Assessment
Direct Counselling UK adheres to the BACP’s guidelines for Online Counselling and Psychotherapy (2005) and their Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy (2002).
Your counsellor will also need to verify your identity prior to accepting you as a client. This is partly to confirm that you are over 16 years of age and able to consent to engage in counselling. Clients under 16 years of age are required to provide parental consent to engage in therapy. It is also your responsibility to inform Direct Counselling UK, from the outset, of any applicable legal proceedings that you are, or that you expect to be involved in. For these purposes we require you to answer a questionnaire of personal data. This should be completed and returned to us by email. We may ask for further clarification of your situation prior to accepting you as a client.
This questionnaire and any initial emails are not contractual, and all communication at this time costs you nothing. You will not be charged at the time, or afterwards for these initial emails or for completion of the questionnaire.
Once your counsellor has a good understanding of the help you are seeking, and has decided that they can work with you, they will ask you to agree to payment for your therapy sessions. This agreement will be confirmed with a contract of services between yourself and your counsellor. This contract will ensure you understand what you can expect from your counsellor and what commitment they may ask of you.
Direct Counselling UK will also require an email address where one of our counsellors can respond to you. This email address should be personal to you and not used by a third party in order to maintain a confidential service.
