Online Therapy Agreement for Children & Young People
Online Therapy for Children and Young People
For children under 15 years parents/carers are responsible for adhering to this agreement. Young people over 15 years of age may agree for themselves and engage support from adults when necessary.
Please read the information below as it outlines boundaries to our online therapy work together. This is an informed consent form and you are asked to read and agree its acceptance before we can begin therapy work together.
Therapy Sessions
We will agree a day and time for the sessions. I ask that you choose a room that is private for the online therapy to take place, away from distractions and interruptions so your child can get the most out of the session and to ensure confidentiality. If this is a problem, talk to me about it.
You will need a computer that has a camera and microphone.
Use Wifi that is secure (password protected).
Turning off Wifi from any other devices using the same Wifi source can enhance the internet connection. Using headphones aids confidentiality.
We will use Zoom. It is the most secure platform for face-to-face-online therapy.
I will email, or text, you a link to the meeting. When you click on this link it will take you to the Zoom meeting with me.
You will be offered the option to download Zoom but you do not need to do this to join the call. The meeting will then begin with audio and video link. Once this is set up your child can talk to me one-to-one, knowing that you are available should they need support, emotional or practical.
Should the internet connection fail I will contact you via mobile phone on your designated mobile phone and suggest the following:
1) We come out of the Zoom meeting. Close down Zoom and re-open. I will send a new code/password and start a new meeting.
2) If this does not address the internet connection issues we can continue over the phone, in which case I will call you on your designated phone number.
Session times and Personal Space
Session times are your child’s personal space. Being prepared is an important part of therapy. Ensuring that they are comfortable, and have a safe and private space to work. If your child has art materials it would help to have some set up for them to use during the session – whatever they are comfortable with is good.
All session times are 50 minutes long and are conducted at an agreed time between you and your therapist. For younger children it may be necessary to bring this to a close before time, and if this is the case they will be instructed to ask for help from you, or I will contact you by phone if I need to.
Reviews and Ending sessions
Part of the therapy process involves regular reviews between a client and therapist.
This is to ensure that work is progressing and that your child is getting what they need from the sessions. I will check in with them, and also with you by email or phone, and will offer a mid, or end-therapy parental review. We will re-visit the MYCAW concern forms at the end. We have 10 sessions in total, including the 2 parental reviews.
Confidentiality, anonymity and breaching
The work we do together is confidential. This means no-one is told anything about the content of the session who doesn’t need to know. The therapy team at Cavendish may need to know changes in factual information, and therapists need to discuss their work with clinical supervisors to ensure standards are adhered to.
However, there are particular circumstances in which therapists can break confidentiality and this comes under the code of ethical guidelines of safeguarding. These are circumstances in which the client, or someone else, is at risk of harm, or suspected to be. In such cases it would be right for your child to share a concern with me, and also right for me to raise a safeguarding concern so that it could be dealt with by appropriate professionals. I would always talk this through with your child first.
The nature of online work means that should a client become distressed I may need to ask for help from someone in the house – in this case a parent/carer. I will call a parent/carer on the phone if I judge the need for immediate in-house help. If I judge that there is a need for professional help I will call emergency services.
Discussing your Therapy
Our work together is confidential. We ensure that all information is kept safe and protected. However a young person is free to talk about the content of sessions with parents, or anyone they wish, but it can be experienced as intrusive for a young person to be asked what they did/ about/ if they had ‘fun’ etc. I ask that parents refrain from asking, but are open to hearing.
It may not be appropriate or helpful to post/share the content of our sessions on social networks/forums. If your child, or you, feel drawn to share things from therapy in this way I ask that we talk about it first. Once information is in the public arena it is hard to take back.
Therapeutic Relationship
As therapists we aim to develop a trusting and friendly working relationship, however, as a therapist we are not a “friend”. To maintain the confidentiality and the boundaries of our work it is not appropriate to engage “socially” on any social network, social or professional forums.
Support
I welcome your communication and want to know if your child’s emotions or behaviours are a cause for concern (or celebration). However, I am limited in my capacity to offer support. Please contact me by email and I will get back to you when I can.
Your GP can be a first point of contact and below are some telephone lines that offer support at all times.
Emergency: 999
Childline: 0800 1111
For adults – Samaritans – 116 123 (available 24/7 and their website is a good source of advice)
For adults – Rethink – 0808 801 0440 (24/7 Sheffield helpline)
By filling in the form below I agree to the terms laid out above:
