Terms and Conditions

 

The following terms and conditions represent an agreement between the two parties being; Sakoon counselling (Us) and the participant (You). The objectives of these terms and conditions is to facilitate the best possible environment and experience. These terms and conditions are deemed to be binding upon the participant following enrolment to any activity or event. Upon enrolment to any counselling or course the participant hereby agrees to abide by the following:

DATA PROTECTION & CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

ICO Registration Number: ZA744905
Trading Address: 104 Apple Tree Ave, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PU

Policy Owner: Rabia Khan 

1. Purpose

This policy establishes Sakoon Counselling’s requirements for the lawful, secure and confidential handling of personal information.

It applies to directors, employees, counsellors, clinical supervisors, tutors, contractors, volunteers and any other person authorised to process personal information on behalf of Sakoon Counselling.

2. Scope

This policy applies to personal information processed in connection with Sakoon Counselling’s activities, including information concerning:

  • counselling clients and prospective clients;

  • children and young people;

  • couples and families;

  • staff and counsellors;

  • learners and trainees where applicable;

  • enquiries;

  • complaints;

  • safeguarding matters; and

  • other individuals whose personal information Sakoon Counselling processes.

3. Data Protection Principles

Personal information must be:

  • processed lawfully, fairly and transparently;

  • collected for specified and legitimate purposes;

  • adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary;

  • accurate and appropriately kept up to date;

  • retained only for as long as necessary;

  • appropriately protected; and

  • processed in a manner that enables Sakoon Counselling to demonstrate accountability.

4. Special-Category Information

Counselling may involve highly sensitive information, including health information, religious or philosophical beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sex life or sexual orientation.

Special-category information must be handled with a high level of confidentiality and security.

Sakoon Counselling must identify and document an appropriate lawful basis and an additional special-category condition where required.

5. Front-End Website

Sakoon Counselling’s public-facing/front-end website is separate from the secure back-end system used for confidential client records.

Counselling notes and confidential clinical records are not stored on the public-facing area of the website.

6. Secure Back-End System

Counselling notes, clinical records and confidential client information are stored within Sakoon Counselling’s secure back-end system hosted on a protected server.

Access is restricted to appropriately authorised persons.

Users must not access information unless they have a legitimate professional or operational reason for doing so.

7. Access Control

Access to confidential client information must be based upon professional or operational need.

Counsellors should only access records relating to clients where they have an appropriate reason to do so.

Login credentials must be appropriately protected and should not be unnecessarily shared.

Suspected unauthorised access must be reported promptly.

8. Counsellor Responsibilities

Counsellors must:

  • maintain appropriate professional counselling notes;

  • use Sakoon Counselling’s authorised systems;

  • protect client information against unauthorised access;

  • avoid recording unnecessary identifying information;

  • maintain confidentiality;

  • follow third-party disclosure requirements;

  • comply with safeguarding procedures;

  • report suspected data breaches promptly;

  • comply with applicable professional and ethical requirements; and

  • handle information used during clinical supervision appropriately.

9. Counselling Notes

Counselling notes should be factual, relevant, proportionate and appropriate to the therapeutic purpose.

Counsellors should avoid unnecessary or excessive personal information.

Notes must be stored using Sakoon Counselling’s approved secure system.

Clinical notes must not be made accessible to unauthorised persons.

10. Clinical Supervision

Counsellors are expected to participate in appropriate clinical supervision.

Relevant cases and, where necessary, counselling notes may be taken into or considered during clinical supervision for professional reflection, maintaining safe practice and supporting therapeutic work.

Counsellors should ordinarily not reveal the client’s identity during clinical supervision.

Names and unnecessary identifying information should not be disclosed during routine clinical supervision.

Clinical supervisors are themselves required to maintain professional confidentiality.

Where an exceptional safeguarding, serious-risk, complaint, legal or professional matter makes identification necessary, relevant information may be disclosed where there is an appropriate basis and the disclosure is necessary and proportionate.

11. Limits of Confidentiality

Confidentiality is not absolute.

Information may need to be disclosed where there is:

  • serious or immediate risk of harm;

  • a safeguarding concern;

  • suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation;

  • a legal requirement;

  • a court order or other legally enforceable requirement; or

  • another lawful professional obligation requiring disclosure.

Where appropriate, disclosure should be discussed with the relevant safeguarding lead, clinical supervisor or senior person before information is shared.

