Group Therapy Agreement
This agreement sets out the framework for participating in group therapy with Priscila Santos, MBACP. Practical arrangements, including session dates, times, location, fees and payment schedule, will be provided separately before the group begins.
Please read this agreement carefully. You will have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss any concerns before confirming your participation.
The group
Group therapy offers an opportunity to explore personal and relational experiences alongside others within a confidential therapeutic setting.
The group may involve reflecting on experiences outside the group as well as noticing what happens between participants during sessions. This may include how you experience closeness, difference, vulnerability, support, boundaries, disagreement and being seen by others.
Where the group is offered as a closed group, membership remains consistent once the group has begun and new participants will not normally join during the programme.
Before joining
Before joining the group, you will have an individual conversation with me. This provides an opportunity to discuss what you are looking for, ask questions about the group and consider together whether group therapy is appropriate for you at this time.
Participation in the group will be confirmed following this conversation.
Attendance and commitment
Regular attendance is important in group therapy. Continuity helps participants develop trust and allows the therapeutic work of the group to develop over time.
If you are unable to attend a session, please let me know as soon as reasonably possible.
Your place is reserved for you throughout the agreed programme. Missed sessions are therefore normally payable and cannot be transferred to another person.
If you are considering leaving the group before the agreed ending, I encourage you to discuss this with me first where possible. Endings can form an important part of therapeutic work, both for you and for the other members of the group.
Fees, payment and cancellation
The fee and payment arrangements for the group will be provided separately before your place is confirmed.
Where a deposit is required, this will form part of the total agreed fee.
If you decide not to join the group after reserving a place, please let me know as soon as possible. Any refund of payments already made will depend on the notice given, whether the place can reasonably be offered to another participant, and any applicable consumer rights.
Once the group has started, your place is reserved for you for the duration of the agreed programme. You therefore remain responsible for the agreed fee, including sessions you do not attend or if you choose to leave the group before the planned ending.
If I need to cancel a session, you will not be charged for a session that is not provided. Where appropriate, the session may instead be rescheduled so that the agreed programme can be completed.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is particularly important in group therapy.
I will treat information you share as confidential within the normal professional, ethical and legal limits of counselling.
Participants are also expected to protect the privacy of everyone in the group. This means not sharing outside the group another participant's identity, personal circumstances, experiences or anything they have disclosed during a session.
While all participants are asked to agree to these boundaries, I cannot guarantee the actions of other group members. This is an important difference between individual and group therapy and will be discussed before the group begins.
Limits of confidentiality
There may be circumstances in which confidentiality needs to be broken, particularly where there is a serious concern about your safety or the safety of another person, where safeguarding responsibilities apply, or where disclosure is required by law.
Where possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss this with you first.
My clinical work is discussed within professional supervision. Information is shared only as necessary for safe and ethical practice, and identifying details are avoided wherever possible.
Privacy outside the group
Participants may recognise or encounter one another outside the therapeutic setting.
If this happens, please respect the other person's privacy and allow them to decide whether they wish to acknowledge you.
You are not expected to have contact with other participants outside the group. If participants independently choose to exchange contact details or communicate outside sessions, this is a personal arrangement and does not form part of the therapy.
No participant should feel pressured to share personal contact details or communicate outside the group.
Social media and recording
Sessions must not be photographed, filmed or recorded.
Information about other participants must not be shared on social media, messaging groups or other online spaces, even where names are not included.
Respect within the group
Group therapy can involve different opinions, experiences and emotional responses.
Participants are asked to communicate with respect and to allow space for difference. Disagreement can be part of therapeutic work, but threatening, abusive, discriminatory or intimidating behaviour is not acceptable.
The group is not expected to feel comfortable at all times. Moments of uncertainty, difference and vulnerability may form part of the therapeutic process. The intention is to create a space that is safe enough for these experiences to be explored with care and respect.
If I have concerns that continued participation may not be appropriate or safe for you or for the group as a whole, I will discuss this with you and, where appropriate, consider alternative sources of support.
Support outside sessions
Group therapy is not an emergency or crisis service.
If you require urgent mental health support or believe that you or another person is in immediate danger, please contact an appropriate emergency or crisis service rather than waiting for the next group session.
Contact with me between sessions should normally be limited to practical matters relating to your attendance or participation.
Personal information and records
I keep appropriate confidential records in accordance with professional, ethical and data protection requirements.
Further information about how your personal information is collected, used, stored and retained can be found in the Privacy Notice on my website.
Professional practice
I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP) and work in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.
I receive regular clinical supervision as part of my professional practice.
Concerns and complaints
If you have concerns about your experience of the group or about my work, I encourage you to discuss these with me where possible so that we have an opportunity to address them.
If the matter cannot be resolved, information about the BACP complaints procedure is available through the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Your agreement
By joining group therapy, you confirm that you have read and understood this agreement and have had the opportunity to ask questions before participating.
You agree to respect the confidentiality and privacy of other participants and understand the commitment involved in taking a place within a group therapy.