Practitioner’s name: Yvonne Lavelle
Name of private practice: Clyde Minds Matter
Contact details: www.clydemindsmatter.com
This is a binding contract between yourself ‘the Client’ also known as ‘You’ and myself Yvonne Lavelle ‘the Counsellor’ also known as ‘me’, ‘I’, ‘myself’ and applies to all sessions whether online, telephone or face to face.
Please read the information below carefully as it forms an agreement as to how we will work together and outlines my professional obligations regarding confidentiality. At our first session I will set some time aside for us to discuss this agreement and answer any queries that you may have. I will ask you to sign the agreement or gain your agreement via online to show that you understand its contents.
Membership Body I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) with Register Membership No. 415622 and as such abide by their Ethical Framework. Please see – www.bacp.co.uk/ethical-framework for more information.
Anti-discriminatory practice
I am committed to providing an anti-discriminatory service. I strive to ensure that this practice is present in all our work together.
The way that I work
There are a variety of approaches to the way practitioners work with their clients. I have been trained in a therapeutic approach called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Somatic Therapy. The method of therapy Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured, time-limited form of therapy that helps people identify and understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. By learning to challenge unhelpful thinking patterns and develop practical coping strategies, clients can manage emotional distress, change behaviours, and improve overall wellbeing. I integrate Somatic Therapy which is a body-centered approach that helps people release trauma and stress stored in the body. By combining physical awareness, breathwork, and gentle movement with talk therapy, clients can process emotions, reduce tension, and improve overall emotional and physical wellbeing.
Please see – https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy for more information on different therapeutic approaches.
Duration and notice of termination
I provide both short and long-term therapy and we can discuss the planned duration of our work together during our initial session. We will review your progress together every few sessions and I require 1 session advance notice if you wish to terminate your therapy with me. I am bound ethically to respect your wishes, however, it is something that can be discussed at your last session so that you still have support after the sessions have terminated.
Holidays
I require 1 months’ notice of any holiday arrangements. I will provide you with at least 1 months’ notice of my holidays. In both instances, client work can be given during this time so that you can continue to work on yourself in the absence of a session or sessions.
Contact between sessions
I normally work each week between days for online sessions and different days for Face to Face Sessions and I can only see you by prior appointment. I only see clients by appointment, and I am unable to correspond with clients between sessions unless you need help with CBT tools work that we have collaboratively agreed that you will carry out.
If you require my urgent professional services between sessions, I can be contacted during my normal working hours by email or text. I will endeavour to reply to you as soon as possible, but there may be a delay as these communications are not monitored constantly.
If you are unable to wait for me to reply or require emergency or urgent professional assistance outside my normal working hours, please contact NHS direct telephone 111, your GP, the emergency services 999 or the Samaritans freephone 116123.
Payment
All sessions are booked via my website at www.clydemindsmatter.com and there is a choice for Face to Face or Online Sessions via Zoom and then payments are made through the secure Visa via Stripe Payments or the Paypal section. Any other appointments booked outside of this method must be paid before your session.
Cancellation
I require 24 hours’ notice of a cancellation/re-arrangement via my website. Cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice will incur a 50% session fee. You can access my website via the Sign up/Login page and rearrange your session to another time/week or cancel a session. If you cancel/rearrange out-with 24 hours to the time of your appointment, then any purchased sessions will remain in your account and can be refunded if that is what you want to do.
I can also give you 24 hours’ notice to rearrange an appointment due to illness, death in the family or family circumstances outwith my control.
In the event that I am delayed, another mutually agreed time will be set. Unfortunately, sometimes, if a client is needing emergency help, then I am ethically bound to stay with that person in the office or online until such time as emergency services arrive or their appointed emergency contact comes to collect them. This can take hours sometimes and is something that I will discuss with you personally regarding these situations in general. If I contact emergency services or phone your GP on your behalf, I also will contact your emergency contact so that you have support.
If you arrive late, unfortunately I will not be able to extend the session as this will affect clients being seen after you. Face to Face sessions, please arrive 5 minutes before your session starts and for online, I will email you your Zoom link so that you can join the session then and it will go live at the time which you booked for. If I am delayed, then I’ll send a text to let you know that your session will begin later. If this is not agreeable to you, then a mutually agreed time can be set and I will arrange that appointment via the administrative section of my website and you will get a confirmation of the new date and time.
Letters and reports
I am willing to write any relevant letters and reports but will require your written permission for me to do this. I charge a fee for writing letters or reports, and this is based on the time it takes me to write the document. The charge will be pro rata on an appointment rate. Most letters I will write will show how many sessions you have attended, brief description of what issues you are experiencing e.g. anxiety or low mood and how may sessions you have left. A letter or report will not contain confidential information that you have shared with me in a session. This confidential information is also never written down in your notes and therefore most letters/reports will be short. Counsellors do not diagnose conditions – we form a collaborative approach with the client and a treatment plan based on that.
Supervision
All members of BACP are required to have regular supervision. My work continues to be supervised to ensure that it is safe, ethical and effective. Aspects of our work may be discussed during these sessions, but no full name will be used and identifiable details removed. My supervisor is a member of the BACP and as such they are bound by the same confidentiality rules as myself. In keeping with the requirements of BACP’s Ethical Framework I have appointed a trusted colleague to take over the administration of my practice in the event of my death or incapacity, and to deal with my appointments and destroy my notes in a confidential manner. This colleague is also a member of BACP and is bound by the same professional confidentiality rules as set out in their Ethical Framework.
Confidentiality
As a member of BACP I am bound by their Ethical Framework to protect a client’s confidentiality. Therefore, everything that we discuss is confidential except in certain circumstances, which are listed below in ‘Harm to self or others’.
Harm to self or others
I reserve the right to break confidentiality if I think that you have become a danger to yourself or other people. I will attempt to discuss this with you and my supervisor first, but this may not always be possible.
For legal and ethical reasons I am not bound by confidentiality if in good faith I think hat I can assist in the prevention or detection of a serious crime, this includes safeguarding issues regarding children under 16 or vulnerable adults, abuse, crimes regarding substantial financial gains and losses, and acts of terrorism.
Attending under the influence
I am unable to deliver effective therapy to clients who try to attend sessions under the influence of non-prescribed medication or alcohol. In such a case I would discuss the issue with you and we would agree a period of abstinence prior to the session from the non-prescribed medication or alcohol and add this period to the contract.
Record keeping confidentiality
As a member of BACP I am required to keep accurate and appropriate notes of our work together. I record my session notes securely on a laptop that is only used by me, and this is password protected at both the level of the individual document and the laptop itself. Any paper documents are locked in a robust non-portable cabinet to which only I have access. I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO number ZB937504) and any information that I keep is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 18) and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation UK-GDPR see Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk and BACP’s Privacy notice. https://www.bacp.co.uk/privacy-notice.
Complaint
If there is anything that you don’t understand about this agreement, or if you would prefer it in a different format, please let me know. Similarly, if you are not happy with any of our sessions or the standard of my work, I hope that you would feel able to talk to me about this. If you feel unable to talk to me or in the event of a serious complaint, please contact BACP’s Get help with counselling concerns service (formerly Ask Kathleen), which provides confidential telephone and email guidance on what to do if you have concerns about your therapy or therapist. Phone 01455 883300 or 07811 762114 or 07811 762256. Please leave a message or email gethelp@bacp.co.uk, or write to BACP, 15 St John’s Business Park, Lutterworth LE17 4HB.
Updated 10th November 2025
Agreement of the Terms and Conditions of this Contract is active upon ticking the box accepting these terms before you are directed to the payment page.