Terms and conditions set out the expectations for the service user and the therapist. The terms and conditions govern the contract between us and ensure that both parties are protected in the unlikely event that a disagreement occurs. Please read my terms and conditions and contact me directly if you have any questions. If I do not hear from you by return, I shall assume you accept my Terms of Business.
Occupational Therapy Assessment/Therapy/Consultation: £100 per session
This fee includes both direct and indirect contact. In addition to our meeting, I will always take the time to consider the information gathered before and after the session and consider intervention and advice accordingly.
At the end of our first appointment, I will explain whether I think you, or your child, could benefit from occupational therapy. This may be further assessment, or therapy. Where appropriate I will signpost to other services and resources.
It is not always easy to predict how many sessions of therapy will be required so, in cases where it is likely that longer term support will be necessary, we will agree a number of sessions followed by a review.
Intervention can be with parents and/or the child or young person, face to face in your home or indirectly via teletherapy.
I provide therapy online both for parents, children and young people using a platform called ZOOM.
I understand that confidentiality of my data is of upmost importance and that although no platform can be guaranteed to be completely secure, I am following The Royal College of Occupational Therapists, specialist section of independent practice guidelines to ensure I continue to meet the standards set out by Health and care Professions Council (HCPC).
Fees: My fee for online sessions is the same as face-to-face, £ 100, which includes the session, preparation ahead of the session and reflection and note writing after.
Equipment: You will need access to a high speed internet connection, a phone/computer/mobile device with a webcam/camera and a quiet room away from others. Set yourself up in a comfortable place so we can see each other clearly. If this is your first time using zoom, please allow an extra 10 minutes to install the zoom app prior to the start of the meeting. It is your responsibility to be on time for your session.
Privacy: Please treat this session as you would for any meeting in which you are sharing confidential information. It is also your responsibility to ensure you are protected on your device with adequate security, for example firewall and antivirus programme. I will deliver the session from my private office.
If any support is needed with this, please let me know in advance. If connection is a problem, I will call you by telephone to continue the session.
Please be aware that it is a criminal offence to record, copy or capture images without consent.
10 to 30 minutes: £50.00
31 to 60 minutes: £100.00
Payment for phone call consultations is required in advance and then a receipt will be sent afterwards. If a report or advisory letter is requested after such telephone consultations these can be provided for a fee. If the fee quote is accepted and agreed an email instructing for the advisory letter or report will be required before the work is undertaken.
Payment is only by Bank Transfer.
Please pay promptly following your appointment. I shall issue you will an invoice/receipt via email.
If we agree a block of therapy, you can choose to pay weekly, fortnightly, or all together.
The following process will apply in the event of non-payment: I will contact you to remind you that payment is overdue. If an invoice is not paid within 7 days thereafter, you will receive written notice that therapy is suspended pending payment in full. If payment is not received in full within 7 days of therapy being suspended, I reserve the right to refer the matter to a solicitor and to commence legal action.
If you are unable to attend your appointment please let me know as soon as possible. Please note that cancellations with less than 48 hours notice or failure to attend a scheduled appointment will incur the full session fee (whatever the reason for cancellation) as the appointment cannot be re-allocated. I will endeavour to give you as much advance notice as possible in terms of holidays or any need to cancel a future appointment.
Therapy is a collaborative process (a ‘joint effort’). This means you can let me know what you find helpful or unhelpful and share your own ideas on what might aid progress. Therapy is typically not a ‘quick fix’ and it tends to take time and commitment to the process to see changes. Whilst the majority of clients engaging in therapy report feeling that they benefit from doing so, I am unable to guarantee that the therapy and provision of services will result in an improvement to the client’s mental or physical condition or general wellbeing. However, I will do my best to provide individually tailored, effective and evidence-based treatment in working with you towards achieving your goals for therapy. Your progress will be regularly reviewed and I will only recommend further sessions if these are likely to be of benefit to you and/or your child. You are under no obligation to continue sessions.
Please let me know of any holidays or planned breaks with as much notice as possible to preserve the continuity of our work and I will do the same.
I am contactable by telephone on a Monday/Friday am or email between 9.00 am and 5.00pm, Monday-Friday. Outside these times, you are welcome to leave a voicemail. Please note that I am often unable to immediately answer a call due to being in sessions with other clients, attending meetings, etc. I will endeavour to call you back as soon as possible, often in an evening. You can email at any time, however, please note that email responses will usually be sent during the above hours. Contact between appointments should primarily relate to bookings or re-arrangement of sessions (by therapist or client) and brief queries or clarifications. More detailed concerns should, wherever possible, be brought to an appointment.
PLEASE NOTE RHONA MCALPINE, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST, DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY OUT-OF-HOURS OR EMERGENCY COVER
In the event of a crisis or emergency, please contact your GP (out-of-hours contact NHS 24 on 111), attend your local A&E department, or dial 999. You may also find, Breathing Space (0800 83 85 8), the Samaritans (on 08457 90 90 90, 24 hours), Edinburgh Crisis Centre (0808 801 0414), the Mental Health Assessment Service (MHAS an emergency mental health assessment service, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week 0131 537 6000) or SANELine (0300 304 7000, 6pm-11pm) helpful.
The information you share in therapy is held private and confidential between you and the therapist, and cannot be shared with others without your consent. However, there are some exceptions to this. I have a duty of care to my clients and therefore may need to break confidentiality, even without your consent, if I perceive that there is a risk of harm to you or someone else, if certain information is not disclosed. In this situation, I will contact the person(s) or service most likely to minimise the risk of harm to that person, e.g. GP, key worker, Social Services, or the Police. Wherever possible, I will try to discuss this with you first and will let you know what information has been shared and with whom.
I will keep confidential and secure paper and electronic notes on my work with you/or your child, i.e. in a locked filing cabinet and on a password-protected computer. Clinical notes will be stored according to professional guidelines, please see Privacy Policy for more information.
By engaging with my services you agree to the above terms and conditions.
