Terms and documents

• Agreeing the goal of our work together: which changes you consider good for you and how we will get there.
• Giving straight answers to your questions about my qualifications, experience, training, methods, the likely length of therapy and my professional views where they concern our work.
• Sending the Zoom link on time and being there at the agreed time.
• Giving at least 1 month’s notice of holidays, fee changes and other important changes to the terms.
• Following the code of ethics, keeping confidentiality and speaking with respect.

• Tell me if you know about a pregnancy or are planning one, if your condition gets worse, if you have suicidal thoughts or an urge to harm yourself or others, about medical diagnoses, medication or psychoactive substances, prescribed treatment, dose changes or stopping medication. And anything else that may affect our work. This is not an exam, it is a map of the terrain.
• Pay for sessions on time and in the agreed amount.
• Come to the session sober. If you have taken psychoactive substances, including alcohol, tell me.
• Keep a respectful tone: no threats or insults. Being angry is allowed, and we will talk about that too.

• I am a clinical psychologist with a diploma from the Institute of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology. My training exceeds 2000 hours, including more than 500 hours of psychotherapy training, more than 100 hours of personal therapy and more than 50 hours of supervision. I work with both psychological disorders and life difficulties, using psychotherapy without medication.
• I do not diagnose, prescribe or change medication: only a psychiatrist does that. I will help you get oriented and prepare for the conversation with one.
• In practice since 2021. Methods: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), CBT and schema therapy, MBCT. I hold training certificates in each.
• The quality of my work is checked in regular supervision: I discuss my cases with a more experienced colleague, without your name or identifying details.
• The goal of our work is the change in your wellbeing and life that you yourself have agreed to. We discuss the list of goals and the approximate number of sessions in the first meetings; you can change and add to them as we go.

• An individual session costs £70. You can pay by card from any bank except Russian ones. Unfortunately I can no longer accept roubles; in exceptional cases we can discuss it separately.
• The fee is fixed for the first year of work. I do not raise it more than once a year or by more than 20%, and I give 1 month’s notice.
• Payment is before the session or right after it, no later than 2 hours after it ends, unless we agree otherwise. You can pay for several sessions in advance.
• 2 places in my schedule cost half price: these are reduced-fee places for people from vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ people and single mothers. They are often taken, so please message me directly before booking to check whether a place is free.

1. Where. Online, on Zoom. If you book through Calendly, the link arrives by email automatically (check your spam folder). For regular work I create a permanent link. Join 3–5 minutes early to check your camera and sound.
2. How to book. At calendly.com/olgaantonova or on Telegram. If I have not replied on Telegram within a day, please write again. Practical questions between sessions go there too.
3. Length and frequency. A session lasts 50 minutes. We usually meet once a week; another rhythm can be discussed. If needed, you can book an extra supportive session yourself. How many sessions you need depends on the request, your wishes and your means.
4. A fixed slot. For stability we meet on the same day and at the same time; that slot is reserved for you. It can be changed by agreement.
5. If you are late. The session still ends on time and is paid in full. If I am late. The time is compensated, and you decide how: extend this session, extend the next one or get a discount.
6. Cancelling and rescheduling. Rescheduling is a normal part of life, and I accommodate it as long as it does not harm the work and does not become abuse on either side. Give at least 24 hours’ notice on Telegram or by email. Later than that, the session is paid in full: that time was set aside for you. If you did not warn me, did not come and did not get in touch within the next 3 days, further sessions are cancelled; you can return when there is space in the schedule. If I cancel a session with less than a day’s notice, the next one is at my expense. I give 1 month’s notice of holidays longer than 7 days. If I cannot continue, I will help you find another specialist.
7. Emergencies. You have the right to one free emergency cancellation with less than a day’s notice, but no more than 2 times a year.
8. Can I leave and come back. You can stop at any moment, no conditions. Therapy brings discomfort, dissatisfaction, anger and sudden urges to leave; that is normal. It is highly advisable to discuss these feelings before deciding: the most important things are often right behind them. You can also come back if I have space in the schedule.
9. How to finish. If possible, give 1–2 sessions’ notice so we can sum up and say goodbye gently. You can ask me for a summary of our work for another specialist, a plan for what comes next, and contacts of specialists, groups or doctors.
10. What to prepare. Nothing special. What matters is that you feel calm and safe: a quiet place where you will not be disturbed, a decent camera, sound and internet. A glass of water and tissues do not hurt. Alcohol and drugs during a session are out.
11. When a doctor is needed. Body and mind are connected. In some conditions (severe depression, moderate or high suicide risk, bipolar disorder outside remission and others) I may decline to work without psychiatric support: online, without it, this is ineffective and unsafe. If needed, I will give you contacts of trusted doctors and help you prepare for the appointment.

