Important information and Frequently Asked Questions
Important information and Frequently Asked Questions
• It is important to identify a quiet private space, protected from possible disturbance (for example away from other family members, children, pets etc.).
• Position your webcam in a way that the therapist can see you. If you are attending as part of a couple, it is important that your therapist can see you both well (ideally from the waist up) and that there is adequate lighting in front of you so that your face is not in the shadow (desk light or perhaps window).
• Try to reduce the source of light from behind you as it will make it harder for the therapist to see you. He or she will be doing the same.
• Working in therapy remotely may feel a little odd at first, but we work this way with many couples and individuals and can reassure you, it settles down quickly and
starts to feel more normal.
• Check your video and audio quality and make sure you have the e-mail link ready before the session (See Technical Guide).
Download Technical Guide here:
If you are prompted to complete the questionnaires, please do so by clicking on the link in your confirmation email and entering your unique personal identification number and your unique couple identification number. The questionnaires will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and it is important that these are completed prior to your session.
• Please read the service agreement carefully; please note that by going ahead with the session you accept and agree to the content of the service agreement.
Fee Structure
Tavistock Relationships is a charity, aiming to provide therapeutic help for people whatever their income. For UK based clients, who are seen in our general clinical
services, there is no minimum fee. The maximum fee is £180 for ongoing sessions.Your fee will be discussed with you by the therapist at your initial appointment.
Our intention is to work out a fee which takes into account your capacity to pay and your wider circumstances. We suggest as a starting point for thinking about this, a calculation of £2 per £1000 of shared gross income – so, for example, a couple who together earn £40 000 would pay approximately £80 per week. However, this is only a guide and financial constraints should not stop you from accessing our services.
We will usually ask you to pay a higher fee for your initial appointment than the fee you agree for your ongoing sessions, reflecting the longer time we spend at this point in order to make sure you get the help that you need. There is no minimum fee for this initial appointment and the maximum fee is £200. The deposit you have paid in advance of your initial appointment will be deducted from the total fee you agree for the appointment.
Please note that some specialised services may have a fixed fee, or may have a higher minimum fee.
International clients
Given the high volume of work and expenses in delivering safe clinical sessions internationally online, the fee range for international clients is £100 to £200.
Process of Payment
Once you and the therapist agree to continue with ongoing weekly counselling sessions, session fees are payable in advance of each session.
If you prefer to pay monthly in advance, please do let us know.Payment is usually made via PayPal and can be paid by credit or debit cards or by a PayPal
account. If you would like to set up a standing order for your fees please contact us on 0207 380 1960.
Cancellations and Therapist Holidays
Because your therapy is a regular weekly session which is reserved just for you, we have to charge if you miss or cancel a session. If the therapist cancels a session for any reason, of course you are not charged. The therapist will give you advance notice of any upcoming breaks or holidays they are taking, which for the most part you should expect will be at Christmas, Easter and during the summer period. If the session did not go ahead due to technical reasons not related to you the session then you would not charge and the fee paid is rolled over to the week after.
Deposits
Please note; deposits are non-refundable and non-transferrable
What kind of things will be discussed in the initial appointment?
The initial consultation is aimed at giving you space to think with your therapist about your situation and the way forward. Before the appointment it might be useful to think about your situation and how you want counselling or psychotherapy to help.
What has led you to seek help? What are the things you wish to change? Are there repeating patterns in your relationships that are causing you problems? Is online therapy the right way forward? These sorts of questions will be explored with you at your first appointment.
What happens after your Initial Appointment?
Towards the end of the initial consultation the therapist will usually discuss with you the way forward. This may be an offer to continue with ongoing weekly meetings, or sometimes the therapist may offer one more consultation meeting before making a decision about the way forward.
Sometimes, the therapist may take some time following the initial appointment to consider whether online therapy is a suitable option. If online therapy is suitable, you will receive confirmation of this after your initial meeting. Subsequent meetings will normally take place at the same time on a weekly basis. It is rarely possible to move the time or day of the session once you’ve started. Any sessions you have to cancel or miss need to be paid for at your agreed fee.
If online therapy is not considered suitable in your case, we will try to recommend more suitable options that you might then wish to explore.
Do Tavistock Relationships counsellors and psychotherapists have special training?
Yes. Tavistock Relationships is a centre of excellence for accredited training and research in couple relationships. Our counsellors and psychotherapists bring a wealth of clinical experience from a variety of related settings including social work and clinical psychology, and many have experience in working with individuals as well as couples. All our online therapists are experienced couple therapists who trained with us, and have substantial further supervised practice. Our courses offer the highest standards of professional training in counselling and psychotherapy with couples in the UK and worldwide.
Which online software do you work with?
Tavistock Relationships offers online couple and individual therapy via the ZOOM platform which is a secure, confidential and reliable video software. It will allow you to interact with the practitioner in a safe and consistent manner. Please refer to the technical guide titled Using Zoom and Accessing Your Online Therapy Meeting. Further details about Zoom’s security features are available at: https://d24cgw3uvb9a9h.cloudfront.net/static/57124/doc/ZoomSecurity-White-Paper.pdf
Representation
We value representation from couples and individuals who have finished their therapy on our Service Users’ Group. This group provides invaluable help in developing our services and policies. If you are interested in contributing in this way, please either complete the relevant box in the questionnaire, which we will send you when you finish your therapy, or let us know by contacting the Appointments Team.
If you have more questions that we have not covered above please do contact our team and we will be happy to help.