Frequently Asked Questions

Please read the information below carefully as it forms an agreement about how we will work together. At our first consultation I will set some time aside for us to discuss this agreement and answer any questions you may have. 

I currently have in-person availability in St Leonards-on-Sea and Online availability throughout the UK.

Contact me for an initial free of charge 15 minutes telephone consultation at: 

BenMilnerTherapy@pm.me.

I am absolutely committed to anti-discriminatory practice. To support all diversity including, but not limited to age, class, cultural, disability, gender, neuro-diversity, race, religion, socioeconomic standing and I am fully LGBTQI+ affirmative.  

There are a variety of approaches to the way Counsellors work with their clients. I am an Integrative Counsellor using the following therapeutic approaches:  The Person Centred Approach, Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). You can find information on this here: 

https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/integrative-counselling/

"Integrative counselling draws on techniques from different types of therapy to tailor an approach specifically for you.

An integrative counsellor believes there isn’t just one therapeutic approach that can help a client in all situations. Instead, they take into account you as an individual and your circumstances, and use elements of different approaches to help you explore and cope with your problems. (BACP)"

Whilst I will be alongside you in this journey, you have complete autonomy about what you share and we will work entirely at your own pace. 

I am absolutely committed to anti-discriminatory practice and ensuring therapy is available to everyone. Unfortunately, I am very sorry to confirm that my practice at the Humble Heart is on the 3rd floor and there are no lifts within the building. In person sessions are therefore not available for clients with limited mobility. I continue to look for other accessible rooms, however in the meantime I am able to offer online therapy for clients who would not be able to use the stairs. Should you have any questions or concerns please do contact me directly.  

We will meet every week at the same time. I will discuss the number of sessions with you. We will review our progress together regularly. Counselling sessions last 50 minutes. If you arrive late, your session will still end 50 minutes after the scheduled start time. 

I offer Online Therapy using the Psychology Today Sessions video platform. I will provide you with a personal link shortly before our first session, simply click on the link and wait for me in the online waiting room. This platform is fully secure, encrypted and GDPR compliant. This is available for Desktop PC, Laptops, Macbooks, Android, Google and iOS mobile telephones.  

To get the most from counselling I ask that you are absolutely committed to attending. However, I do understand life may sometimes get in the way. If you cannot make a session you must inform me by text, email or voicemail before the start of the session. Once 3 sessions have been missed we may need to terminate our counselling relationship, until you are able to commit more fully. If you do not notify me of a missed session I will contact you on the details provided 15 minutes after the start of the session for a welfare check. If a session is cancelled with less than 48 hours notice the full payment will still be due.

I will give you a minimum notice period of four weeks for any planned holidays or training I may be attending. If I am unable to attend our session for any unforeseen reason, I will give you as much notice as possible. Please also provide as much notice as possible for any holidays or weeks you are unable to attend. If a session is cancelled with less than 48 hours notice the full payment will still be due.  

I reserve the right to end a session if you are under the influence of alcohol, non-prescription drugs, or show direct violent behaviour. 

Except for notifications relating to missed appointments, it is not anticipated that we will have any contact outside of sessions.  If you require urgent professional assistance, please contact NHS direct telephone 111, your GP, the emergency services or the Samaritans freephone 116123. We will discuss in our first session how to handle any chance contact outside of sessions.

If there is anything that you don’t understand about this agreement, or if you would prefer it in a different format, please let me know. We will discuss this in person as well.

Confidentiality in counselling creates a space where you can explore sensitive subjects in the knowledge that the counsellor will not repeat or misuse the information discussed outside of the counselling room. However, there are some exceptions to this, which are worth considering: 

1. I may need to break confidentiality if I think that there is a serious danger of harm to yourself or other people. I will attempt to discuss this with you first, but this may not always be possible. 
2. There are various legal and clinical limitations which I will discuss in our consultation. 

GDPR

My full Privacy Notice is available online (below) or by request. 

You also have the right to be informed about my use of your personal data. You have the right to  access your data, rectify it if it is incorrect and the right to be forgotten. If you have concerns relating to my use of your personal data, please contact the Information Commissioner's Office: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/your-personal-information- concerns/  

I volunteer with Counselling Plus in Hastings, who offer low cost and fully funded sessions to local residents. You can refer yourself to Counselling Plus here: 

https://www.counsellingplus.org/ 

I chose not to have a professional social media presence. This decision is based upon my strong belief that the reason Counselling and Psychotherapy works so well is the professional relationship we share during the sessions, whether in the room or online. Social media is a different type of relationship, which I feel to be less powerful than the therapeutic relationship. I also feel social media sometimes reduces, or gets in the way of the positive impact of person to person contact. 

I do have some personal and private social media profiles. However, I do not accept "friend" or contact requests from future, current or former clients on any personal social networking site (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn). This would break confidentiality for us both and not align with my responsibility to work ethically as a BACP member. 

Please give me at least 2 weeks notice for planning and ending our counselling relationship, if ending therapy before our mutually agreed time. This is to enable you to have a positive and safe ending. If we have been in therapy together for over a year, please give me 4 weeks notice.  

I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and as such abide by their Ethical Framework for your protection. Please see - www.bacp.co.uk/ethical-framework for more information.

If you are not happy with any of our sessions or my work, I hope that you would feel able to talk to me about this in the session. If you wish to submit a formal complaint this can be done by email to BenMilnerTherapy@pm.me . 

In the event of a more serious complaint, you have access to the BACP’s Get help with counselling concerns service, which provides confidential telephone and email guidance on what to do if you have concerns about your therapy or therapist. Phone 01455 883300 or 07811 762114 or 07811 762256. Please leave a message or email gethelp@bacp.co.uk , or write to BACP, 15 St John’s Business Park, Lutterworth LE17 4HB.  

My BACP membership number is Registered MBACP 418650 .