At Helpspace, we respect the autonomy of your private practice. Once you have connected with the client through Helpspace, the way that you conduct your sessions is, of course, up to you and your client.

As a counsellor, you will naturally have a number of organisational and therapeutic points that you discuss with every client during their Initial Session, such as confidentiality, expectations, and boundaries.

During the initial session with your Helpspace clients, we would also ask you to remind your them of the following aspects, which are unique to Helpspace. Your client will already have received the following information in their welcome email. However, since it's rather a lot to take in, it is necessary to re-iterate these points in the first session.

Booking follow-up sessions

While your new client booked their Initial Exploratory Session themselves on www.helpspace.org.uk, follow-up sessions can only be booked by you, their therapist. This is by design, to protect your professional boundaries. You will typically do this at the end of the previous session, in consultation with your client. Some clients may assume that follow-up sessions can be booked in the same manner as their Initial Session. To avoid confusion, It's helpful to remind them that this is not the case.

Cancellations

Remind your client that, if necessary, they can easily cancel a session in their Helpspace account. Clients will not be charged if they cancel greater than 48 hours in advance of the session start time. Sessions cancelled after this time will be charged in full.

It is better to avoid cancelling a session for a client on the client's behalf. Instead, encourage the client to cancel their own session in their Helpspace account. 

As a therapist, you can, of course, also cancel a session. However, please reserve this option for when YOU need to cancel, for example, in case of an emergency, or sudden illness. 

Payments and refunds

Clarify that all payments and refunds are processed through Helpspace, and are not managed by the therapist. The process is fully automated and the Helpspace policies with regard to payments and refunds apply. Remind your client that their payment method on record will be charged 48 hours in advance of the session start time for follow-up sessions. This streamlined process simplifies financial transactions for both parties. This means that you can focus on therapy with clients, rather than fees.

Technical support

Highlight that Helpspace provides technical support to assist with any platform-related issues the client may encounter during the sessions.