Therapy is a confidential process designed to help people address concerns, come to a greater self- understanding, and learn more effective personal and interpersonal coping strategies. The therapist works to create a safe and accepting place for the client to ease the process of sharing sensitive or vulnerable material. Therapy is collaborative, and both the therapist and client work together to create goals and solutions that are helpful for the client. 

Confidentiality: 

The process of therapy is private and confidential. With the exception of situations listed below, the therapist will not share your identifying information, clinical record, or personal concerns with anyone without your verbal and written consent. 

Exceptions to Confidentiality: 

Concerns for Safety: If the therapist is concerned that you are intending to do serious harm to yourself and/or others, the therapist will report this information to the counselling centre, and/or your emergency contacts, and/or a hospital to ensure your (or others’) safety. 

Consulting with Supervisors: To ensure quality of care for the client, therapists may consult with qualified peers or supervisors. During consultation, the therapist will share only relevant clinical information and will not share any identifying information. 

Collateral Contacts: At times, clients may feel it is useful for their therapist to talk to previous therapists, psychiatrists, medical doctors, family members, etc. in order to better understand their concerns or provide better care. The therapist will only speak with such collateral contacts with the client’s consent and will only discuss relevant clinical information. 

Working with Minors: When working with children aged 16 and younger, the therapist may share treatment summary or concerns with an appointed parent or guardian. 

Services: 

The therapist and the client will meet for 50-minute sessions. Both the therapist and client are responsible for beginning and ending sessions on time to ensure the quality of their work together. 

Following termination of therapy, the therapist will maintain and safeguard the client’s record for a period of 2 years from the termination date. After 2 years, a summary of the clinical record will be maintained and remaining documents will be shredded. 

Communication outside of the therapy room: 

To provide the best possible quality of care and protect confidentiality, most of the communication takes place within the therapy room itself. The therapist may use phone calls, text messages, or email to communicate important information, but never to provide therapy. 

Bear in mind that responses over text and email may not be immediate. 

In case a client communicates that they or someone else are at risk via text, call, or email the therapist will reach out to emergency contacts or other authorities as soon as possible to ensure safety. 

Online therapy sessions: 

Online therapy sessions may be arranged in the absence of lack of access to in-person therapy. The therapist will take possible precautions in ensuring confidentiality, such as conducting the session in a private space and using encrypted video/audio software. 

Fee for Service: 

The client will pay the agreed upon fee per session to Umer Latif before the start of each session. If payment is done online, then a screenshot of the transaction is to be shared. 

• If the client is unable to make an appointment, they must inform the therapist 24 hours in advance in order to avoid paying the full session fee.  

• As standard practice, if the client is unavailable for the session (without 24 hrs notice) or is more than 20 minutes late, the session will be considered cancelled and fee will be charged in full. This may seem harsh, but please try to understand that this time slot could have been availed by another potential/deserving client who has already been on wait-list.