CLIENT INFO

The following information is essential reading if you're interested in booking an online session or consultation with Beth - if you are happy with what's below, then email the team at info@bethwallace.org to inquire further.


While she has trained over the last 36 years in various forms of counselling & psychotherapy, graduated in Applied Psychology from UCC with a postgraduate professional qualification in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy from both PCI College & the University of Manchester what Beth offers now is not solely what is usually referred to as 'counselling' nor 'therapy'.

Sessions are bespoke for each client according to their unique needs & circumstances, sometimes leaning more towards coaching, sometimes education & information only, sometimes therapy & indeed sometimes traversing more than one of those approaches.

It's important to note also that Beth has worked extensively with people in consensually non-monogamous relationships since 2010 & is open to doing so online in some circumstances.

Beth sees clients for one-off information-based sessions as well as for weeks, months or years for counselling, therapy, coaching & professional supervision for other therapists. 

One-off sessions are of an information, education & coaching nature only, any 'deeper' work is done through a series of sessions, usually, as is standard therapeutic best practice, a minimum of 10-12 weekly or fortnightly 60 minute sessions, these can be video or audio only. Please note: from the end of 2023 onwards Beth will no longer see clients less frequently than fortnightly, unless for professional supervision.


In her work Beth commits to:
- ensuring that she is in a fit physical, mental & emotional state to practice.
- tending to her own ongoing professional training & development which currently equals a minimum of 30 hours per year in accordance with the Irish Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy's requirements.
- treating all private practice clients, including past clients, equally, with respect and dignity.
- answering all client questions about her professional practice as fully & completely as possible.
- only offering services that are comfortably within her realm of professional expertise as well as personal capacity. 
- referring clients to other practitioners and services where appropriate. 



::: Client Charter :::

Before your session Beth will:
make herself available to you to answer any questions you may have.
* share with you any relevant information regarding confidentiality etc.

* email an online meeting link when an appointment is confirmed & payment in part or in full, as agreed, is received.
* email suggestions for how to prepare for your online session so you can get the most from it as is possible.

During your session she will:
respect your wish to take a break or end the session at any time
* communicate to you, as clearly as possible including if she feels she's not understanding you
* be present & attentive to you as much as is possible

After your session Beth will:
respect your confidentiality; it's important that you know that no details of what is discussed nor what happens in any session, or workshops, with any client is discussed by her other than with her own supervisor, & that is without any information that can identify the client themselves. That said, if there are issues of child protection & safety or if called to give a witness statement in a legal proceeding Beth cannot guarantee confidentiality in either circumstance.

* follow up on any issues that she has agreed to.


DATA PROTECTION
In accordance with European legislation:
- emails are stored in Gmail address lists only, unless you sign up to the newsletter via the website in which case email addresses & first names are stored on Mailchimp servers & used for no purpose other than Beth's newsletter
- no information about clients is stored online, other than in sent & received emails to & from the client

- paper client records are anonymised &, in most but not all cases, destroyed once work with the client/s is complete. The only exception to this is if there is a possibility of Beth being called as a witness in a legal case.
- client information, including names & email addresses, is not shared with any other party for any purposes.



Booking
Booking appointments is currently done via email. Every appointment must be agreed & paid for in advance, clients should not assume that they are guaranteed sessions into the future if they are not specifically agreed & booked in advance.

There is an 'intake' procedure for all new clients, this is to ensure that Beth is a good fit for you in terms of what you want to explore & discuss in yourself & your relationships.
For individual clients the intake procedure is a one hour consultation. For couples it is a 3 session intake procedure, one 90 minute session with both parties & one 60 minute session with each person individually. Only after the initial consultation meeting/s is complete do all parties decide if they will continue or not.
If you have previously worked privately with Beth an initial consultation is not usually required.
Email info@bethwallace.org to discuss.

