FAQ's

Once registered on the website you can book to see a Practitioner either face-to-face or online.  Select to see a practitioner based on type of session needed (adult, couple, child or young person), availability or by presenting issue.

Online Bookings: You can book an online video session to see one of our registered mental healthcare practitioners via your mobile phone, tablet or computer. When you book an online video session you will be asked to pay a 15% non-refundable deposit to The Practice.  The balance will be due directly to the Practitioner.

Face-to-face Bookings: When you book a first time face-to-face booking the Practitioner will receive an email informing them of your request to book a face-to-face session.  The Practitioner will contact you directly to discuss your needs before confirming the booking.  All subsequent bookings will be bookable via the Practitioner directly. You will pay the Practitioner directly for all face-to-face bookings.

Face to face: Before you can book the session, you will need to log into your account. If you have not created an account, you will need to do so here before booking an session. Select Adults, Couples or Children and Young People on the homepage. Select the Face-to-Face option.  Select the Venue. You will be directed to a list of practitioners who meet the search criteria. Select your preferred practitioner. You will be directed to the practitioner’s calendar. Select the date and time of your preferred session. Complete and request your booking. If this is your first face-to-face session the Practitioner will receive notification of your request to book a session.  The Practitioner will contact you within 12 hours to confirm the session. All subsequent face-to-face session bookings will be made directly with The Practitioner.

Online consultation: You will need to log into your account. If you have not created an account you will need to do so here before booking an session. Select Adults, Couples or Children and Young People on the homepage. Select the Online option. You will be directed to a list of practitioners who meet the search criteria. Select your preferred practitioner. You will be directed to the practitioner’s calendar. Select the date and time of your preferred online video session.  Your session will be added to your basket.  You can either go to checkout or browse for more. When you check out you will be asked to pay a 15% non-refundable deposit to secure your online video session.  The balance of the session will be paid directly to the Practitioner.

Face to face session: You will need to log into your account.Your calendar of sessions will be available for you to view.Select the session you wish to cancel and remove from your calendar.Please note cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance or you may still be charged.

Online Session: You will need to log into your account.  Your calendar of sessions will be available for you to view.  Select the session you wish to cancel and remove from your calendar. Please note if you cancel your online video session you will forfeit your 15% non-refundable deposit. Please note cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance or you will still be charged for the balance due.

Before you can book a session with one of our practitioners you will need to create an account.Click on the “Create an Account” link to create an account.Fill in all the relevant information and submit. An automated email will be sent to the email address you entered.You will need to go to your inbox and click on the Registration Confirmation link.

Click on the Forgotten Password link.  You will receive an email instructing you on what to do next.

Log into your account and simply change the details that are listed.

No.  Please visit your GP for any prescription needs.

No you do not need a GP referral to book an session through The Practice website.

No.  You will need to see your GP.

No. We are a private service and do not share information with other services

The Practice Online is an online forum allowing you to book sessions with individual practitioners and you can find their rates on each practitioner’s profile.  There are no hidden charges or costs associated with using The Practice website.

Please send our customer service department an email: info@thepractice.co.uk

The Practice website uses Stripe to enable clients pay for online video session non refundable deposits.  The Practice website does not hold any payment details or information. Your practitioner will advise you as to their preferred method of payment.

Once an online video session is in your basket and you are ready to pay the non-refundable deposit follow the link on Proceed to Checkout.  Agree to the Terms and Conditions.  Select Book Session(s). You will be directed off The Practice website and onto Stripe’s encrypted payment platform.

A non-refundable 15% deposit will be taken for all online video sessions.  All other payments are settled directly with your Practitioner.

Yes. Stripe is an encrypted payment platform.

Stripe processes payments in six steps.