The main thing. I do not disclose who you are or what we talk about to anyone, under any circumstances, except a threat to life and health: yours or other people’s. If such a threat is real, I reserve the right to use lawful means to ensure safety, including emergency services and child protection where children are involved. We talk about this openly.

If we meet in the street. I do not reveal the fact that we work together, so I will act as if we do not know each other. You can be the first to say hello; that is your right.

Recordings. I do not record audio or video without your consent. During our work I keep notes on sessions and my thoughts; you are entitled to receive them. I keep them for 3 years after the work ends; they can be deleted earlier at your request. A warning: reading such notes without special preparation can be emotionally hard.

Supervision. I take the technical details of my work to supervision while fully preserving your anonymity. This is a check of my skills and your safety. You are entitled to know who my supervisor is. If I ever need to describe our work publicly, I will not do it without discussing it with you.

Reviews. I do not publish our correspondence, reviews of the work or personal information about you. You, in turn, are free to talk about our work anywhere and however you like.

No dual relationships. I do not provide you with other services, do not receive services from you, do not socialise outside sessions, do not become friends or enter romantic relationships with clients, during the work or after it. I do not work with your relatives and friends. If we happen to cross paths in a community, a training or a group, tell me.

Social media. I do not follow your life outside sessions, do not study your profiles and do not comment on posts. My social media are personal communication and professional presentation; I do not recommend reading them, but if you do and difficult feelings come up, that is normal and can be brought to a session. I do not add clients as friends and do not follow current or former clients.

Ethics. If my competence is insufficient or my values prevent me from being impartial, I am obliged to say so and refer you to another specialist. Everything else follows the codes of ethics of the European and World Associations for Psychotherapy (EAP and WAP). I am a member of ACBS, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.

Tell me. Unpleasant feelings, doubts, dissatisfaction and disagreements in the process are normal and useful information. I am open to discussing difficult and contentious moments. If you feel I have breached ethics, say so directly, as far as that is possible for you.

If there is no answer, or you feel your case was not given proper attention, you can contact the interdisciplinary ethics committee psyethics.ru or the ACBS association, contextualscience.org.

You are also free to voice complaints publicly and discuss our work with anyone, at any time.

Email and messengers are not always confidential, so personal and sensitive matters are for sessions, and messages are for practical questions.

I am available from 09:00 to 20:00 London time and reply within 48 hours. Telegram: @olantonova. Email: olga.antonova.y@gmail.com.

Messages and booking are not for emergencies. If you are in danger now or thinking about harming yourself, contact the emergency services or the crisis line in your country.

Nobody’s and both: my client is the couple. The three of us make the contract, and my job is not to judge you but to help you both hear each other. You may have different views and different expectations of therapy; that is a fine place to start.

We set the goal together. It can be “fix it”, “decide what next” or “separate humanely”. I do not save a couple at any cost: if the outcome is separation, we work on making it gentle, especially when there are children.

• Sometimes, by agreement. But in a separate session we say nothing that could not be said to the partner. I am not the keeper of a couple’s secrets. If one of you needs a place for private matters, that is individual therapy with another specialist.
• If one of you writes to me between sessions, I bring it to the joint session. Not out of spite: otherwise a coalition appears, and therapy turns into the very thing you came about.
• If one of you wants to leave therapy, we discuss it together in a session, not by message.