12. Third-Party Disclosure

Client information must not ordinarily be disclosed to a third party without appropriate authority or another lawful basis.

This includes disclosure to:

  • spouses or partners;

  • parents or relatives;

  • friends;

  • employers;

  • schools, colleges or universities;

  • religious organisations;

  • community organisations;

  • healthcare professionals; and

  • other organisations.

Where client consent is relied upon, appropriate evidence of the client’s authority should be obtained.

Information disclosed should be limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

13. Safeguarding

Data protection must not be used as a reason to prevent necessary and lawful safeguarding action.

Where there is an appropriate safeguarding concern, relevant information may be shared with appropriate persons or authorities where there is a lawful and professional basis for doing so.

Only information reasonably necessary and proportionate to the safeguarding purpose should ordinarily be shared.

14. Children and Young People

Information concerning children and young people must be handled with particular care.

Counsellors must consider confidentiality, capacity, parental responsibility, safeguarding and the individual circumstances of the child or young person.

15. Couples and Family Counselling

Records involving couples and families may contain information concerning multiple people.

Particular care must therefore be taken when accessing, disclosing, correcting or responding to requests concerning such records.

16. Email and Electronic Communication

Confidential information must be communicated carefully.

Counsellors and staff should:

  • verify recipients before sending information;

  • minimise unnecessary confidential information in email;

  • avoid sending information to unintended recipients;

  • use approved communication methods; and

  • report any accidental disclosure promptly.

17. Personal Devices

Confidential client information should not be permanently stored on personal devices unless this has been expressly authorised and appropriate safeguards are in place.

Counsellors must not retain unnecessary copies of clinical information outside Sakoon Counselling’s authorised systems.

18. Third-Party Processors

Where an external organisation processes personal information on behalf of Sakoon Counselling, appropriate due diligence and contractual arrangements should be maintained where required.

Sakoon Counselling should consider the nature and sensitivity of the information processed and the security arrangements offered by the provider.

19. International Transfers

Where Sakoon Counselling makes a restricted transfer of personal information outside the United Kingdom, an appropriate transfer mechanism or safeguard must be identified where required.

20. Retention and Secure Disposal

Information must not be retained indefinitely without appropriate justification.

Sakoon Counselling will maintain appropriate retention arrangements for different categories of records.

Clinical record retention period: 2 years 

Information reaching the end of its retention period should be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised unless there is an appropriate reason to retain it for longer.

21. Data Protection Rights Requests

Requests concerning an individual’s data-protection rights must be referred promptly to the person responsible for data protection within Sakoon Counselling.

Information must not be altered, concealed or deleted because a request has been received.

22. Personal Data Breaches

A suspected loss, unauthorised disclosure, inappropriate access, cyber incident or other personal-data breach must be reported promptly.

Responsible Person: Rabia Khan
Email/Telephone: rabia.khan@sakoon.co.uk

The incident must be appropriately assessed, documented and managed.

Where required, Sakoon Counselling will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office and/or affected individuals within applicable legal timescales.

23. Training and Compliance

All persons handling personal information on behalf of Sakoon Counselling are expected to understand and comply with this policy.

Breaches of confidentiality or data-protection requirements may result in investigation and appropriate action.

24. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed periodically and following significant changes to Sakoon Counselling’s services, systems or applicable requirements.

ICO Registration Number: ZA744905

Approved by: Rehan Lateef

 

SAKOON COUNSELLING

COUNSELLING CLIENT AGREEMENT

Trading Address: 104 Apple Tree Ave, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PU
ICO Registration Number: ZA744905

Please read this agreement before booking a counselling session.

By completing a booking and/or making payment for a counselling session with Sakoon Counselling, you confirm that you have been given the opportunity to read this agreement and agree to these terms.

1. Our Counselling Service

Sakoon Counselling provides professional counselling and therapeutic services to individuals, couples and families.

Counselling sessions are currently provided online.

The therapeutic approach used will depend upon the counsellor, the client’s needs and the nature of the counselling being provided.

2. Session Fees and Duration

Individual Counselling

Fee: £50 per session

Each Individual Counselling session is approximately 50 minutes.

Couples and Family Counselling

Fee: £70 per session

Each Couples/Family Counselling session is approximately 60 minutes (1 hour).

Payment is required in accordance with the booking arrangements provided at the time of booking.

3. Booking Constitutes Acceptance

Clients should read this agreement before completing a booking.