1. The customer provides their card information, either online or in person.
2. Those card details enter Stripe’s payment gateway, which encrypts the data.
3. Stripe sends that data to the acquirer, which is a bank that will process the transaction on the merchant’s behalf. In this step, Stripe serves as the merchant.
4. The payment passes through a credit card network, such as Visa or Mastercard, to the cardholder’s issuing bank.
5. The issuing bank approves or denies the transaction.
6. That signal travels from the issuing bank through the card network to the acquirer, then through the gateway to the customer — who sees a message telling them the payment has been accepted or declined.

The rates of sessions vary so please check the profile of the practitioner. 

Yes.  Please check the practitioners’ biographies to see which insurance companies they work with. Or check through the tick box filter.  Be sure to check with your insurer before booking your initial session to ensure they cover therapy.

Each Practitioner has a different cancellation policy.  So please check with them before you cancel your session.  With online video session, The Practice charges a non-refundable 15% deposit. If you cancel your online video session you will forfeit the deposit.

Contact the Practitioner as soon as possible to inform them.

Each practitioner will have their availability on their calendars.  You will need to check their individual availability.

All the practitioners who are listed on The Practice website are interviewed and meet strict hiring guidelines.  All practitioners are qualified, insured and meet the requirements of the relevant governing bodies to which they belong.  Their membership to the relevant governing bodies is verified once a year to ensure they still meet the relevant criteria.

The governing body is the organisation to which your practitioner must belong. They stipulate a number of professional criteria that your practitioner must adhere to in order to meet their high standards.  They are usually self-governing regulating bodies aimed at ensuring a level of professionalism and adherence to their ethical codes and guides. For more information please ask your practitioner.

Please take the time to read the practitioner biographies. Unlike other online services, we have taken a great deal of care to recruit high quality professionals. It is important for you to choose someone you feel is right for you.  Try and get a feel for the practitioner based on the photograph and profile.  Do not be afraid to shop around.  Therapy can be a time consuming and costly process.  You may want to book an initial session with several practitioners so you can compare before you make a final decision. Finally if you are still struggling to choose a therapist, we offer a Special Assessment Consultation.  You can book a session with Special Assessment Consultant who will discuss all the relevant needs you have and can recommend a practitioner who can suit your needs.

Once you have met with your chosen practitioner for the first time, they may recommend that you return for further sessions. 

Face to face sessions: You can book these session directly with the Practitioner.

Online sessions: You can book these sessions through The Practice website.

Yes, you can. You can discuss this with your practitioner during your first session. You can book in advance for a series of sessions, and together you and your practitioner will help decide what will work best for you.

Yes for children under the age of 16. However, it is always best for the client of whatever age to be a willing participant in the therapy. Many practitioners will not see someone of any age unless they are a willing participant. It may be advisable to book a session and discuss your child’s needs with the practitioner.  Where possible engage your child in the process. PLEASE NOTE: We will not accept any sessions without your child’s consent.

In the case of couples therapy, yes your spouse/partner may use your account.  However your spouse/partner must consent to the session.  If your spouse/partner is booking a session on their own they will need their own account.

Most practitioners offer a 50 minute session but you and your practitioner may decide on a different session timeframe.

Your face-to-face session will be held at the venue you selected when booking the face-to-face session.

You can attend your online video session anywhere that is private, with a good internet connection. It is also important that you can safely devote your full attention to the discussion with the Practitioner. Unsafe and non-private areas include:

• Driving in your car
• Public spaces including shopping centres and parks
• A public place at your place of employment 

 The minimum age for a confidential practitioner session is 16.

If you need urgent support please immediately call 999 or go to your nearest Accident & Emergency Department. You can also contact the Samaritans on 116 123. Or go to https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/mental-health-services/dealing-with-a-mental-health-crisis-or-emergency/

Usually it takes a number of sessions to feel better or notice improvements in how you feel but for some people a few sessions can be enough. You and your practitioner will agree a number of sessions and you will review this and your progress regularly. Your practitioner’s goal isn’t to keep you in therapy for years but to empower you to manage your difficulties better on your own.

