My fees, unchanged since 1995, are:
· £100/hr if paying as an individual
· £120/hr if paid by an employer/institution
I ask for payment on the day of the session, if it cannot be made in advance.
Payment is usually easiest by bank transfer (details provided when payment is due).
I can provide formal invoicing if required. Please ask in advance, if possible.
Discounts are sometimes available but must be arranged in advance:
· 10% for students without other income and who are paying for themselves;
· A further 10% fee reduction is available for any client/supervisee in ongoing serious financial difficulties.
Paying It Forward
If you are financially secure and want to support clients and therapists from a variety of racial & class backgrounds, you can pay up to 20% over the usual rate. All such moneys will be kept in a special subvention fund to subsidise those who are less able to pay.
Additional fees:
I do not charge for emails, quick phone calls or other minor or administrative tasks that fall between sessions. However, I may need to apply a charge (at the same rate) for time spent reading or preparing detailed reports, documents or letters (especially to 3rd parties).
Group sessions are usually charged at £50 per person per hour; a 1.5hr group session will cost each member £75.
Records and Confidentiality
My records: I keep contemporaneous notes during sessions, mainly for my own reference and to track our work together. I occasionally record sessions for later reference and analysis. All information is usually kept for 7 years after our last session in line with GDPR good practice, and is then securely destroyed. You have a right to access information about you if you want.
Confidentiality: I maintain your privacy except in 4 specific circumstances:
· My own supervision: I discuss my work in my own supervision under equivalent conditions of privacy and confidentiality. These discussions are anonymous and I actively disguise identities to protect you and anyone else you discuss. This is a requirement of ethical practice in most UK counselling and therapy settings.
· Legal requirements: It is possible, though very unlikely, that I might be required to share information by law (eg if you become involved in litigation or because of the anti-terrorism laws in the UK).
· Research, audit and evaluation: I sometimes undertake research and related activities to support the quality of my own work or as part of wider research and publishing activities. If I use our work for these purposes, I will only use it in anonymised or aggregated form unless I have separately obtained your specific, explicit permission.
· Prevention of serious harm: I may need to disclose information if it is clear that it is the only way to prevent serious harm to you or others. I would never usually do this without discussing it with you first.
A note on “copyright”: Our work may be recorded manually, through the technologies we use to connect us, or reconstructed through recall. I ask that I be nominally considered the “owner” of the content of our work for any public purposes. I would not normally withhold permission if you wanted to use or make public material from our time together, but I ask that you discuss with me to obtain direct permission first.
Concerns or complaints
If something is not working: I ask that my clients and supervisees raise the matter with me in the first instance if able to do so.
Counselling, psychotherapy, and supervision of either, can all raise difficult feelings and relational patterns. It is often worth persisting through these to work through the issues, resolve them and rebuild the quality of our relationship. Most concerns can be resolved through honest conversation, and good therapy can mean not flinching from the prospect if that conversation seems like it might be difficult.
If that does not work or is not appropriate: I am a member of BACP and anyone can make a formal complaint to BACP whose procedure is available on their website: How to complain about a BACP member.
I take all concerns seriously and want to resolve them constructively.
My name is Stephen Goss. I'm a counsellor, clinical supervisor, and researcher. I work through OTI (Europe) Ltd, and I'm a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). This notice explains what personal information I hold about you, how I use and protect it, and what rights you have. I've tried to write in plain language, but if anything isn't clear, please just ask.
Depending on whether you're a therapy client or a supervisee, I may hold: Your name and contact details (email, phone number, and where relevant, your address); Details of what brings you to therapy or supervision, and what we work on together; Handwritten session notes; Correspondence between us; Practical information such as session dates, fees, and payment records; Emergency contact details where relevant.
Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, I hold most of your information on the basis of our working agreement. For the more sensitive personal information involved in therapy and supervision, I process your data on the basis of providing a health and social care service.
I use the information I hold to provide counselling, supervision, or other professional services; to keep records that support continuity of care; to handle scheduling and payment; to meet my legal and professional obligations; and to seek clinical supervision (see below). I do not use your information for marketing, and I do not share or sell it to third parties.
Everything you share with me is treated in the strictest confidence. However, there are some situations where information may need to be shared, and I want to be upfront about these: Clinical supervision. I'm required by BACP to work under clinical supervision. I may discuss aspects of our work with my supervisor, who is bound by their own professional confidentiality. I keep identifying details to a minimum wherever possible. Safeguarding and serious risk. If I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or to someone else, I may need to contact relevant services such as emergency services or social services. Where it is safe to do so, I will discuss this with you first. Legal requirements. In certain circumstances I may be legally required to disclose information, for example in response to a court order. Training, research, audit and professional writing. I may occasionally wish to use anonymised material from our work in professional training or writing or for research purposes. I will always discuss this with you first and seek your explicit consent before doing so. It is possible that my practice may be audited by BACP. I will explain any foreseeable limits to confidentiality at the start of our work together and revisit this if anything changes. I have a professional executor who is a qualified colleague who has agreed to contact clients in the event of my death or incapacity. They are bound by full professional confidentiality and have no access to your information in any other circumstance."
