn to the fact that, any information and personal data may be intercepted, lost, corrupted or accessed by third parties.

 

Upon receipt of your personal data Lauren Chase CBT is committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, appropriate physical and electronic procedures are in place to safeguard and secure the information collected online.

 

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

 

Lauren Chase CBT may use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps analyse data via Google Analytics about web page traffic and improve the website in order to tailor it to client needs.

 

Overall, cookies helps Lauren Chase CBT provide you with a better website, and monitoring of pages which you find useful and those which you do not. A cookie does not give access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share.

 

You can also choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This however may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

 

Google Analytics

Each time you visit a website Google Analytics automatically tracks information such as (but not limited to) your geographical location, IP address, browser type, browser version, operating system, referral source, page views, length of visit, the times and dates you visit the site, navigation paths, whether you are a new visitor or a returning visitor.

 

When you visit laurenchasecbt.com the information collected by Google Analytics may be used by me to customise the website according to your interests and help improve products and services.

 

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection and use of your personal information in the following way:

 

If you have previously agreed to your anonymous personal information to be used for continued professional development or marketing purposes, you may opt out at any time by emailing: laurenchasecbt@gmail.com.

 

Your personal information will not be distributed or leased to third parties unless your permission has been given or if this is required by law.

 

You may request details of personal information held about you under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR). Lauren Chase CBT aims to keep all personal data up to date. However,  if you believe that any information held about you is incorrect, please email laurenchasecbt@gmail.com.

 

Amendments and updates

The privacy policy may be amended/updated from time to time without notice to you, in which case a copy of the updated version will be made available. By signing the agreement, you confirm that Lauren Chase CBT shall not be liable to you or any third party for any changes made to this privacy policy.