Before you talk to YOUR Confidant to understand, heal and experience the self, the following needs to be understood & agreed upon.
Counselling is a relationship between a Counsellor and Counselee which is unique, intimate, highly personal, and at the same time, a contract. As a Counselee, you have certain rights and responsibilities that are important for you to understand. There are also legal limitations to those rights that you should be aware of. Your counsellor has corresponding responsibilities to you. This agreement is an effort to make those rights and responsibilities clear.
Goals of Counselling There can be many goals for the counselling relationship. Some of these will be long term goals such as improving the quality of your life, learning to live with mindfulness and self-actualization. Others may be more immediate goals such as decreasing anxiety and depression symptoms, developing healthy relationships, changing behaviour or decreasing/ending drug use. Whatever the goals for counselling, they will be set by the Counselees according to what they want to work on. The counsellor may make suggestions on how to reach that goal but you decide where you want to go and what you would like to be different for yourself and your life.
Counsellors are not qualified or permitted to prescribe medication. Should it be determined, that medication may be useful or necessary in treatment, a referral to a qualified doctor or psychiatrist will be provided.
Risks/Benefits of Counselling
Counselling is an intensely personal process which can bring unpleasant memories or emotions to the surface so that healing may happen. There are no guarantees that counselling will work for you or “cure” problems in a specific way. Progress may happen slowly, and sometimes we feel things more intensely during that progress. Counselling requires a very active effort on your part. In order to be most successful, you will have to work on things we discuss you should do outside of sessions.
Appointments will ordinarily be approximately 45 minutes in duration, once or twice per week at a time we agree on, although some sessions may be more or less frequent as needed. The time scheduled for your appointment is assigned to you and you alone. If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, you are asked to provide with 24 hours’ notice, so that it will be available for someone else. In addition, you are responsible for coming to your session on time; if you are late, your appointment will still need to end on time. Please refrain from drinking alcohol or using drugs that would cause you to be intoxicated at the time of your session. If the Counsellor suspects the Counselee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the session will be terminated immediately.
Confidentiality Your presence and all that is discussed in session or during the course of phone conversations is held in strict confidence. No information will be given out without prior expressed written consent from you. The Counsellor is required by law to disclose otherwise confidential information to the appropriate authorities when; 1) the Counsellor hears of or suspects child abuse, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse, 2) the Counselee is thought to be in danger of harming him/her self, 3) when the Counselee threatens serious harm to someone else or 4) when required by Court Order. Parents are encouraged to inquire about their child’s progress. In such cases, and with the involvement of the minor who holds the privilege of confidentiality, general trends, observations, concerns and verification of attendance will be discussed as well as recommendations for further treatment.
There are some limitations to confidentiality to which you need to be aware. Your counsellor may consult with a supervisor or other professional counsellor in order to give you the best service. In the event that your counsellor consults with another counsellor, no identifying information such as your name would be released. If you anticipate becoming involved in a court case, we recommend that we discuss this fully before you waive your right to confidentiality. If your case requires my participation, you will be expected to pay for the professional time required.
Confidentiality and Group Therapy The nature of group counselling makes it difficult to guarantee confidentiality. If you choose to participate in group therapy, be aware that your counsellor cannot guarantee that other group members will maintain your confidentiality. However, your counsellor will make every effort to maintain your confidentiality by reminding group members frequently of the importance of keeping what is said in group confidential. Your counsellor also has the right to remove any group member from the group should s/he discover that a group member has violated the confidentiality rule.
Record Keeping Your counsellor may keep records of your counselling sessions and a treatment plan which includes goals for your counselling. These records are kept to ensure a direction to your sessions and continuity in service. They will not be shared except with respect to the limits to confidentiality discussed in the Confidentiality section.
Professional Fees The standard fees are ₹500/- for a session of 45mins. Fees are subject to change at counsellor’s discretion.
Termination The process may be terminated by the Counsellor at any time if it feels the relationship is no longer productive. This includes but is not limited to situations such as; client fee is not paid, two or more consecutive sessions are missed or cancelled, client’s attendance becomes inconsistent or if the client is not progressing in therapy. In cases where the Counsellor has terminated treatment, an explanation as well as referrals will be provided. The counselling relationship may also be terminated by the client at any time.