By booking and/or paying for a counselling session with Sakoon Counselling, you confirm that you have been given the opportunity to read and understand this Counselling Client Agreement and agree to its terms.

This includes the fees, cancellation and rescheduling policy, confidentiality arrangements, limits of confidentiality, clinical supervision arrangements and data-protection provisions.

4. Cancellation and Rescheduling – 24 Hours’ Notice

Sakoon Counselling requires at least 24 hours’ notice if you wish to cancel or reschedule an appointment.

Where less than 24 hours’ notice is provided, the full session fee is chargeable.

Accordingly, a late cancellation, late request to reschedule or failure to attend may result in the following charge:

Individual Counselling – £50

Couples/Family Counselling – £70

Where the session has already been paid for and the required notice has not been provided, the payment may be retained against the missed or late-cancelled session rather than transferred to another appointment.

Where at least 24 hours’ notice is provided, the client may request to reschedule subject to the counsellor’s availability and Sakoon Counselling’s booking arrangements.

Nothing within this agreement affects any statutory rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

5. Lateness

Clients are encouraged to join their online counselling session at the agreed time.

Where a client joins late, the session will ordinarily still finish at the originally scheduled time.

Late arrival does not ordinarily entitle the client to an extension of the session or a reduction in the session fee.

6. Confidentiality

Your privacy and confidentiality are important to Sakoon Counselling.

Information discussed during counselling will normally remain confidential between you and your counsellor.

Counsellors are required to maintain professional confidentiality and to handle client information in accordance with Sakoon Counselling’s policies and applicable professional and legal requirements.

7. Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision is a normal and important part of safe and professional counselling practice.

Your counsellor may discuss aspects of their therapeutic work with an appropriately qualified clinical supervisor.

Relevant counselling notes or case information may be considered during clinical supervision where necessary to support professional reflection and safe and effective therapeutic practice.

Your counsellor will ordinarily not reveal your identity during clinical supervision.

Your name and unnecessary identifying information should not be disclosed during routine supervision.

Clinical supervisors are themselves required to maintain professional confidentiality.

In exceptional circumstances involving matters such as safeguarding, serious risk, complaints or legal requirements, identifiable information may need to be shared where this is necessary and appropriate.

8. Limits of Confidentiality

Although confidentiality is fundamental to counselling, it is not absolute.

Your counsellor and/or Sakoon Counselling may need to disclose relevant information where there is:

  • a serious or immediate risk of harm to you or another person;

  • a safeguarding concern involving a child;

  • a safeguarding concern involving an adult at risk;

  • suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation requiring appropriate action;

  • a legal requirement to disclose information;

  • a court order or other legally enforceable requirement; or

  • another lawful or professional obligation requiring disclosure.

Where it is safe, appropriate and lawful to do so, we will normally seek to discuss the proposed disclosure with you beforehand.

There may be circumstances where this is not possible or appropriate.

9. Third-Party Disclosure

Sakoon Counselling does not ordinarily provide information about your counselling to another person or organisation without your authority or another appropriate lawful basis.

This includes spouses, partners, relatives, friends, employers, educational establishments, religious or community organisations and other third parties.

Where you request disclosure to another person or organisation, we may ask you to provide written authority identifying:

  • the person or organisation;

  • the information that may be disclosed; and

  • the purpose of the disclosure.

Where information is disclosed, we will seek to limit it to what is necessary and appropriate.

10. Someone Else Paying for Counselling

The fact that another person pays for your counselling does not automatically give that person a right to information about your counselling sessions.

For an adult client, the person paying will not ordinarily be provided with details of what has been discussed without the client’s appropriate authorisation or another lawful basis.

11. Children and Young People

Where counselling is provided to a child or young person, confidentiality will be managed having regard to their age, understanding, capacity, circumstances and safeguarding requirements.

Parents or guardians should not assume that they will automatically receive details of what has been discussed during counselling.

Where safeguarding or serious-risk concerns arise, appropriate information may need to be shared.

12. Couples and Family Counselling

Couples and family counselling involves more than one participant and therefore requires particular consideration of confidentiality.

The counsellor may explain the applicable confidentiality arrangements at the beginning of therapy.

Participants are encouraged to respect the privacy of information disclosed by other participants during joint sessions.

Sakoon Counselling cannot guarantee that another participant will maintain the confidentiality of information they hear during a joint session.

13. Online Sessions and Privacy

Counselling sessions are provided online.

