Please carefully read this document which outlines the expectations and responsibilities of both, me as your therapist and you as the client during therapy. It details crucial information about my professional services and business policies. Once you start therapy, the document will constitute a binding agreement between us, which is why I will be referring to it as “Therapy Agreement”. 

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This Therapy Agreement is meant to establish a clear and mutual understanding, and to help us work effectively towards your therapeutic goals. Should you have any questions about the Therapy Agreement or about the therapy in general, please refrain from signing the Therapy Agreement and make a note; I will be happy to discuss anything you are unsure of at our next meeting. 

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1. Purpose and Scope of Therapy

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The purpose of the therapy is to help you address and resolve personal, emotional, or behavioural challenges to achieve greater well-being and satisfaction in your life. You and I will work together to set specific goals for therapy and develop a treatment plan to work towards those goals. In doing so, I will work within my area of competence, experience and training and will notify you should the work fall outside of this for any reason. 

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Our therapy sessions are typically held weekly at the same time and last for 50 minutes, unless otherwise agreed upon between us. Sessions will be held remotely and will be conducted via phone or on a third-party video platform, which I will be hosting. 

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2. Availability and Crisis Support

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Between sessions, I will only be available to address urgent matters related to the booking or rescheduling of sessions. If you wish to discuss more significant issues outside of scheduled sessions, we may agree to schedule an additional session. If, over time, we find that you need more than the agreed level of contact between us, we will review together whether your needs would be best met within a different setting with additional resources to support you. 

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Please be advised that I work part-time and will not usually be able to respond to emails or telephone calls immediately. However, I will make best efforts to reply to any communication at my earliest convenience, and I will notify you in advance of any periods during which I will be completely unavailable. 

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As a sole practitioner I cannot provide a multidisciplinary or crisis service. Therefore, if your needs exceed what I can work with safely in private practice, or if I believe that you require the input of a specialist team, I will notify you as soon as possible. Should this happen during our therapy, I will make best efforts to facilitate your referral to the most appropriate service or communicate with your general practitioner so that they can arrange this for you. 

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3. Confidentiality

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All therapy sessions and related communication between you and I are strictly confidential. I will not share any information with any third parties without your consent, except if I am required to do so by law. This is predominantly the case when human safety is concerned such as: 

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•  If you threaten harm to yourself or another person 

•  If I believe a child or protected adult is at risk of harm or abuse 

•  If a court instructs me to disclose information 

•  If you share information about a proposed act of terrorism or another serious crime

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Apart from that, in order to provide a therapy service to you in accordance with applicable laws and ethical standards, I receive regular supervision from an experienced, qualified and registered Clinical Psychologist. During these supervision sessions I may share parts of our communication in an anonymised way in order to ensure our work together is in line with best practice. 

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I will keep notes from each session for the purpose of the process of therapy, however, I will hold all notes made electronically or in written form securely on a password protected or locked storage in compliance with applicable data protection laws. Sometimes it can be beneficial to you for sessions to be recorded via audio or video capture. However, both of us agree that such a recording of the sessions may only be conducted with the prior written consent of both of us. 

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4. Data Privacy

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By engaging in therapy with me, you acknowledge and agree to my privacy policy. You specifically consent to my processing of your personal data for the purpose of therapy under this Therapy Agreement. As I am occasionally located outside of the UK, you acknowledge and agree that such processing will involve transferring your personal data outside of the UK. You understand that the residing country may have data protection laws that differ from those of the United Kingdom, however, you will retain your rights under the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (“UK GDPR”), and I will implement and maintain appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the security and confidentiality of your personal data. Your data will be retained only as necessary for the Therapy Agreement’s purpose, and I will delete it afterward, unless applicable legal requirements dictate otherwise. 

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5. Fees and Payment

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The fee for each therapy session will be as agreed upon in the payment schedule or as set by your health insurance provider. The fee for each therapy session covers the session and any relevant correspondence, which is related to the session, between you and me. Any requests for reports, letters, or correspondence with third parties will be charged at my standard hourly rate. I reserve the right to modify my fees from time to time at my sole discretion, in which case I will inform you 30 days prior to such change.

If you are paying for this therapy by yourself, payment is due prior to the commencement of each session and must be made in full. Failure to pay prior to the session will result in the cancellation of that session in which case the cancellation policy below will apply. 

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If your therapy is funded through your private health insurance, you must provide me with all policy details needed to invoice your private health insurance as well as any required consent needed for me to discuss your insurance package in relation to your benefit entitlement for psychological therapy. You acknowledge, that it remains your responsibility to ensure all private health insurance funded sessions are within your level of coverage, and if requested, you will confirm the level of your coverage with your private health insurance and request a written response, to ensure session payments run smoothly. Nevertheless, in any case, you agree that any sessions not covered by your private health insurance for any reason will be covered by you. 

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6. Cancellation and Rescheduling 

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You understand and agree that I will hold our regular weekly appointment open for you which is why it is not usually possible to cancel or reschedule appointments at short notice. I do understand however that, from time to time, you might need to cancel or reschedule a session, in which case you agree to the following cancellation policy: 

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• If you cancel or (request to) reschedule a session, by either notifying me in writing or cancelling via the automated scheduling system on my website up to 48 hours prior to the beginning of the session, you will not be charged for that session. 

• If you cancel or (request to) reschedule a session less than 48 hours prior to the beginning of the session, or if you miss a session, you will be charged at 100% of the agreed fee for that session. 

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Please be aware that if your sessions are funded either partially or fully by a private health insurance provider, then any cancellation fees are your responsibility and will typically not be funded by the private health insurance. I reserve the right to put on hold sessions until any open fees are paid. 

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From time to time, I might need to cancel or reschedule a session. In that case, I will make best efforts to provide you with reasonable notice in advance and I will offer you the option to reschedule or receive a full refund. 

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7. Termination of Therapy 

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Both of us may terminate this Therapy Agreement at any time at our convenience by notifying the other person in writing. In case of a termination of the Therapy Agreement by you, the cancellation policy set forth above will continue to apply regarding any upcoming therapy sessions scheduled. In case of a termination of the Therapy Agreement by me, I agree to make best efforts to provide you with referrals to other resources as needed. 

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8. Miscellaneous 

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I reserve the right to amend or modify this Therapy Agreement with prior written notice to you, and any such changes will become effective upon our mutual agreement. The laws of England will govern this Therapy Agreement and any disputes arising from or in connection with this Therapy Agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England. If any part of this Therapy Agreement is deemed invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, it will not affect the validity of the remaining portions. This Therapy Agreement reflects our complete understanding and supersedes any prior written or oral agreements regarding its subject matter. 

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By engaging with Dr Jack Stroud, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the terms and conditions outlined herein and that you accept to be legally bound by the Therapy Agreement.