Policies


Last updated: May 2025

Therapist Statement

I am a member of Health and Care Professions Council HCPC & British Association of Art Therapists BAAT I practice within both organisational code of ethics for Professional Art Psychotherapists. All the codes of ethics can be found in more detail on the website of each organisation: 

Health and Care Professions Council - www.hcpc-uk.co.uk

British Association of Art Therapy BAAT - www.baat.org.co.uk

Fees

All session fees must be paid via BACS to Kim Coutts two days in advance. Fees start from £40 per session, and the exact amount will be agreed upon at the time of booking. Any prepaid sessions not used will be fully refunded.

Requests for meetings or reports are assessed on a case-by-case basis and fees start from £40 for such interventions. 

I reserve the right to apply additional charges for the administration involved in pursuing unpaid fees. Any legal or court costs incurred may also be added, depending on the amount owed.

I am acutely aware of the challenges people are facing due to the current cost of living crisis. As a result, please don't be put off if you think you might not be able to afford sessions, get in contact as there are alternative payments based on income.  I am committed to ensuring that my services remain accessible to those who may be facing financial difficulties. Please contact me to discuss.  

If the full fee is not currently affordable for you, please let me know when you make your initial enquiry so we can discuss this prior to our first meeting. I keep a number of appointments for clients who require a concessionary rate, but these may not always be available. 

Contracting

During your initial session, I will explain my therapeutic approach and relevant policies. This is also your opportunity to decide whether you'd like to proceed with therapy. If we agree to work together, you will receive:

  • A therapeutic agreement

  • Contact and holiday notice forms

These should be signed and returned within the agreed timeframe. I will confirm your therapy start date upon receipt of your signed forms and payment.

Referrals

In certain cases, it may be appropriate to refer you to another therapist, counsellor, or healthcare provider. Any referral will be discussed with you beforehand.

Please note that I reserve the right to decline a request for therapy without giving a reason. In such cases, any unused payments will be refunded in full.

Supervision

In line with HCPC and BAAT guidelines, I am required to attend regular clinical supervision. This is part of my commitment to practicing safely and ethically, and ensures you receive the highest quality of care.

Insurance:

I hold professional liability insurance. I also have PVG membership.  

Confidentiality

This is a very important aspect of the therapeutic relationship. Everything that is discussed in the session is kept in the strictest confidence.

As a member of HCPC & BAAT it is mandatory for me to attend regular supervision to discuss my therapeutic work and the images created as part of Best Practice. I do not disclose personal information that would enable clients to be identified. Data protection and client confidentiality is paramount at all times.

I have a duty of care to my clients therefore if I believe that you intend to harm yourself or others, I would be required to break confidentiality by informing  your emergency contact or doctor, or in serious cases the Police, emergency services, or other appropriate third party. Wherever possible, and if it is considered appropriate, I would discuss the issues with you first.

I keep private information and some brief notes following a session, along with any images a client may make which will be kept securely stored. All personal information and images will be kept in accordance with The General Data Protection Regulations. I am registered with the the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) 

Privacy & Data Protection

As part of our work together, you agree to provide the contact details of your GP and the location from which you’ll be attending therapy (for online or telephone sessions). Please inform me of any changes to this information. These details will only be used in emergency situations.

Your personal data is collected solely for the purpose of delivering therapy. You may withdraw your consent at any time. To learn more about your rights, please refer to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.

(GDPR) is an EU regulation which aims to improve privacy and give people greater control over their personal information and how it is used. Below, I explain how I will handle and use the personal data I hold.

Information I hold

Personal data is information that can identify you. I collect the following:

  • Biographical information - Clients name, address and date of birth

  • Clients contact details - postal address, email address and phone number.

  • Emergency contact details - address, email address and phone number

  • Subsequently I keep brief, anonymised session notes.

Processing clients personal data

This means collecting, storing, using, sharing and deleting your personal information. I only collect information that is essential for clinical or legal reasons.

Requesting to see your data

Clients are able to ask for a copy of the information I hold about them, free of charge. You would need to ask for this information in writing and I aim to provide it in digital form, within 28 days of receiving your request.

What do I do with your data?

  • The information you give me when we contract to work together is stored securely as a password protected digital file, email or paper record kept in a locked cabinet.

  • Your name, email address and phone number are stored securely on my work phone and desktop computer. This is removed 1 month after our work together has come to an end.

  • I will use your phone number, email or home address to contact you regarding appointments and to reply to you if you make contact with me.

  • Anonymised session notes are stored on secure, password protected cloud storage or in a locked cabinet. I keep session notes for 7 years. If the client is under 18, notes will be kept for 7 years after their 18th birthday, in order to be able to answer a complaint if one were raised.

  • I will not share your data with a third party unless I have your permission or, if I am concerned about your safety or the safety of someone else; or if obliged to by a court of law.

