Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions explain how Secure Connections provides counselling and therapeutic support, and the arrangements that apply when you choose to work with us.

Please read these terms carefully before beginning counselling. Your individual counselling agreement will provide any additional arrangements that apply specifically to your work with Secure Connections.

1. About Secure Connections

Secure Connections provides counselling and therapeutic support for adults.

Secure Connections is operated by:

Sarah Dimond trading as Secure Connections
Email: sarahdimondtherapy@gmail.com

Professional membership/registration: UKCP 2011187252

Where applicable, Secure Connections works in accordance with the ethical framework and professional standards of UKCP.

2. Our therapeutic relationship

Counselling is a professional relationship designed to provide you with a confidential and supportive space to explore your experiences, thoughts and feelings.

Secure Connections will work with you respectfully and without judgement.

Counselling is not a friendship or social relationship. Professional boundaries help create a safe and consistent therapeutic environment for both the client and practitioner.

We will discuss and agree how we will work together at the beginning of our work, including the purpose of counselling, the frequency of sessions and arrangements for communication between sessions.

3. What counselling can and cannot provide

Counselling can provide an opportunity to explore your experiences and develop greater understanding, coping strategies and self-awareness.

However, counselling cannot guarantee a particular outcome.

The effectiveness of counselling can depend on many factors, including your individual circumstances, engagement with the process and the nature of the difficulties you are experiencing.

Secure Connections will not promise or guarantee a particular therapeutic result.

4. Appointments

Sessions will take place online.

Sessions will last 50 minutes, unless otherwise agreed.

Appointments will take place at the agreed date and time.

Where possible, regular appointments will be arranged in advance.

If you arrive late for a session, the session will normally still finish at the agreed time. This is to ensure that appointments remain fair and consistent for all clients.

5. Fees and payment

The current fee for counselling is:

£60 per session

Payment should be made before the session using bank transfer using the details provided during your first session.

Any different fee arrangements will be agreed with you in advance.

Secure Connections will provide reasonable notice of any proposed change to fees.

Any change to the agreed fee will be discussed with you before it takes effect.

6. Cancelling or rearranging an appointment

If you need to cancel or rearrange an appointment, please provide as much notice as possible.

Our standard cancellation notice is 48 hours.

Where an appointment is cancelled with less than the 48 hours notice, the full session fee will apply.

However, Secure Connections will consider individual circumstances and exceptional situations reasonably.

Cancellation charges will not be applied in a way that is unfair or disproportionate.

If Secure Connections needs to cancel an appointment, we will provide as much notice as reasonably possible and will offer an alternative appointment where appropriate.

7. Missed appointments

If you do not attend an agreed appointment without contacting us, the appointment may be treated as a missed appointment.

A charge may apply in accordance with the cancellation arrangements above.

If you repeatedly miss appointments, we will discuss this with you as part of reviewing whether counselling remains appropriate and workable.

8. Ending counselling

You are free to end counselling at any time.

Where possible, we encourage clients to discuss ending counselling during a session so that the work can be brought to an appropriate and safe conclusion.

Secure Connections may also recommend ending or pausing counselling where this is considered appropriate for your circumstances or where the service is no longer suitable for your needs.

Where we believe another service would better meet your needs, we may discuss alternative sources of support with you.

9. Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an important part of counselling.

Information you share during counselling will normally remain confidential and will not be shared with other people without your knowledge and, where appropriate, your consent.

There are, however, circumstances in which confidentiality may need to be limited.

These may include:

Where there is a serious concern about your safety.
Where there is a serious concern about the safety or welfare of a child or another person.
Where disclosure is required by law.
Where information needs to be shared to prevent serious harm.
Where information needs to be shared with appropriate professionals to support safety or care.
Where your counselling is discussed as part of professional supervision.

Where possible and appropriate, we will discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand.

There may be circumstances where this is not possible or appropriate.

The limits of confidentiality will be discussed with you as part of your individual counselling agreement.

10. Professional supervision

Secure Connections may discuss aspects of counselling work with a suitably qualified professional supervisor.

Supervision is a normal and important part of ethical counselling practice and helps ensure that practitioners work safely and effectively.

Information discussed in supervision will be handled confidentially and identifying information will normally be minimised wherever possible.

11. Contact between sessions

Contact between sessions should normally be limited to practical matters such as arranging or rearranging appointments.

Secure Connections is not an emergency or crisis service.

Messages, emails and telephone calls will not necessarily be monitored continuously and should not be relied upon where you require immediate assistance.

