Amica seeks to offer you

• A non-judgemental service based on trust, empathy, fairness, respect and dignity.
• A short-term counselling service. This is offered to you as one of your employment benefits and is free for you to use.
• The number of sessions you are entitled to is determined by the agreement between Amica and your employer.
• Sessions are provided via telephone, video-calls, or in-person. We ask that you are in a place where you can talk freely, where you cannot be overheard or interrupted, and that no other people are present during the session.
• Sessions last for around 50 minutes and are usually weekly or fortnightly at the same time and day, although this cannot be guaranteed, and counsellors will be flexible wherever possible.
• If a counsellor is not able to attend your session, we will give you as much notice as possible.
• To provide you access to our service we need to collect some personal information from you. This is for clinical use and is kept in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Full details.
• The service is confidential, and your access is NOT shared with your employer. However, Amica has a legal requirement to report any risk of harm to yourself or others (including a child), any acts of terrorism, and money laundering. If there are any concerns, we will discuss these with you (where possible) before any decisions are made about the need for disclosure and to whom.
• All of our counsellors are qualified therapists and work within the principles and guidelines contained within the ethical framework of one of the UK’s major counselling bodies.

What Amica asks of you

• If you cannot attend a session please contact your counsellor or the telephone line on 0116 254 4388, at least 48 hours before the session. Late cancellations will count towards your sessions, however we understand that sometimes things happen at the last minute such as illness or emergencies.
• For telephone and video sessions, the counsellor will call you at the agreed start time. If they are unable to reach you, they will keep trying for up to 20 minutes. If there is no response, this session will be classed as a did not attend (DNA) and will be counted as one of your sessions.
• If you feel that therapy is not helping, please discuss these difficulties with your counsellor. They may suggest that you try different tools that could be more suited for you and your needs. If you feel unable to discuss this with your counsellor please contact us here or on 0116 254 4388.
• You may request a change of counsellor if you feel the therapeutic relationship is not working for you. If you feel unable to discuss this with your counsellor, please contact us here or on 0116 254 4388.
• Alongside this contract, you will have been sent a link to an Amica feedback form, which we ask is completed at the end of your therapy sessions. Your counsellor will remind you to complete this in the last or penultimate session. Responses are fully anonymous and will be used to improve and promote the service. As part of Amica moving to consistently improve the quality of our service, we may contact you at some point down the line to ask you about your experience with the use of our service.
• Amica has a written Comments, Compliments and Complaints procedure.