When clients meet me face-to-face at my practice in York I offer, if necessary, to communicate with other local professionals or carers. This is a way to improve their standard of care by inviting cooperation.
The nature of online counselling, especially if you are overseas, means that this coordination of care is not possible for me in a reliable way. Speaking with others as a way to coordinate your care falls outside the scope of what I offer to online clients.
With online counselling there is a practical limitation to how supportive I could be if you were to become at risk of causing harm to yourself or others, or if you were at risk of experiencing any psychiatric relapse.
If you face such risks we agree that you have in place at your own geographical location all the support necessary to manage these risks, along with a plan to access this support.
I ask you to consider the following aspects of risk as a way to assess, for yourself, whether the online counselling service I offer is the most appropriate service for you.
Q1 Have you ever caused harm to yourself in a way which may lead to permanent damage, injury or death? [YES/NO]
If ‘YES’ I ask you to consider which person(s) or service(s) local to you do you turn to at times when you have harmed yourself in this way? This could mean your GP, mental health team or a supportive friend. Do you have their contact details readily available?
Note that the scope of the online counselling service I offer means that if you disclose to me information that suggests there is a risk of you causing harm to yourself then I will not contact other persons or services that would be able to care for you in this distress.
Q2 Have you ever caused harm to another by physical or sexual acts? [YES/NO]
If ‘YES’ I ask you to consider which person(s) or service(s) local to you do you turn to at times when you might harm another in this way? This could mean a social worker, a probation officer, a carer or supportive relative or friend. Do you have their contact details readily available?
Note that the scope of the online counselling service I offer means that if you disclose to me information that suggests there is a risk of you causing harm to another then I will not contact other persons or services that would be able to offer safety & support to you or the other in this situation.
Q3 Have you ever been given a ‘mental health’ diagnosis? [YES/NO]
If ‘YES’ I ask you to consider which person(s) or service(s) local to you do you turn to at times when you may feel unwell in this way? This could mean your GP, a psychiatrist or community nurse, a carer or relative. Do you have their contact details readily available?
Note that the scope of the online counselling service I offer means that if you disclose to me information that suggests there is a risk of you relapsing into this unwellness then I will not contact other persons or services that would be able to monitor or care for you in this distress.
If you have answered ‘YES’ to any of the three questions here then I suggest you consider contacting a ‘face to face’ counselling service, or a similar source of support, which is geographically local to you.