If you are concerned that you or someone else is at immediate risk of serious harm, please contact the appropriate emergency or crisis service.

12. Online counselling

Where counselling is provided online, sessions will take place using Zoom.

You are responsible for taking reasonable steps to ensure that you have a private and appropriate space for your session.

You should also ensure that your internet connection and device are sufficiently reliable for the session.

If a technical problem prevents the session from taking place, we will make reasonable efforts to rearrange the appointment where appropriate.

Online counselling carries some risks associated with technology and privacy. Further information about how personal information is handled is provided in our Privacy Notice.

13. Records and personal information

Secure Connections keeps appropriate professional records relating to counselling.

These records may include information discussed during sessions, appointment information and other information necessary to provide safe and appropriate counselling.

Personal information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Notice.

Our Privacy Notice explains:

What personal information we collect.
Why we collect it.
How we use it.
How it is stored and protected.
Who it may be shared with.
How long it is retained.
Your rights in relation to your personal information.

You can view our Privacy Notice here.

14. Communication by email and telephone

We may use email, telephone or text message to communicate with you about practical matters relating to your counselling.

These methods of communication are not completely risk-free, so we encourage you to avoid including highly sensitive therapeutic information in ordinary messages unless specifically agreed.

Secure Connections will take reasonable steps to protect your information.

15. Recording sessions

Counselling sessions must not be audio or video recorded by either party without prior discussion and explicit agreement.

Secure Connections will not record counselling sessions unless this has been discussed with you and there is a clear and appropriate reason for doing so.

16. Working with children and families

Secure Connections may work with adults who are supporting children who have experienced trauma.

Where information about a child or another family member is discussed during counselling, this information will be treated appropriately and in accordance with our confidentiality and safeguarding responsibilities.

These arrangements will be discussed and agreed before counselling begins.

17. Safeguarding

Secure Connections takes safeguarding seriously.

Where there is a significant concern about the safety or welfare of a child, young person or vulnerable person, information may need to be shared with an appropriate safeguarding professional or organisation.

Where possible and appropriate, this will be discussed with you first.

However, there may be circumstances where information must be shared without your consent in order to protect someone from serious harm or where there is a legal obligation to do so.

18. Complaints

Secure Connections aims to provide a safe, respectful and professional service.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service, we encourage you to raise your concern with us so that we have an opportunity to address it.

You can make a complaint by contacting:

Email: sarahdimondtherapy@gmail.com

We will acknowledge and respond to complaints within a reasonable timeframe.

If you are unable to resolve a complaint directly with Secure Connections, you may be able to raise the matter with the relevant professional or regulatory body.

Professional body: UKCP
Complaints information: https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/ukcp-members/complaints/how-to-make-a-complaint/

19. Our responsibilities

Secure Connections will aim to:

Treat you with dignity, respect and without discrimination.
Provide a safe and appropriate therapeutic environment.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Maintain confidentiality within the limits explained above.
Keep appropriate professional records.
Protect your personal information.
Work within relevant professional and ethical standards.
Be clear about fees, appointments and other practical arrangements.
Discuss significant changes to the therapeutic arrangement with you.

20. Your responsibilities

To help make counselling safe and effective, we ask that you:

Attend agreed appointments wherever possible.
Give reasonable notice when cancelling or rearranging appointments.
Treat the practitioner respectfully.
Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
Provide information that may be relevant to your safety or the safety of others.
Let us know if your circumstances change in a way that may affect the counselling work.
Make payments in accordance with the agreed arrangements.
Take reasonable steps to protect your privacy during online sessions.

21. Website information

Information provided on the Secure Connections website is intended to provide general information about our services.

Website information should not be considered a substitute for professional assessment or individual therapeutic advice.

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information on the website is accurate and up to date, but we cannot guarantee that all information will always be complete or current.

22. Website links

Our website may contain links to external websites or organisations that we believe may be useful.

Secure Connections is not responsible for the content, privacy practices or availability of external websites.

You should review the privacy and other policies of external websites before providing them with personal information.

23. Changes to these terms

We may need to update these Terms and Conditions from time to time, for example if our services, professional requirements or legal obligations change.

Where a change materially affects your counselling agreement, we will discuss the change with you before it takes effect wherever reasonably possible.

Your individual counselling agreement will take precedence where it contains specific arrangements that have been agreed with you.

24. Governing law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

25. Contact Secure Connections

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact:

Secure Connections
Sarah Dimond
Email: sarahdimondtherapy@gmail.com
Website: www.secureconnections.co.uk

Last updated: 17th August 2026