How I Work

Ethical practice

Ethical practice is at the heart of how I work.

It means practising with integrity, respect and responsibility, keeping your wellbeing, dignity and autonomy at the centre of our work together.

It includes maintaining professional boundaries, respecting confidentiality, working within my competence, protecting your privacy and being mindful of issues such as equality, diversity and difference.

As a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), I work in accordance with the ethical frameworks and professional standards of both organisations.

I regularly reflect on my practice, undertake continuing professional development (CPD) and engage in supervision to ensure that my work remains safe, thoughtful, accountable and ethically grounded.

Please see below for links to the ethical frameworks of each organisation.

https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions/

https://ncps.com/about-us/code-of-ethics

Notes, Privacy and Confidentiality.

To support our work together, I keep brief professional notes about our sessions. These help me to reflect on themes and patterns, maintain continuity between sessions and ensure I am working safely and appropriately.

I only store information that is relevant and necessary for providing counselling, and I take care to keep your personal information secure and confidential.

I handle your information and notes in accordance with UK Data Protection legislation and relevant guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

There are some legal and ethical circumstances in which confidentiality my need to be broken, such as where there is a serious and immediate concern about your safety or the safety of someone else, or where disclosure is required by law. I will always aim to discuss this with you wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so.

For more detailed information about what information I collect, why I collect it, how it is stored and your rights in relation to your personal data, please see my Privacy Notice.

Supervision

Supervision is an important part of ethical and responsible counselling practice.

It gives me a confidential, professional space to reflect on my work, consider the needs and wellbeing of my clients, explore any challenges that arise and ensure that I am practising safely and within my competence.

Supervision also helps me to recognise my own responses and assumptions, develop my practice and continue learning.

I undertake regular professional supervision in accordance with the requirements of my professional memberships and ethical frameworks.

I may discuss aspects of our work with my professional supervisor. Where information about you is discussed, I take care to protect your anonymity and only share information that is relevant and necessary for supervision.

The areas of our work that I discuss are appropriate and necessary to support safe and ethical practice.

If you have a complaint

If you have any concerns about your counselling or the service I provide, I hope that you will feel able to talk to me about them. I will listen to your concerns openly and respectfully, and will do my best to understand what has gone wrong and, where possible, work with you to resolve it.

If you do not feel able to raise your concern with me, or if you remain concerned after speaking with me, you can also contact either of my professional membership organisations, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). Both organisations have procedures for concerns about the professional conduct and practice of their members. Any complaint made to BACP or NCPS will be considered in accordance with their own procedures and professional standards.

https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-us/protecting-the-public/professional-conduct/

https://ncps.com/complaints/complaints-concerns-procedure

If your concern relates specifically to how I have handled your personal information, you can also raise the matter with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Further information about your data protection rights and how to contact the ICO

can be found in my Privacy Notice.