Clients should, wherever reasonably possible:

  • participate from a private environment;

  • use a device they consider secure;

  • take reasonable steps to prevent conversations being overheard; and

  • use a reliable internet connection.

Sakoon Counselling cannot control the privacy of the client’s physical environment.

14. Technology Problems

Internet or technology problems may occasionally interrupt an online counselling session.

Where a significant technical problem occurs, the counsellor and client should attempt to reconnect.

Where the session cannot reasonably continue because of a technical problem, appropriate arrangements will be considered according to the circumstances.

15. Recording Sessions

Clients must not audio-record, video-record, photograph, screen-record or otherwise record a counselling session without prior agreement from Sakoon Counselling and the counsellor.

Counsellors must similarly comply with Sakoon Counselling’s requirements concerning recording and confidentiality.

16. Counselling Notes and Data Protection

Appropriate counselling notes and administrative records may be maintained.

Clinical information is stored within Sakoon Counselling’s secure back-end system on a protected server.

Counselling notes and confidential clinical records are not stored on the public-facing area of our website.

Further information about how personal information is handled is contained within the Sakoon Counselling Privacy Policy.

ICO Registration Number: ZA744905

17. Reports and Letters

Counselling sessions do not automatically include the preparation of detailed reports, assessments or professional opinions for third parties.

Where appropriate, Sakoon Counselling may provide a brief factual summary or confirmation relating to counselling.

Requests for detailed reports will be considered individually.

Sakoon Counselling may decline a request where providing a report would be inappropriate, outside the scope of the counselling service or inconsistent with professional responsibilities.

Where an additional fee applies for a report or substantial administrative work, this will be communicated before the work is undertaken.

18. Emergencies and Crisis Situations

Sakoon Counselling provides counselling and therapeutic services and is not an emergency or crisis-response service.

A client experiencing an immediate emergency or immediate danger should contact the appropriate emergency or urgent healthcare service available in their location.

19. Therapeutic Outcomes

Counselling is a collaborative therapeutic process.

Although counsellors will work professionally with clients, Sakoon Counselling cannot guarantee a particular therapeutic outcome.

Clients remain responsible for the decisions they make concerning their lives and circumstances.

20. Ending Counselling

Clients may choose to end counselling.

Where possible, discussing the decision with the counsellor and arranging an appropriate ending session may be therapeutically beneficial.

Sakoon Counselling or a counsellor may also determine that counselling should end or that another service may be more appropriate, including where a client’s needs fall outside the counsellor’s professional competence or the scope of the service.

Where appropriate, this will be discussed with the client.

21. Professional Boundaries

The relationship between the client and counsellor is a professional therapeutic relationship.

Appropriate professional boundaries must be maintained.

Clients and counsellors should avoid relationships or interactions that may compromise the therapeutic relationship or appropriate professional boundaries.

22. Respectful Behaviour

Sakoon Counselling is committed to providing a safe and respectful service.

Abusive, threatening, discriminatory or seriously inappropriate behaviour towards a counsellor, member of staff or another person may result in the session being ended and/or counselling services being reviewed or discontinued.

23. Complaints

If you are unhappy with an aspect of the service, we encourage you to raise your concern with Sakoon Counselling.

Sakoon Counselling
104 Apple Tree Ave
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PU

Complaints Email: info@sakoon.co.uk 

Complaints will be considered in accordance with Sakoon Counselling’s complaints procedure.

24. Privacy and Data Protection

Your personal information will be processed in accordance with Sakoon Counselling’s Privacy Policy and applicable data-protection requirements.

25. Your Agreement

By completing a booking and/or making payment for a counselling session with Sakoon Counselling, you confirm that:

  • you have been given the opportunity to read this agreement;

  • you understand the session fees and duration;

  • you understand the 24-hour cancellation and rescheduling requirement;

  • you understand that the full session fee may be chargeable where insufficient notice is provided;

  • you understand the confidentiality arrangements and limits of confidentiality;

  • you understand that clinical supervision forms part of professional counselling practice;

  • you understand how counselling information may be stored and used; and

  • you agree to these terms.

Sakoon Counselling
104 Apple Tree Ave, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PU
ICO Registration Number: ZA744905

If you would like more detailed information or answers to specific queries, please feel free to email me. It is important that you feel confident and comfortable with the Terms and Conditions.

Training / CPD – please refer to course guidelines
Events – Please see individual events guidelines