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Policies

Staying COVID-19 Secure (Updated 19th June 2021)

In line with the government guidelines on working safely during COVID-19 in offices and contact centres (May 2021) Cherry Tree Therapy Centre has undertaken a risk assessment.  The actions that we have taken and the actions that you should take are set out below:

If anyone is experiencing any symptoms or does not feel well, please DO NOT come to the Centre.  Follow the Government Guidance on what you should do.

All therapists must carry out their own risk assessment.

Working from Home

  • You should continue to work from home if possible. Please take into account mental or physical health difficulties, especially if you and/or your clients have a particularly challenging home environment.
  • If you are working with a vulnerable client group, you should consider seeing them remotely or ensure you have enough time to wipe down the therapy room and common areas with the antibacterial wipes provided before the session. 
Social Distancing and Face Coverings
  • We have closed room 5 in the new Centre and opened rooms 6, 7 & 8 in the old Centre.  Rooms 1, 3, 6, 7 & 8 will allow you to maintain a 2m distance between therapist and client.  Chairs will be placed at an angle to avoid face-to-face positioning. 
  • Counselling more than one person will now be permitted.
  • Social distancing will be used throughout both Centres. Chairs should be kept at a 2m distance at all times.  
  • A face covering should be used in all communal areas such as the corridors, toilet, kitchen.  
  • We recommend that therapists and clients use face coverings for the duration of their sessions. Please check with government guidelines, your insurance company, your membership or governing body for the latest guidance on staying COVID secure.
  • All trainee counsellors will be instructed to maintain a 2m distance from their clients and will be offered face visors for extra protection. 
  • Face coverings must be used when a 2mt cannot be maintained.
  • Where social distancing cannot be maintained (E.g. in the massage or physio room) please use PPE and follow the guidelines set out by your membership body.
  • In an emergency, for example, an accident or fire, you do not have to stay 2m apart or wear a face covering if it would be unsafe.
Managing Contacts and Reducing Opportunities for Surface Spread
  • All users will be encouraged to bring their own drinks, including water to avoid cross-contamination
  • Therapists should bring their own drinks and snacks and they should ask clients to do the same.
  • All therapists will need to bring their own equipment, including pens and clipboards to avoid cross-contamination.
  • There will be a short period of time between sessions to allow one therapist to leave the building before the next therapist comes in. 
  • Therapists must ensure they have vacated rooms on time.
Hygiene – handwashing, sanitation, facilities, and toilets
  • We have provided dispensers for antibacterial hand sanitiser in both Centres and the training centre so all users can anti-bac their hands, both on entrance and exit.
  • Soap dispenses will be kept replenished to ensure all users can wash their hands regularly.
  • Cotton towels have been replaced with paper towels. Hand towel dispensers have been provided in both centres.
  • Signs have been put up to build awareness of good hand washing techniques.
  • We have removed the lids off the bins so waste can be disposed of without touching anything
Cleaning
  • The centres will continue to be thoroughly cleaned.
  • The ventilation system will be turned up to ensure the rapid circulation of air in the new centre.
  • Please open windows and doors where possible to encourage the circulation of fresh air. Please remember to close and leave secure when leaving.
  • We will continue to keep the Centres cleaned on a regular basis and will pay extra attention to toilets, door handles and doorbells.
  • Antibacterial wipes will be kept in each therapy room so each therapist can wipe down door handles and surfaces between clients.
  • It is the therapists’ responsibility to wipe down room door handles on entry using the antibacterial surface wipes or the antibacterial spray provided.  
  • We will continue to provide tissues. Please ask your clients to take their waste home with them for disposal.
 Support and Wellbeing
  • The Centre will continue to offer online peer supervision for all therapists, which is there to support the well-being of any therapist who is either working from home or is using the Centre.
  • Peer supervision and Student check-ins will continue to be online via Zoom until further notice.
  • The garden is open for all therapists to use and may be used if therapists have a break between clients.
Communication Please advise all clients of the following:
  • social distancing rules are in place at the Centre.
  • where the handwashing facilities and antibacterial handwash are located.
  • that there is no waiting permitted in the centre.
  • that they must leave immediately after their appointment.
  • they must bring their own drink, including water to the sessions.
  • they must take away their own waste.
  • That face covering should be worn in communal areas.
Track and Trace
  • Please advise your clients that their details will be shared if needed for track and trace purposes.
  • In line with government requirements, you must keep a note of your client’s contact details for 21 days
  • QR codes for the NHS COVID-19 APP are on display by the front doors at No. 2, No. 5 and the training centre.

Privacy Policy

We currently collect and process the following information:
  • Personal identifiers, contacts and requirements (for example, name, contact number, email address and nature of your enquiry)

How we get the personal information and why we have it

All of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:
  • So that a member of the team can follow up on your enquiry
  • So that we can refer your enquiry to a member of the Cherry Tree Therapy Centre team who will assist you with your enquiry
  • So that a member of the team can contact you to book you in for an appointment.
We use the information that you have given us in order to contact you in regards to an enquiry or appointment or to send you further information in regards to the Cherry Tree Therapy Centre. We may share this information with a member of the therapy team if this is necessary for your ongoing treatment at the Centre. Most therapists are self-employed and will have their own privacy policies in place.  Please, check these details with your therapist.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

  • Your consent. You are able to withdraw your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting info@cherrytreetherapycentre.co.uk
  • We have a contractual obligation.
  • We have a legal obligation.
  • We have a vital interest.
  • We need it to perform a public task.
  • We have a legitimate interest.
If you are referred to the low-cost counselling service, your personal information will be kept on Writeupp, a software system for healthcare professionals. This is a secure platform and GDPR compliant. Your information will also be kept on Freeagent, which is our secure accounts system. If you are referred over to a member of the therapy team, we will keep your information on file for 5 years in case of any disputes or legal action against the Centre or your therapist.

