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Policies

Terms of support

How sessions work: what peer support is, that it is paid and held online, and the practical bits around booking.

A working draft — not legal advice

This is a working draft for me to review. It is not legal advice. Safeguarding, insurance and data protection should be checked by a qualified person before I rely on this with the people I support.

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What this is

Everything I offer in sessions is peer support. It grows out of lived experience and training. It is not therapy, counselling, treatment or diagnosis. I am not a clinician, and this is not a crisis service. It sits alongside NHS or other professional support, rather than replacing it.

All one-to-one and group support is held online. There are no in-person sessions, no home visits and no venue to travel to. I live in Somerset; the work is not limited to people nearby.

If you need help right now, the free crisis lines on this site are there any time. They do not go through me.

Cost

Consultations, one-to-one support and group support are paid.

A consultation is £55 for the hour, covering the hour we meet and the time I spend reading what you send beforehand.

I’m still finalising rates for ongoing one-to-one support. If you’d like to know where things stand, do get in touch and I’ll confirm when you enquire.

For group support, the fee depends on how many people are in the group. I’ll confirm it when you enquire.

Cancelling, missing, or arriving late

Proposed — please change this to suit you

This box is a starting point, not a hidden rule. When you are happy with it (or have rewritten it), replace this dashed box with ordinary paragraphs.

I’d ask that you let me know at least 48 hours before a session if you need to cancel or move it. If you can give that notice, I will not charge for that session. If you cannot, I may still need to charge, because that time has been held for you.

If a session is missed without notice, I may need to charge for it.

If you arrive late, we can still use the time that is left. The session still ends at the time we agreed, so the next person is not kept waiting. If I am late, I will add that time on, or make it up another way that we agree.

If I have to cancel, I will let you know as soon as I can, and that session will not be charged.

When I may need to end support

Sometimes peer support is not the right fit. I may need to end it, or not start it, if:

  • What you need is therapy, treatment or a crisis response, which I do not provide
  • There is a level of risk I cannot hold safely as a peer
  • The work is not appropriate for another reason I will try to explain

If that happens, I will say so as clearly as I can, and I will signpost where I reasonably can — including the crisis lines if that is the kind of help that is needed.

You can end support at any time. You do not need a reason.

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