Counselling Contracts: What to Factor In

The right counselling contract can protect you from getting sued by patients. Here are a few things to remember when drawing one up.

Sensitivity to the patient’s personal background

Anything that is not understood counts for nothing. The patient is only truly informed if he or she understood what was told. In other words, couch your explanation in terms the patient can understand or relate to. Refrain from jargon and abbreviations. When language is an issue, a counsellor may hire a qualified translator or interpreter. One should also consider cultural barriers and adjust where appropriate.

Essential Details of a Counselling Contract

Before a counselling or psychotherapy session begins, there should first be a mutual agreement between the counsellor and the client. This document will detail the responsibilities of both parties with regards of the relationship over the course of the counselling or psychotherapy. The document contains information of significant value.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is one of the most essential elements of the therapeutic relationship between client and counsellor. The counselling contract should state that everything discussed during the session should only be between the counsellor and the client. In cases wherein the clients show tendencies to cause harm to their own person and others, then confidentiality may be broken.