How we store your personal information

Your information is securely stored online, only accessible via a password and / or two-step verification system. We keep your name, telephone number and email address for 5 years after which it will be deleted if you are no longer an active client of the Centre. Assessments filled in online will also be kept for 5 years for all low-cost counselling clients.  This period is set by our insurance company.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:
  • Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
  • Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
  • Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. Please contact us at info@cherrytreetherapycentre.co.uk, if you wish to make a request.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at info@cherrytreetherapycentre.co.uk.

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

The ICO’s address: 

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

Our ICO Reference No: ZA780900

Room Rental Terms and Conditions

 
  • You (‘the therapist’) must maintain the appropriate certification, qualifications, a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (if working with vulnerable clients) and up to date liability insurance.
  • Cherry Tree Therapy Centre will not deal with any financial transactions or payment of fees on your behalf. You should maintain full control over your bookings and treatment of your clients, including client records and advertising materials.  You should conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times whilst using the therapy rooms and the main building. You are responsible for addressing your client’s conduct if needed.
  • You should always work within the guidelines set out by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
  • The therapy rooms must only be used during the hours that have been agreed and booked through the online booking system.  Please double check that the booking has been made correctly as I cannot be responsible for any mistakes that are made.
  • Please vacate the room as soon as your pre-paid slot has finished. Other therapists may be using the room and therefore running over the allocated time slot is not permitted.
  • You are in charge of bringing your own equipment to the centre and any equipment left in the building is done so at your own risk.  Cherry Tree Therapy Centre will accept no responsibility for personal or professional items left on the premises.
  • You are responsible for the therapy room and its contents during your sessions.  Any damage that occurs during this time must be brought to my attention and payment for the damage must be received within 14 days of billing.
  • The therapy room must be left in a safe and tidy condition so that other therapists can use it immediately after you.  If any incidents or accidents occur that require attention, please report it to me immediately.
  • This contract does not create a partnership agreement.  You do not have the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of Cherry Tree Therapy Centre. It is forbidden to sublet the therapy room or use it for any other purpose other than what has been agreed.
  • You are not permitted to make a copy of room keys and you are not permitted to give your keys to a third party.
  • Bookings can be made via the on-line booking system. Failure to make payments as agreed may result in the termination of the contract between Cherry Tree Therapy Centre and yourself and may result in legal action.
  • There is a 24 hour cancellation policy and payment for the room will need to be paid for in full whether the room is occupied or not.  We recommend that you agree similar terms with your clients.
  • Bookings must be taken on an hourly or half hourly basis, unless agreed otherwise.
  • £10 is required for set up costs and a set of keys.  If you lose the keys, a replacement set can be arranged at an extra cost.  If you do not use the room over the period of a month, the keys will need to be returned unless alternative arrangements have been made between all parties.
  • If you are the last person to leave the building, you must ensure that all lights are switched off, the heaters or air-con units have been switched off and the door has been locked as instructed.
  • The clients, who have been referred to you by Cherry Tree Therapy Centre, must be seen at the centre in Buckhurst Hill.  If it is discovered that you are transferring clients to alternative premises, you will no longer be considered for new referrals.

Low-Cost Counselling Policy

Cherry Tree Therapy Centre in Buckhurst Hill offers low-cost counselling.  You may be eligible to access this service if you are currently unemployed, on a low income or in full-time education.  If you do not fulfil the criteria but you are currently struggling financially, your application will still be considered.  Sessions are carried out face to face, online or on the telephone.

There are a limited number of low-cost therapy sessions at Cherry Tree Therapy Centre. Low-cost counselling sessions are usually carried out by an experienced trainee who is undertaking a Postgraduate Diploma at the University of East London or a similar qualification elsewhere. All trainees are supervised by the University and an individual clinical supervisor at Cherry Tree Therapy Centre.

All sessions are confidential and counsellors practice in accordance with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy ethical framework. Confidentiality will only be breached under extreme circumstances, for example, if there is a risk of serious harm to the client or others or when the law requires the therapist to do so.

Payment for each session needs to be paid before or on the day of the session. We do not take cash, but we do accept all major debit and credit cards. If sessions are taken online, you will receive an invoice in advance that will need to be paid by bank transfer. Bank details can be found at the foot of the invoice.

Cherry Tree Therapy Centre operates a 24hr cancellation policy, full payment will be required if 24hrs notice is not given. If payment is not received for your session no further sessions will be booked until payment has been made. If at any point you are struggling financially, please explore your options with your counsellor.

If you miss more than 2 sessions, you may go back on the waiting list for the low-cost sessions.  Please speak to your counsellor if you are unable to attend sessions on a regular basis.