Terms and Conditions
Last updated: [DATE]
These terms set out the basis on which Dr Ali Cliffe provides psychotherapy services, and the basis on which you use this website. Please read them alongside the Privacy Policy.
1. About me
Dr Ali Cliffe is a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist based in Bath, registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP registration 6901). I am [a sole trader / trading as COMPANY NAME, company number NUMBER].
Email: alison_cliffe@icloud.com
Telephone: 07505 586020
I hold professional indemnity insurance with [INSURER] and am subject to the ACP Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.
2. Who I work with
I offer psychoanalytic psychotherapy to babies, children, teenagers and young adults up to the age of 25, and support to parents and carers. For infants and younger children, typically under five, work usually takes place alongside a parent or primary caregiver.
I am not able to offer a service where the presenting need falls outside my competence or where a different level of care is required. If that is the case, I will say so at the earliest point and, where I can, suggest alternatives.
3. This website
The content of this website is provided for general information about my practice. It does not constitute clinical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it should not be relied on as a substitute for a consultation. No therapeutic relationship is created by using this website or by sending an enquiry.
While I take care to keep the site accurate and up to date, I give no warranty that it is complete or error free. All content, including text and images, is owned by me or used under licence, and may not be reproduced without permission.
4. Starting work together
Initial contact. An enquiry does not commit either of us to anything. I will normally offer a short conversation to understand what is being asked for and whether I am the right person to help.
Assessment. Work usually begins with an assessment of [NUMBER] meetings, which may include meetings with parents or carers as well as with the child or young person. At the end of the assessment I will share my thinking and recommend a way forward. Either of us may decide at that point not to continue.
Agreement to treatment. If we go ahead, we will agree the frequency, day and time of sessions. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy typically involves regular sessions at the same time each week, and consistency is an important part of how the work does its job.
5. Consent, and who decides
For a young person under 16, I require the consent of a person with parental responsibility before beginning work. Where parental responsibility is shared, I ask that both parents are informed, and I may ask both to consent.
A young person aged 16 or over, and a younger person assessed as having sufficient understanding, can consent to their own treatment. In practice I will always seek the young person's own agreement to the work, whatever their age, because therapy that is imposed rarely helps.
Where parents are separated, in dispute, or where there are ongoing legal proceedings concerning the child, please tell me before we begin. See also section 12.
6. Sessions
Sessions last [50 minutes] and take place at [ADDRESS OR LOCATION] on the agreed day and time. [Online sessions are / are not] offered. Where sessions are held online, you are responsible for arranging a private, quiet space and a suitable internet connection.
I ask that children and young people under [AGE] are brought to and collected from sessions by a responsible adult, who should remain [on the premises / contactable] throughout.
7. Fees and payment
Assessment session: £[AMOUNT]
Therapy session: £[AMOUNT]
Parent or carer meeting: £[AMOUNT]
Written reports, letters and professional meetings: £[AMOUNT] per hour, or as agreed in advance
Fees are invoiced [weekly / monthly in arrears] and payable within [NUMBER] days by bank transfer. Fees are reviewed annually, and I will give at least [one month's] notice of any change.
I am not registered for VAT. [Amend if this is not the case.]
8. Cancellations, missed sessions and breaks
Your session time is reserved for you and is not offered to anyone else. For that reason:
Sessions cancelled with less than [NUMBER] days' notice are charged in full.
Sessions missed without notice are charged in full.
Sessions cancelled with more than [NUMBER] days' notice are [not charged / charged at NUMBER per cent].
Where possible I will offer an alternative time in the same week, but I cannot guarantee one.
This applies equally to absence through illness and holidays. I appreciate this can feel hard, and it is standard practice in psychotherapy: the reliability of the arrangement is part of the treatment.
I take breaks at [Christmas, Easter and during the summer], and will give you as much notice as I can. You are not charged for sessions during my planned breaks.
If I need to cancel a session at short notice, you will not be charged, and I will offer an alternative time where I can.
9. Ending the work
Endings matter in psychotherapy, and an ending that is planned and worked through is part of the treatment rather than an administrative step. I ask for [NUMBER weeks'] notice so that we can use that time properly.
You are free to end the work at any time. Fees remain payable for any sessions within the notice period.
I may need to end or pause the work if it is no longer clinically appropriate, if fees remain unpaid after [NUMBER] reminders, or if the therapeutic frame cannot be maintained. I will discuss this with you and, where appropriate, help you find alternative support.
10. Confidentiality
What a child or young person brings to their sessions is confidential. I will agree with you at the outset what will and will not be shared with parents or carers, and this is usually a general sense of how the work is going rather than the detail of what is said.
Confidentiality is not absolute. I may share information without consent where:
I believe a child or young person is at risk of significant harm
I believe someone else is at risk of serious harm
There is an immediate risk to life
I am required to do so by a court order or other legal obligation
Wherever it is safe and appropriate, I will discuss this with you first. My work is also discussed in regular clinical supervision, as required by the ACP. Full detail on how information is handled is set out in the Privacy Policy.
11. Contact between sessions
I check messages during working hours and will normally respond within [NUMBER] working days. Email and text are not secure and are not suitable for clinical content or urgent matters.
I do not provide an emergency or crisis service. If you or your child are in crisis or at immediate risk:
Contact your GP or NHS 111
Call 999 or attend your nearest Accident and Emergency department
Samaritans, free, 24 hours a day, on 116 123
Shout, text SHOUT to 85258
Papyrus HOPELINE247, for under 35s, on 0800 068 4141
12. Reports, legal proceedings and third parties
I do not undertake expert witness work, and I do not provide assessments or reports for the purpose of legal or family court proceedings. My role is therapeutic. Where a therapy record or report is required by a court, I will comply with any lawful order, and I will tell you where I am able to.
Requests for letters or reports to schools, GPs or other services are considered on a case by case basis, are charged at the rate in section 7, and require appropriate consent.
13. Liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
Subject to that, I am not liable for indirect or consequential loss, and my total liability is limited to the amount covered by my professional indemnity insurance. Psychotherapy is not an exact science and no particular outcome can be guaranteed.
14. Concerns and complaints
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the work, please raise it with me directly so that we can think about it together. Difficulties of this kind are often useful material for the therapy itself.
If a concern cannot be resolved, you may contact the Association of Child Psychotherapists, which operates a formal complaints procedure: childpsychotherapy.org.uk.
15. General
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
I may update these terms from time to time. The current version is always published on this page. For existing clients, I will give notice of any material change.