I want to be transparent about the technology involved in my practice. Video sessions: If we work by video, I use VSee, or an alternative platform nominated by you. I assess any platform for data security before using it, but you should be aware that all video platforms process some data about your connection. Email: I use a secure encrypted email service (Hush Mail) for correspondence. Even so, please be mindful about sharing highly sensitive information by email, and let me know if you'd prefer to discuss anything directly. Session notes: I keep handwritten notes only. These are stored securely in locked physical storage and are not held in any electronic system. I occasionally record sessions for later reference and analysis or research, in addition to handwritten notes. Website: My website is hosted by Google Sites. If you contact me through the site, your message will be handled in accordance with Google's privacy policies. AI tools: I do not use AI tools that process identifiable client information. If this changes, I will tell you and update this notice. Social media: My professional online presence is kept entirely separate from any personal social media accounts.
I retain records for a minimum of seven years after our work ends. If you were under 18 during our work together, I keep records until you would have reached the age of 25, or for seven years from our last contact — whichever is later. After the relevant period, records are securely destroyed.
Under UK data protection law you have the right to: Access the personal data I hold about you; Correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete; Request erasure of your data (subject to my legal and professional obligations to retain certain records); Restrict how I process your data in certain circumstances; Object to certain types of processing; Data portability in some circumstances.To exercise any of these rights, please contact me directly. I will respond within one month.
I hope that if you have any concerns you'll raise them with me first. If you're not satisfied with my response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.
ICO website: ico.org.uk
ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113
Stephen Goss, OTI (Europe) Ltd, BACP Registered Member 00503624
Email: s.goss@hush.com
Website: sites.google.com/view/Stephen-goss-therapy
This notice was last updated August 2026. I review it periodically and will notify existing clients and supervisees of any significant changes.
This policy is reviewed annually or sooner if legislation or guidance changes.
Safeguarding means taking reasonable steps to protect people — particularly children and vulnerable adults — from abuse, neglect, and serious harm. As a sole practitioner, I take my safeguarding responsibilities seriously. This policy sets out what I will do if a safeguarding concern arises in the course of my work.
This policy covers all clients and supervisees I work with, regardless of age, background, or location.
My practice is governed primarily by UK law, including: The Children Act 1989 and 2004; The Care Act 2014 (adults at risk); Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023; The Mental Capacity Act 2005; The BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.
A safeguarding concern may arise when there are reasonable grounds to believe that:
A child is being abused, neglected, or is at risk of significant harm
A vulnerable adult is being abused, neglected, exploited, or is at serious risk
Someone is at immediate risk of suicide or serious self-harm
A third party faces a serious and credible risk of harm
If there is immediate danger, I will contact the emergency services (999) without delay.
If there is a serious concern that is not an immediate emergency, I will:
Discuss the concern with the person involved wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so
Consult my clinical supervisor
Make a referral to the relevant statutory authority if needed, or support the person to do so themselves
Keep a clear written record of the concern, the reasoning, and the action taken
I will not investigate abuse myself, make promises I cannot keep about confidentiality, or ask leading questions.
If I or you are based in the UK and immediate danger exists:
Emergency services: 999
Non-emergency police: 101
NHS urgent mental health support: 111 (select mental health option)
Children's safeguarding (Hillingdon, where I am based):
Hillingdon Children's Services: 01895 556006
Out of hours: 01895 250111
NSPCC helpline: 0808 800 5000
Adults at risk (Hillingdon):
Hillingdon Adult Social Care: 01895 556633
Out of hours: 01895 250111
For clients based elsewhere in the UK, I will identify and use the appropriate local authority safeguarding contact for your area.
For clients based outside the UK, I will seek advice from my clinical supervisor and, where appropriate, signpost to local emergency services or statutory bodies in your country. In an immediate emergency, please contact your local emergency services directly.
I keep a written record of any safeguarding concern, including what was disclosed or observed, what action I took, and the outcome. These records are stored securely and separately from routine session notes.
Safeguarding concerns are discussed with my clinical supervisor as a matter of priority. My supervisor is bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.
If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, please raise them with me directly. If that is inappropriate, contact BACP at www.bacp.co.uk.