Safeguarding

Who I work with

I work with adults only. Everyone who books is asked for their date of birth and the booking system checks it. I don't offer therapy to anyone under 18.

When I would act

What we talk about stays between us. I'll only break confidentiality if there's a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, or if required by law.

If that ever happens, I'll aim to speak with you first about what I'm doing and why. The exception is where involving you first would increase the danger, or where the risk is immediate. Then I may need to act before we speak.

Acting usually means contacting your GP, the local adult social care team, or in an emergency the police. I'll only ever share what's needed to keep someone safe, with the people who need to know.

If someone connected to you is at risk

Sometimes the concern isn't your safety but someone else's: a child in your family, an adult who depends on you, someone you've told me about. The same principles apply. If I believe a child or an adult at risk is being harmed, I have a responsibility to pass that concern to the right people, and I'll be honest with you about doing so wherever that's safe.

If you're worried or need urgent help

• If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
• If you're in a mental health crisis, call NHS 111 and select the mental health option, or the Samaritans on 116 123, free, any time.
• To report concerns about an adult at risk in Croydon, call Adult Social Care on 020 8726 6500.
• To report concerns about a child in Croydon, call the Single Point of Contact on 020 8255 2888.
• If you live elsewhere, your local council has equivalent teams for both.

Concerns about me or your therapy

If something about our work doesn't feel right, I'd rather you told me so we can look at it together. That conversation is part of therapy, not a threat to it.

If you'd rather speak to someone independent, BACP's Get help with counselling concerns service offers confidential guidance, anonymously if you prefer, and BACP also has a formal complaints process for registered members. I'm registered member 197852.

Behind the scenes

I'm in clinical supervision every week, where I discuss my work with an experienced colleague. That is where difficult judgements, including the ones on this page, get thought about rather than made alone.

Separately, a trusted colleague has agreed to act as my therapeutic executor. If I died or became seriously unwell, they could contact you and help you access further support. The details needed for this are held in an encrypted, password-protected document. They are a different person from my supervisor, and they hold no information about your therapy.