Hypnotherapy Agreement

HYPNOTHERAPY AGREEMENT – Katie Gerrard, trading as Heid

Between the client (named via electronic signature) and the Hypnotherapist:

Katie Gerrard (Katherine Howard)
Integrative Therapist
Dip Hyp, MSc, CPCAB, GHR, MBACP

The Hypnotherapy Agreement will be sent to you within your booking confirmation and is given here for information should you wish to peruse it before making your first booking.

I am a member of the General Hypnotherapy Register and therefore abide by their code of conduct which includes regularly continuing learning and development. I am also a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and as such am committed to their code of ethics which includes regular supervision.

I am a sole trader based in the UK working under local (UK) legislation, registration, and industry best practise. The client agrees when working online I am governed by these rather than their own local laws, and it is the client’s responsibility to understand and abide by their own laws if necessary and to not seek services that contravene these.

Sessions and booking

The costs of each session may differ depending on the service required. All prices are clearly displayed and charged for at the point of booking.

The fee is for the therapist’s appointment slot which again may differ but is clearly defined at the point of booking. The client reserves this time but can choose not to use all of it if they arrive late or wish to finish early.

Clients can change the date and time of sessions (dependant on availability of therapist’s diary) with up to 24 hours’ notice and can do this as many times as they need to.

However, cancellations with less than 24-hour notice will result in the client being liable for the cost of the missed session. Cancellations with more than 24 hours’ notice (without rebook) may be subject to refund but this is dependent on a case-by-case basis and not guaranteed.

Multi session deals are for the use of the person making and attending the original booking and cannot be exchanged or adapted. The additional sessions can be exchanged for any hypnotherapy service of the same session time and price.

Confidentiality, Supervision, and Note keeping

As a member of the BACP I am committed to confidentiality within boundaries and limits. Confidentiality may be broken if
- I believe you or others seem to be in danger or at serious risk of being harmed.
- you infer involvement or knowledge in an act of terrorism or money laundering
- you infer knowledge or involvement in drugs trafficking.
- you infer knowledge or involvement in behaviours I believe may lead to harm or neglect to children and vulnerable adults.
- I am required to give information on request of a court of law.

As part of my commitment to the BACP I regularly attend supervision to monitor my work and self-development. There are times where aspects of our sessions may be taken to supervision, at no time will identifiable information be mentioned and my supervisor is also committed to our contracted confidentiality.

I do not keep detailed notes of our sessions or our work. This is to protect your confidentiality. I will record a brief sentence of what we covered focused on techniques and tools. The information you give within any forms you fill out will be kept on the Therasee app and protected under GDPR except under the already stated confidentiality limitations.

As a sole practitioner I will not share information with NHS practitioners or other health professionals, but I can provide a written record of what we’ve covered addressed to yourself which you can choose to share if you wish to.

Materials given to the client by me remain subject to copyright laws and must not be shared or reproduced for any commercial purpose or financial gain.

Contact

Contact between sessions will be limited to messages or email during my working hours. Telephone contact is available by booking a call into the calendar.

I will not contact you to request you book further appointments, or for changes of price, or to market new services to you. This is a client led service and whilst you are always very welcome to rebook, I will not send reminders or set timescales. Hypnotherapy is very different to talking therapy and as such you as the client are responsible for choosing and booking your next appointment.

I will contact you to make you aware of changes of booking links, contact information, and location changes. This contact is not designed to encourage you to book another session (although you are welcome to if you wish!)

Expectations and boundaries

Hypnotherapy, like all therapeutic services does not come with guarantees and clients understand they take responsibility for their own goals, actions, choices, and life’s outcomes.

Hypnotherapy voice recordings, videos, MP3s should never be listened to whilst driving or operating heavy machinery.

Antisocial behaviour by the client will result in immediate cessation of treatment.

It is the client’s responsibility to declare any reason/s why hypnotherapy may present a risk to their physical or mental health and if this information is not made clear either in the booking forms or in the session the client is responsible for this risk.

The client is responsible for seeking the advice of a qualified medical practitioner before commencing treatment if they have any questions or reasonable doubt over their own suitability and safety for hypnotherapy treatment.

During the process of treatment there may be reason to review unpleasant memories or experience uncomfortable emotions. This may result in confusion or setbacks. The client acknowledges and accepts these potential risks but is also aware I take reasonable steps to avoid these.

The client will seek advice from a qualified medical practitioner before stopping or altering any medication or treatment they are currently receiving. I will never suggest the client goes against the advice of health professionals the client is currently under the care of and am not an expert in medication so cannot make any comment or suggestion in this area.

The client will make me aware of any changes to medication during the time they are actively attending sessions.

Expertise and Modalities

This agreement covers the hypnotherapy aspect of my work. Within these appointments I am working as a hypnotherapist rather than in any other context. If you wish to take on Counselling or Ancestor work with me, I would love to have you as a client in these areas, but I will not suggest you take up this work with me, and we will sign the respective agreements within that modality.

If I believe your needs are outside of my expertise, I reserve the right to terminate the therapeutic agreement and suggest you contact other specialists.

If your requirements are outside of my specialism, I will offer you the opportunity to be referred to other hypnotherapists within my network who are better at working in this area than I am. You can choose to stay with me (if I am suitably trained to deliver) and I take no responsibility for other professional’s work or ethics.

This link will have been given to the client in the booking email prior to attending your first appointment. By attending this session, the client consents to working within the framework of this agreement.

However, by signing this form you create a record of what date you signed and (if the hypnotherapy agreement changes in the future) which version you have signed.