Welcome to Earth Wisdom Therapy. We’re a not-for-profit Community Interest Company offering professional counselling and ecotherapy services in Gloucestershire. All therapists are carefully chosen to ensure you receive thoughtful and professional care, whether your sessions are held in our peaceful rooms or, where appropriate, in nature-led outdoor settings. We’re so pleased to welcome you and hope this marks the beginning of a supportive and meaningful process for you.
Therapy Rooms Painswick
You will be seeing a qualified therapist who works as part of Earth Wisdom, a community-focused organisation that offers reduced-cost counselling and ecotherapy services. They are based at the Therapy Rooms in Painswick, and sessions take place there unless agreed otherwise. Earth Wisdom and the Therapy Rooms work in partnership. While Earth Wisdom therapists are part of a not-for-profit organisation, they work within the Therapy Rooms setting and follow the same values of care, professionalism, and confidentiality.
Ethics
Earth Wisdom works in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). All counsellors work in accordance with the ethics of their individual governing body.
Confidentiality
What you share in therapy is treated with respect and care. Sessions are confidential between you and your counsellor and will not be shared with anyone else without your consent.
However, there are some legal and ethical exceptions. Confidentiality may need to be broken if:
There is serious concern that you or someone else may be at risk of significant harm
There is a legal requirement, such as a court order, demanding disclosure
Wherever possible, your counsellor will discuss this with you beforehand—unless doing so would increase risk to you or others.
Your counsellor also discusses their work in supervision, as required by professional bodies such as NCPS or BACP. Any discussion of your case will be shared anonymously and respectfully, with the intention of supporting your therapist to offer you the best possible care.
Therapy Sessions
Therapy is most productive when incorporated on a regular basis for at least 12 sessions. Therapy will bring up a variety of emotions, and uncovering these deep emotions can be intense and overwhelming. Discomfort should be expected when navigating difficult emotions, and you may feel worse after therapy until you have begun to resolve the pain and begin to feel better. Each therapy session will last for 50 minutes.
Cancellation Policy
Please give as much notice as possible if you cannot make a session. If you are less than 10minutes late to a session your counsellor will see you for the remainder of the session time. If you are more than 10minutes late to a session, the session will be forfeited, and fees will still be charged. Last minute cancelations mean it is too late to offer that space to another client. As a result, there is a charge of full fees for any sessions not attended without 48hrs (2 business days) notice. Unfortunately, if you miss more than two consecutive sessions, we will assume that you are no longer able to attend therapy and withdraw your space.
Endings
If you feel you would like to end your therapy, please let your counsellor know. It would be great to have an ending session should you be able to do so.
Can I contact my counsellor between sessions?
Contact with your counsellor between sessions should be for the rearranging, or confirmation of, appointment times. It is fine to do this via text or email. All therapeutic material will be discussed in sessions. If you see each other in a public setting, your counsellor will respect your privacy and not approach you.
Fees
Session fees must be paid 48hrs (2 business days) in advance. Any session fee not paid according to the schedule in this agreement will result in the session being cancelled.
Earth Wisdom Ecotherapy Community Interest Company
Sort Code: 60-83-71
Account Number: 71947988
Online Therapy Support
Your counsellor will be working in a private space, where your conversation cannot be overheard.
Your counsellor will not be recording sessions and does not give their permission for you to record the sessions either.
Your counsellor will take responsibility for the technology and setting up the online meeting by inviting you and emailing you the meeting link. For added security, a new link for each therapy session will be emailed to you.
Please ensure that you have a quiet, confidential space where you won’t be disturbed and can speak freely. Should you anticipate interruptions, please make this clear at the beginning of the session.
In all remote therapy support sessions
If a crisis occurs whilst you are on-line or on the telephone, your counsellor and you will agree in advance what is appropriate support for you and how this can be accessed e.g. family member, GP, Crisis Team etc, grounding techniques etc.
Working with technology can raise confidentiality issues and no system can be absolutely secure. You and your counsellor must both take responsibility for ensuring the security of your equipment.
Drugs and Alcohol
If drugs or alcohol have been consumed which alter your ability to engage in the therapeutic process, the session will be stopped, and the full fee will still be charged.
Behaviour
Abusive, threatening or harassing behaviour will not be tolerated and will result in immediate termination of services. The police may be involved, and the full fees will be charged. Termination will be entirely at our discretion.
Social Media
We do have a professional social media account on Instagram, which is a public profile. Please carefully consider any risks involved in following this profile.
Sickness Policy
Our sickness policy helps ensure we all do what we can to protect the most vulnerable who visit us. We see a range of clients with complex health needs that need the protection of staying well.
Illnesses of concern can include (but is not limited to):
· High Temperature – if you have a high temperature, please do not attend the setting until it goes.
· Coughs and colds – please do not attend the setting until you begin to feel better in about 1 to 2 weeks.
· Covid-19 – please do not attend the setting. You may return when at least 7 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared and you have had 3 full days of no fever.
· Vomiting and diarrhea – if any member of your household has diarrhea and/or vomiting symptoms please do not attend the setting until they have been free of symptoms for 48hrs.
For other illnesses that arise on an individual basis please contact us and we can discuss the details. If you experience any of the above illnesses but feel well enough to continue your normal activities, including engaging in therapy sessions, we can move the session online. This allows you to continue your therapy and avoid a late cancellation, whilst minimising risk to others.
We understand that health can be unpredictable, but it is important to provide support for clients whilst maintaining a safe environment for everyone. Your understanding and cooperation are greatly appreciated in committing to the health and well-being of all client’s healthcare needs.
GDPR & Record Keeping
Earth Wisdom Ecotherapy CIC complies fully with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Your personal data will be used solely for the purpose of delivering therapeutic services, including contacting you about appointments and managing your care. We will never share or use your information for any other reason without your consent.
You have the right to:
Request access to the information we hold about you
Ask us to correct inaccurate information
Request deletion of your personal data (unless we are required to retain it for legal or safeguarding reasons)
Brief anonymised notes (process notes) may be taken after each session to support your counsellor's work and maintain continuity of care. These notes are securely stored in accordance with data protection guidelines and kept for up to 5 years after your work with us ends, after which they will be securely destroyed.
Process Notes & Legal Requests
Therapists may keep process notes - personal reflections that help them make sense of the therapeutic work and support professional development and supervision. These are not part of your clinical record, are anonymised, and contain no identifying information. As such, they are not subject to disclosure through legal proceedings, data requests, or police investigations. However, in rare circumstances, a court may specifically order their release.
This is part of our commitment to providing a safe, confidential, and ethically grounded therapeutic space.
Audio Recordings
On rare occasions, a counsellor may wish to audio record a session for the purpose of supervision, training, or self-reflection. This would only happen with your explicit, informed consent and would always be discussed with you in advance. Any recordings would be stored securely and destroyed after use.
Complaints
You will review your work with your counsellor on a regular basis in order to ensure that it is meeting your needs effectively. If this does not seem to be the case, please feel able to raise questions and concerns in the session. If you have any comments or concerns, please raise these with our office by emailing info@earthwisdomtherapy.co.uk Our complaints procedure is available upon request. Please note that we are based in the UK and governed by UK jurisdiction. If you are in urgent need of support, please call your GP, the out of hours GP service on 111 or the Samaritans on 116 123. You can also contact Gloucestershire Crisis Team 24/7 on 0800 169 0398. If it is an emergency, please call 999.
Engaging in therapy indicates your consent to the terms outlined in the agreement. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out.
