Contract / terms
Welcome! Thank you for choosing to work with me.
Please read this agreement before our first session. You can ask me any questions about it at any time during our work together.
Quick Highlights – What You Need to Know
• 🐾 Dogs: I work from home and have two gentle small dogs who are usually around. If you prefer not to meet dogs, online sessions are available.
• 🔁 Cancellations: Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice are normally charged in full. Exceptions may be made at my discretion in genuinely exceptional and unavoidable circumstances.
• 🔒 Confidentiality: Sessions are confidential unless there is serious risk to yourself, others, or animals, or where I am legally required to share information. Where possible, I will aim to discuss this with you first.
• 💬 Therapy Style: I work in a warm, practical, flexible way and draw upon counselling, EFT, mindfulness, therapeutic and life coaching, breathwork, somatic approaches, gentle movement, yin yoga, psychoeducation, and creative techniques, depending on your needs, choices and preferences.
• ✅ Additional Support: I facilitate women's circles, workshops, retreats and offer other resources which may complement therapy. Please ask if you are interested.
About Me
I offer a safe, flexible space for reflection, healing, growth and change.
I specialise in supporting women, children and young people and use a range of therapeutic approaches very much tailored to your individual needs. I am a qualified counsellor, EFT practitioner, mindfulness and yin yoga teacher, with over 30 years' experience working with children, young people, families and adults.
I am an accredited and registered member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS: NCS23-00264), fully insured, enhanced DBS checked, and registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO: ZB844611).
I also have lived experience of complex trauma, ADHD and chronic fatigue, which clients tell me leads to genuinely experienced insight, understanding and compassion within my work.
We will regularly review our work together and collaborate towards the outcomes that matter most to you. Clients often experience impact and results within as little as 3 sessions though all clients are different and complex issues usually require longer term work.
Sessions, Fees & Cancellations
• Sessions last 50 minutes and usually take place weekly. Sessions may be face-to-face, online, by telephone, or a combination of these. Fees are £70 for face-to-face or hybrid sessions and £65 for only online or telephone-only sessions.
• Payment by BACS is due 24 hours before your appointment. Cash payments are accepted at the start of the session. Bank details are available on request.
• Any fee increases will be communicated with a minimum of four weeks' notice. These are usually annually.
• Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice will normally be charged in full (100% of the session fee). Exceptions may be made at my discretion in genuinely exceptional and unavoidable circumstances.
• More than three missed appointments, repeated short-notice cancellations, or extended breaks in therapy without agreement may result in therapy ending. You are always welcome to enquire about returning in the future.
Confidentiality & Records
• Sessions are confidential except where there is a risk of serious harm to yourself, another person or an animal, or where disclosure is required by law. I may discuss aspects of my work anonymously within professional supervision, peer supervision, with my insurer, professional body, or legal authorities where appropriate.
• If confidentiality needs to be breached, I will aim to discuss this with you first where it is safe and appropriate to do so.
• Recording of sessions by either party is not permitted without prior written agreement from both therapist and client. Neither may use any recording or share any recording without written permission.
• I sometimes keep brief notes to support our work together. Records are stored securely for seven years following the end of therapy, or until a child reaches the age of 25 where legally required.
• Clients are asked to provide current GP and emergency contact details and notify me if these change.
• Copies of your records may be requested, subject to proof of identity and payment of an administrative fee equivalent to one session fee.
• CCTV is present at entrances and within the garden for safety and security purposes. Please refer to my Privacy Policy, available on my website, for further information.
• In the event of my serious illness or death, my clinical supervisor may contact you, arrange onward referral where appropriate, and securely manage records in accordance with legal, ethical, insurance and GDPR requirements.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• I sometimes use AI tools to support administrative and creative aspects of my work, such as refining emails, generating ideas, developing resources, workshops, psychoeducational materials, or checking spelling and grammar. AI supports my work but does not lead it. All content is reviewed, adapted and approved by me before use.
• I retain full professional responsibility for all services I provide. AI systems are never used to make clinical decisions, undertake risk assessments, replace professional judgement, or provide therapy on my behalf. Identifiable client information is never entered into AI systems.
• Some clients choose to use AI-based chat tools or apps for personal support. These systems do not know you as a person over time, do not hold a professional duty of care, and may provide inaccurate information whilst sounding confident. Information shared with them may be stored or processed outside of my control and outside the confidentiality protections offered within therapy.
