About Brian Turner

About me

Brian Turner I have worked with people in a wide variety of settings for over forty years. For twelve years I worked in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) counselling Children, Young People, Parents and Families.
I counsel for several Employee Assistance Programmes including some Local Authorities.

I have been a Relate Counsellor for over twenty years and a Supervisor of other counsellors for over ten years. I am a member of Couples Counselling Network which recruits Experienced Counsellors throughout the UK. I have been a Tutor and Supervisor for Online Training for Counsellors onlinetrainingforcounsellors.co.uk and a Counsellor at Skyways counsellingskyways.onlineuk.org

I am a Registered Counsellor with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy(BACP) I have the Certificate in Couple Counselling, Diploma in Social Work, the CQSW and a Diploma in Community and Youth Work.

Theoretical Stance
The Relate training gave me a grounding in the three stage model of counselling and employs Psycho-dynamic theories including Object Relations and Attachment as well as Systemic - Life stages, Family backgrounds and beliefs, Life scripts in working with individuals and couples regarding their relationships. Soon after this, I began work at the CAMHS, where there was an emphasis on working Systemically with families. I feel I was fortunate to be there at a time when Family Therapy theory was emerging from rigid Structural theories to more flexible stances and acknowledging the possibility of external and internal influences on our behaviour as well as taking on insights from feminist theory.

Two chairs These influences have enabled me to develop a style that allows for curiosity, a both/and position, maybes‚ rather than certainties. I have developed an increased awareness of the importance of listening to the clients story and what they want from the counselling as well as a willingness, when appropriate to both challenge and to share my own feelings. I also see it as important to offer strategies that can effect change and often suggest exercises that may do this at a behavioural level. I am still developing and changing my practice.

Confidentiality
For all the counselling I undertake not to divulge any information you may give me to anyone else and make sure I keep any notes I may make in a secure place. The exception to this could be if it became apparent that there was a danger to yourself or others, especially a child. If I thought it was necessary to disclose information however, I would make every attempt to discuss this with you beforehand.

Like any professional counsellor, I have regular Supervision and I may discuss aspects of our sessions with my supervisor but I would make every effort to avoid disclosing information that would identify you.

If we are working On line with emails or by Messenger, if I make copies of our conversations these will only be on floppy disc and I will keep them in a secure place. I am registered with the Data Protection Agency and am bound by their code of practice. No personal details held on computer will be passed on to a third party without your explicit consent.

Internet e-mail is not completely secure, a determined hacker could find his/her way into this system, although this is very unlikely. The reality is that email is still a lot more secure than the telephone or the postal system.

It could be possible for others to find information on your counselling if you:

let others have access to your computer and emails
print out emails and don't keep them secure
misread my email address or sent one meant for me to someone else by mistake
if you use a computer at work, someone else may get access. Also your employer has a legal right to view e-mail on their computers.

If you feel that normal email channels are not safe enough it is possible to use encrypted email although this does involve some inconvenience including the exchange of passwords by some other means than our computers. Ask me about this if it is a method you would like to consider.

I have a computer firewall and a regularly updated anti-virus programme installed and I take all reasonable measures to avoid disclosure of information or accidental virus infection of your computer but cannot further guarantee this.

Ethics
I endeavour to treat all my clients with equal respect regardless of their sex, race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. I would not attempt to contact clients other than for counselling purposes or attempt to engage them in anything than a professional counselling relationship. I abide by the BACP Code of Ethics and Practice and am subject to its Complaints Procedure http://www.bacp.co.uk/ethical_framework/prof_conduct.php

Contracts
If I see you face to face or speak with you by telephone, I will let you have a copy of my Information Sheet which will form the basis of our contract.

If we are working on-line I will send you a Contract by e-mail early in our exchanges which will set out:

the length of time I can provide to read/write each email exchange
the length of time between each email and my reply
the number of exchange of e-mails before we review progress
what the arrangements are if there is a breakdown of either of our computers, how and if alternative contact is to be made
Any times that I will be away during the contracted period
How we can end the contract
The cost and how payment is to be made.

Payment
For face to face my fee is £45 per hour session. For telephone sessions the fee is £40 per hour or pro rata if shorter. This may be negotiable in some circumstances. This can be paid by cash or cheque.

For online counselling my fee is £40 per hour spent on emails, this usually works out at £20 per email. Real time sessions are at £40 per hour.
Payments can either be sent directly to me by cheque, paid directly into my bank account (cleared quicker than a cheque) or online through Paypal, paypal.com for credit cards using their secure server site or Nochex nochex.co.uk for debit cards such as Switch or Delta also through a secure server.

Insurance
I am covered by professional indemnity insurance.