Provisional appointments are not held open & are only confirmed when payment in full is received. Once payment is received the appointment is confirmed & clients then receive a Zoom link for the call as well as suggestions on how to prepare for sessions in order to get the most from them as possible. If your session has not been paid for, it is not confirmed. All payments are subject to a full no-questions-asked refund up to 7 days before the appointment & within the 7 day window in emergencies. All initial consultations are video calls & subsequent calls can be voice only by mutual agreement. Calls can also be recorded for the client's personal use if desired.


Beth is unable to enter into personal correspondence or respond to questions from those who don't wish to book sessions or spaces at events, we suggest you check out the Free Resources page on the website , the YouTube channel and the Facebook page, where huge amounts of information is freely shared. If sources for the information you're seeking isn't on the website email info@bethwallace.org & the admin team will endeavour to add to the Free Resources information and/or include responses to questions in occasional YouTube Q & A videos.

Rates
Current 2024 rates for online sessions are €85 per hour for 60 minute one-to-one sessions & €180 per 1.5 hour session for couples. A sliding scale is in usually in place for students, those who work part-time or are unemployed, couples where only one partner has an income etc as well as those in countries where average incomes are lower than 'the west'. (Please note that, currently, Beth is not in a position to take on any new clients on the lower ends of the sliding scales.)
Email info@bethwallace.org to inquire & discuss.


Payment
Online sessions are paid in full & in advance using PayPal (the client pays the fees), credit card or bank transfer & are confirmed only when payments are received. The Cancellation Policy applies to all payments for private sessions.


Cancellations
While Beth appreciates & understands that sometimes circumstances necessitate the postponement or cancellation of a client session she operates a strict cancellation policy.
She aims to be flexible where possible while also acknowledging the value of her expertise, time & the many demands upon it, as well as the preparation that goes into a client session, particularly ongoing work with couples, as well as the preparation, of all sorts, that goes into a client booking & preparing for a session.

* Sessions that are cancelled by the client up to 7 working days before the appointment may be rescheduled to a mutually convenient time or may be refunded in full, no questions asked, minus any banking or transfer fees. 

* Sessions that are cancelled by the client between 7 & 2 days before the appointment are subject to a discretionary cancellation fee of 50%.

* Sessions that are cancelled by the client 2 days or less before the appointment are subject to a cancellation fee of 100% of the session, unless in cases of emergencies.

* Sessions where the client 'arrives' under the influence of the recreational use of drugs or alcohol are terminated immediately with no refund. This will likely result in termination of the working relationship.

* A 'no show' on the part of an individual or one person in a couple, within 10 minutes of the appointed time, is considered a cancellation on the client's part & is subject to 100% loss of the session fee. Repeated 'no shows' may result in the termination of the working relationship.

* It is not permitted to have children other than infants present in online sessions.

* Sessions cancelled by Beth are postponed to a time that is mutually convenient or a full refund is given if requested.

* Special offers are non-refundable.


Please note that Saturdays & Sundays are not included as notice time for cancellations.


If you have any questions email info@bethwallace.org



Refunds Policy
Refunds for sessions are as per the cancellation policy above. Refunds are not available for courses, events or products purchased online unless otherwise stated or unless the event does not proceed.



Physical & Personal Boundaries
Please note that at no time is physical contact nor nudity permitted or required in session work.

Beth prefers to verbally teach clients techniques that they then use on or with themselves or others. The sexuality practitioner world is, unfortunately, rife with practitioners who have insufficient, or even no, training as well as those who abuse their power in sexual situations with clients leading to traumatisation & re-traumatisation, Beth's aim is to empower clients to know themselves more fully & completely, & she does not believe she, nor anyone else, needs to touch clients in order for this to happen.


Finally, Beth has a very clear & solid boundary of no romantic, sexual nor erotic engagement with current or ex clients, as is standard with all professional therapeutic fields.


To discuss booking a session email info@bethwallace.org 


Updated: 01/07/24