• If you use AI tools for personal support, you are warmly invited to discuss this within our work together so we can reflect on any benefits, concerns or questions that arise.
Limitations & Breaks
• I usually take one week off every 5–6 weeks, along with longer breaks over Christmas, Easter and Summer. Online sessions may occasionally be offered during these periods where continuing therapy is considered beneficial, but this is entirely optional.
• Counselling is not a crisis service and cannot provide emergency support between sessions. For urgent support please contact: your GP; Samaritans: 116123; Worcestershire Crisis Line: 0808 196 9127; Shropshire Mental Health Helpline: 0808 196 4501; Text SHOUT to 85258 or call 999 in an emergency or if you believe your life is at immediate risk.
• Reasonable steps are taken to ensure the privacy and security of online sessions. However, no online platform, internet connection or electronic communication system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please ensure you use encrypted texts or email or platforms and perhaps protect your phone or device further.
Keeping You Safe
• We may create a personalised safety plan together, or I can provide resources to help you create one independently.
• Therapy can sometimes bring difficult emotions to the surface. While I work carefully and collaboratively to minimise overwhelm, you remain responsible for your choices and actions between sessions. I encourage open communication on a weekly basis and sometimes in between sessions, with agreement, about how you are feeling so that we can work safely and effectively together.
• If I believe you or someone else is at immediate risk of serious harm, I may contact emergency services, safeguarding agencies or your GP, with or without your consent if necessary. For clients under 18, I may contact a parent or guardian where safeguarding concerns arise, although I will seek to discuss this with you first wherever appropriate.
• Emergency contact details will only be used in the event of a medical emergency.
Ending Therapy
• Following our first three sessions, we will review together whether continuing therapy feels beneficial and appropriate.
• You may end therapy at any time without further cost or obligation. A final session is recommended but entirely optional. I may end therapy due to unpaid fees, repeated missed appointments, inappropriate behaviour, conflicts of interest, professional limitations, or ethical concerns. In some circumstances I may be unable to fully explain my reasons if doing so would compromise confidentiality, safety, professional boundaries or ethical obligations. Where appropriate and possible, I may offer onward referral options.
Feedback & Complaints
• Feedback is welcomed, particularly during the first three sessions when we review whether we are a good fit to continue working together. It is a good opportunity to honestly express what is working well and not so well and this is always helpful and welcomed.
• If you feel I have caused deliberate harm and your concerns remain unresolved after raising them directly with me, you may contact NCPS (NCS23-00264) regarding their formal complaints procedure. Please give me the opportunity to respond to your concerns in writing first.
• At the end of therapy, you may be invited to provide feedback about your experience. Participation is entirely voluntary and there is no obligation to do so.
Your Responsibilities
• Attend sessions regularly and on time. Give as much notice as possible if you need to cancel.
• Pay fees at least 24 hours in advance of a session.
• Use a private, uninterrupted space for online sessions and ensure you have a reliable internet connection.
• Limit contact outside sessions to administrative matters or any therapeutic contact specifically agreed between us.
• Be open and honest in sessions and share relevant medical or risk-related information so that I can support you safely. Give any changes you wish after our third session. Inform me if your contact details, GP details, emergency contact details or significant circumstances change.
• Accept that therapy is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have concerns about your physical or mental health, please contact your GP or another appropriate healthcare professional.
Social Media & Online Presence
• To maintain professional boundaries, I do not accept personal friend requests or personal social media connections from clients. Clients are welcome to follow or engage with my public business pages and professional content if they wish.
About My Dogs
• I work from home with two friendly dogs. If you prefer no contact with dogs, or have allergies, please let me know and I can offer online sessions.
• While I manage the space carefully, I cannot accept responsibility for accidental contact, trips, falls, or allergic reactions.
Please tick:
[ ] Happy to visit with dogs present
[ ] Prefer dogs not to be present
Consent & Signatures
By signing this agreement, you confirm that you have read and understood these terms and accept responsibility for your own decisions and actions.
Please keep a copy for your records.
Therapist: Dionne Powell
Date: As per email contract sent
Client: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________
Under-18s – Parent/Guardian Consent
✔ I consent for my child to work with Dionne Powell.
✔ I understand I remain on site where my child is under 16 years of age.
✔ My child understands the different options available and agrees to participate in counselling.
✔ I confirm that I have legal authority to provide consent and that no additional signature is required.
Parent/Guardian: ______________________
Date: ________________________________