No, for therapy to be most effective you need to have a quiet and private place where you won’t be disturbed so that you feel comfortable to talk openly and safely

If your practitioner thinks that you are a serious risk to yourself or others, or someone else may be at risk, then they have a duty of care to report this to the relevant parties/organisations. Where possible the practitioner will discuss this with you.

A counselling contract is a contract between you and your chosen practitioner which outlines the terms of your session(s).  You will need to agree to this as part of the session.

Please refer to our guide explaining different types of therapy and therapists.  However, all our practitioners are qualified and experienced and are used to working and integrating different techniques and can tailor them to your individual needs.  They are used to dealing with many varied difficulties. The most important consideration for effective therapy is to choose someone you feel comfortable working with. Even though the therapy itself is often not a comfortable process, working with the right person for you is vital to the therapeutic relationship.

Your practitioner will make a recommendation for the frequency of sessions based on your presenting issues. Often, these will be on a weekly basis however more or less frequent sessions may be offered where required.

Online video sessions are not appropriate in certain circumstances. For example:

• Where there are existing, severe/enduring mental health problems
• Where a client is actively suicidal or a risk to others
• If there is active psychosis
• Where there is the presence of severe self-harm
• Where there is active and severe drug/alcohol abuse
• Where there is a history of extensive trauma
• Where there is a Personality Disorder diagnosis
• For those requiring multi-disciplinary team input and/or secondary care services e.g. involvement of psychiatry, social work, care coordination
• Where longer term therapy is required
• Where face to face therapy is required (e.g. due to risk issues/need for greater containment /therapy issue is not suited to distance/digital methods)

No.  You will need to see your GP.

No. We are a private service and do not share information with other services

No. The Practice website has no access to your medical history.

Please see our Privacy Policy.

Your log in information is stored on a secure server.  No other information will be kept.

We do not keep or store medical records.

Security is a very important topic for us at The Practice and we are constantly working on improving the service in this area. The whole development lifecycle, from planning to launch, is run with a strong security mindset. However, there is a possibility that a mistake could slip unnoticed through our process. If you find a security inadequacy, or something looking like one, we would very much like to hear from you. Contact us via e-mail at info@thepractice.co.uk and let us know what you have found. Include as much detail as possible so that we can easily investigate the issue.

Under the data protection act you are at liberty to request from your practitioner any notes taken during your session.  The Practice has no access to any session notes taken during your session. Only your Practitioner has access to these notes.

We hope you will be satisfied with your practitioner.  However if you experience any problems with your practitioner please fill in this complaints form.  We take all allegations very seriously and will endeavour to investigate any complaints immediately.

The sessions are not recorded by the practitioner. According to the Terms and Conditions you may not record the sessions.

Only you and your practitioner can access your session notes.

Your practitioner will only break confidentiality if they believe you are in imminent danger to yourself or someone else, or if there is a safeguarding issue regarding a minor. Your practitioner will make every effort to discuss this with you prior to breaking confidentiality. We are a private service and will only share information with other services should the above apply.

Your information is not shared with anyone. However, if you are claiming through your insurance provider then it will be likely that you will need to liaise with them.

Yes, completely private. The sessions are never conducted outside of a private room with just yourself and the practitioner.

Please fill in this complaints form or email concerns to info@thepractice.co.uk

No you do not need a GP referral to book an session through The Practice website.

No.  You will need to see your GP.

No. We are a private service and do not share information with other services

A working mobile device or computer and a strong internet connectivity.

No. You need to ensure that at the time of your session you have a good Wi-Fi or mobile internet connection.

Contact The Practice on info@thepractice.co.uk

Contact The Practice on info@thepractice.co.uk

Please check settings on your device to ensure that the video camera and the microphone are on and enabled for use.  If this continues, message Practitioner to inform them of the issues.  Exit program and re-try to log on.  If the problem persists, inform practitioner and use a different online video platform.

Private message the Practitioner to inform them of the situation. Log back into your online video session platform when service resumes.

No you do not need a GP referral to book an session through The Practice website.