  • During the course of our work, if I become suddenly ill and unable to contact you, I would share your name and phone number with my professional executor who would contact you, in line with good practice in the profession. 

  • I will inform you within 72 hours if there has been any breach of your data.

Contact

My email address is hello@kimcouttsartherapy.co.uk and my contact telephone number is 07305361362. I will invite you to use the mobile phone number/texting or email as a way of contact for arranging and re-scheduling appointments etc. Please use this if needed rather than contacting the Technology House Office. Contact is during office hours only. Please be specific which telephone number you wish me to use for contact and indicate whether it is acceptable to leave a message.

Meetings and reports

If I am needed to attend meetings only general information about a client’s progress will be shared. Any reports needed will be written, on request, by myself.

Attendance

Consistent attendance is vital for effective therapy. If you miss two consecutive sessions without making contact, I may not be able to hold your space, and missed sessions will still be charged.

If you arrive late, your session will still end at the scheduled time.

Ending 

You are free to end therapy at any time as there is no fixed time for psychotherapy.  I would recommend that we have 2 to 3 sessions at the end to work through an ending process as endings in therapy work best when they are thought through together and will play out differently for each individual.

I will keep all art work done within the sessions until the end of our work together. The clients can choose if they would like to keep their work. If working online clients will be asked to keep their own work, dated and safe. Any artwork that is not wanted in my possession I will dispose of in a confidential way.

Cancellation of sessions

I understand that life can get in the way sometimes and emergencies happen which may mean you need to miss or cancel sessions.  I ask that you allow 48 hours notice of any cancellations. Missed sessions or cancellations made with less notice would need to be charged at the full rate of the session. If an emergency, illness, or personal reason arises within the 48 hours please contact me to discuss the fee and if possible I will try to find an alternative day and time for you that week, however this cannot be guaranteed. If I, the therapist, miss a session it will be added onto the end date.

If any advanced payments are received and the therapy ends before the finish date these payments will be reimbursed to source.

Contact between sessions?

I cannot guarantee to be available if you need to speak to me urgently between sessions. If you need a reply before our next scheduled session, please state this clearly in your message. Please note that outside of my normal working hours I might not check my emails or phone.  If you are in crisis there are organisations that can provide assistance: 

  • Call 999 for emergency support

  • Contact your GP or 111

  • Reach out to listening services, staffed 24/7 by trained volunteers. 

  • Samaritans phone service (call 116 123)

  • Samaritans email service (jo@samaritans.org)

Ethics and complaints

As a member of both the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), I follow their ethical guidelines and am subject to their formal complaints procedures.

I abide by HCPC’s Ethical Framework for good practice.Therapy is a relational process, and I encourage open communication if any concerns arise. Please feel free to raise issues during our sessions so we can work through them together.

If you are unhappy with any element of my work, please raise this with me in the first instance, so that we can find a mutual solution. If you are still unhappy, you should contact HCPC, as they are responsible for issues of professional conduct: www.hcpc-uk.org.

Supporting a client through Therapy

The following ways can help support a client through therapy and increase its effectiveness;

Arrive on time to the agreed session, (unplanned missed sessions can disrupt the process).

Therapy sessions are a confidential space for the client. The therapy sessions are not secret; the client is free to talk about their sessions to anyone they choose. 

To follow agreed approaches and strategies proposed within the sessions. 

If you have any concerns or questions, ask your therapist, Kim Coutts.

Online/remote working

Video

I will always ask for the clients location for emergency use only. For video calling, I use Zoom, which is password protected and encrypted

In order to use Zoom you will need to have access to the Zoom App on your laptop, phone or PC. Please ensure this is set up before our session start - you can also test mic and audio ahead of time. I will send you an invitation by email to our scheduled Zoom sessions. The email will contain a link which will take you our meeting. Please ensure you have a good internet or data connection to ensure call quality. If the connection drops out, I suggest we also have phones available as backups and I will call you to continue the session in this case. Zoom consultations must not be audio or video recorded, I will maintain records of our sessions as normal.

Please make sure, where possible, you have art materials and paper available. If any art making is made we will share them over the screen. All making should be dated and kept safe. Making can also be shared on WhatsApp.

Phone  

I will always ask for the clients location for emergency use only. For phone sessions, I will call you at the session start time. I will be using a mobile phone.  If the connection drops out, then we can move to WhatsApp (which is encrypted) to troubleshoot or wrap up the session by text. We would not work with therapeutic material via text, it would just be for administrative or technical communication.

Please make sure, where possible, you have art materials and paper available. If any art making is made we will share them over WhatsApp. All making should be dated and kept safe. 

Online/remote working Privacy

I will be working in a private, confidential room at home, where we won’t be overheard or disturbed. I encourage a space to be found that is private and interruption-free so that we can feel safe to talk.

As we are communicating over the internet, there is an increased risk to security and confidentiality when using Zoom rather than face to face, so please limit identifying personal details when using this medium, for e.g. first names only.