THERAPEUTIC COACHING CONTRACT
An agreement between you (the client) and Anna Bobak, trading as Fife Counselling
This contract sets out how we will work together. It gives us both a clear, shared starting point, and we can return to it at any time. If anything here is unclear, or you would find it easier to go through it together, please ask and we can talk it through at the start of our first session.
1. Our work together: therapeutic coaching
Therapeutic coaching is a collaborative process that brings together practical coaching and counselling skills. Our focus stays on your working life and on the goals you bring, and we build strategies that fit the way your brain works, rather than asking you to fit systems designed for someone else.
In practice, this means our sessions may include:
Practical coaching: direct suggestions, strategies, tools and psychoeducation on topics such as executive function, energy, time, workload and workplace communication.
Counselling skills: listening closely, reflecting back, and exploring the feelings, beliefs and patterns. Sometimes the way forward becomes clearer once we understand what keeps getting in the way.
Looking back to move forward: our main focus is the present and the future. When earlier experiences, such as school, past jobs or years of masking, help to make sense of what is happening now, we can explore them at a pace that feels right for you.
You stay in charge of how deep we go. I will check in with you when a conversation moves towards more personal or emotional ground, and you are always free to say “not today” or to steer us back to practical work.
Therapeutic coaching differs from counselling in its focus and structure: sessions centre on your goals and working life, and I will often be more active and directive than I would be as a counsellor. If something arises that would be better held in counselling or another form of support, for example longer-term emotional or trauma-focused work, I will talk this through openly with you. Together we can decide the types of support that might work best for you.
2. Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a very important part of our relationship. Everything we discuss in our sessions is confidential, with the following exceptions:
1. If a court of law requires me to share information.
2. Where, in my professional judgement, there is a risk of serious harm to you or to others.
3. For the purposes of clinical supervision (see below).
Wherever it is possible and safe to do so, I will talk with you first before sharing any information.
Supervision: I attend regular clinical supervision, as required by my professional body, COSCA. Supervision gives me support and guidance and helps me to make sure I am working ethically and competently. I discuss my work without sharing anything that would allow you to be identified.
3. Notes and your data
I keep brief, anonymised notes of our sessions. Any information I hold about you is stored securely and handled in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. You have the right to ask to see the information I hold about you.
4. Using Scribe for session notes: an accessibility adjustment
I live with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that can make writing and typing painful, especially during a flare. To make sure my notes are accurate and that I can give you my full attention during our sessions, I use Scribe, a note-taking tool built into Doxy.me, the video platform we use for sessions.
How Scribe works
• When Scribe is switched on, it listens to our session and produces a draft summary note for me at the end.
• Doxy.me states that the session data is encrypted and the draft note is automatically created. It is then permanently deleted from Doxy.me 90 minutes after the session ends.
• Doxy.me states that this data is never used to train its AI models and is never sold to third parties.
• Scribe does not create a recording of our session for me to keep or replay.
• I read and edit every draft myself, then save a brief, anonymised version in my records.
Using Scribe is entirely your choice. I will only use it with your agreement, and you will see a notification on screen whenever it is running. You can change your mind at any time, including during a session, and I will switch it off straight away. If you would prefer me not to use Scribe please let me know.
5. Sessions
Coaching sessions usually last 60 minutes and take place online at a time and day we agree together.
Established clients can also book shorter check-in sessions on an ad hoc basis, for example to address a particular issue or for targeted support between regular sessions. Check-in sessions are charged at £2 per minute.
6. Contact between sessions
Brief email contact between sessions (under 500 words) is included as part of our work together. This might include sharing resources, clarifying next steps, or a short update on how things are going.
Longer email exchanges, or more substantial work between sessions, are charged at £2 per minute.
7. Fees and payment
You can pay by bank transfer, payment link or invoice. Please pay at least 24 hours before your session, or within 24 hours of receiving your invoice.
I charge £2 per minute for reading emails over 500 words, completing forms, and writing letters or reports on your behalf.
8. Cancellations and missed sessions
I ask for at least 48 hours’ notice if you need to cancel a session. With less notice than this, the full session fee is payable.
If you are running late, please let me know. If you have not joined by 10 minutes into the session, I will send you a reminder. I will wait for 20 minutes, then let you know I am closing the session. The full session fee remains payable for a missed session.
9. Illness and holidays
If I am unwell, I will contact you as soon as I can and offer an alternative time and day where possible. I will give you at least 4 weeks’ notice of any planned holidays.
If you take an extended break, I will do my best to offer you a regular time on your return, though I may be unable to hold your usual slot.
10. Between-session experiments and reviewing progress
Coaching often works best when some of it continues in everyday life. Together we may agree small, realistic experiments to try between sessions. These are yours to shape and to adjust. Whatever happens with them, including when life gets in the way, gives us useful information to explore together. You remain in charge of which changes you make and how you make them, and I will support you along the way.
We will review your progress regularly and adapt our approach as your needs and goals change. Therapeutic coaching usually focuses on specific goals, and we will decide together how long our work continues.
11. Endings
Either of us can end our coaching work at any time. I value endings that are planned and mutually agreed, so wherever possible we will take time to reflect on what you have learned and how you will keep building on it once our work finishes.
12. Clinical will
If I become unable to contact you myself, my supervisor, Alison Clist, will get in touch on my behalf. To make this possible, I share only the following information with her: your first name, how long we have been working together, and your mobile number.