I look at how power, care and responsibility are distributed. Threats, coercion and violence require a separate conversation about safety and about whether joint work is possible at all. Safety matters more than format: if we cannot work together, I will say so directly, and we will discuss what help each of you needs separately.

• A couples session lasts 75 minutes: 65 minutes of work and 5–10 minutes for practicalities and a break if needed.
• We usually meet once a week or once a fortnight; we choose together. Regularity matters: missed sessions dilute the process.
• Online on Zoom, both partners, cameras on. If you are in the same flat, it is better to sit in different rooms: it is easier for each of you to speak and easier for me to see you both.
• Before the first session each of you separately completes 2 questionnaires: Young’s schema questionnaire and the schema mode inventory. This is not an assessment but a map of the scripts each of you brings to the couple.

• A couples session costs £85. You can pay by card from any bank except Russian ones. Unfortunately I can no longer accept roubles; in exceptional cases we can discuss it separately.
• The fee is fixed for the first year of work. I do not raise it more than once a year or by more than 20%, and I give 1 month’s notice.
• Payment is before the session or right after it, no later than 2 hours after it ends, unless we agree otherwise. You can pay for several sessions in advance.
• 2 places in my schedule cost half price: these are reduced-fee places for people from vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ people and single mothers. They are often taken, so please message me directly before booking to check whether a place is free.

• Cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours in advance; later than that the session is paid in full. Cancellation by one partner is cancellation of the session: you came as two, you reschedule as two.
• If you are late, the session ends at the scheduled time. If I am late, I compensate the time in the way that suits you: extend this session, the next one or a discount.
• If I cancel a session with less than a day’s notice, the next one is at my expense.
• If one of you comes under the influence of alcohol or other substances, the session is cancelled and paid for.

• Everything you say in sessions and between them. The exceptions are the same as in individual work: real danger to you or others, information about abuse of children, the elderly or other dependent people, a court order.
• I do not record audio or video. I keep brief notes from which you cannot be identified; I keep them for 3 years and can delete them earlier at your request.
• I may discuss my difficulties in working with you in supervision, without names or identifying details. You can opt out; just say so.

• At any moment. If you let me know in advance, we schedule a closing session to sum up.
• Continuing couples work with one person is not possible: that is a different therapy. Individual work is discussed separately, and it is often better with another specialist; I will help you find one.
• If I see that my qualifications are not enough, I will say so openly and suggest other specialists.

Tell me. Unpleasant feelings, doubts, dissatisfaction and disagreements in the process are normal and useful information. I am open to discussing difficult and contentious moments. If you feel I have breached ethics, say so directly, as far as that is possible for you.

If there is no answer, or you feel your case was not given proper attention, you can contact the interdisciplinary ethics committee psyethics.ru or the ACBS association, contextualscience.org.

You are also free to voice complaints publicly and discuss our work with anyone, at any time.

Email and messengers are not always confidential, so personal and sensitive matters are for sessions, and messages are for practical questions.

I am available from 09:00 to 20:00 London time and reply within 48 hours. Telegram: @olantonova. Email: olga.antonova.y@gmail.com.

Messages and booking are not for emergencies. If you are in danger now or thinking about harming yourself, contact the emergency services or the crisis line in your country.

• confidentiality;
• mutual respect: I-statements, care with advice and active helping;
• free order of discussion;
• reactions as a sign of solidarity are welcome;
• the “STOP” rule;
• shared terms on drinks and food, lateness and absences.

You may talk about your own participation with trusted people. You may not reveal other members. Instead of “Vera shared a great idea”, better: “One of the members goes for a walk to get away from heavy memories. I thought that was a good idea.” If you meet a member outside the group, do not show where you know each other from. This is the one agreement whose breach means leaving the group.

Strong emotions and tears in a group are normal. But if a discussion or an exercise causes too much discomfort, you can say “STOP” or sit the exercise out. If you feel like leaving the group during a session or after it, if at all possible discuss it with the facilitator first.

Sometimes I suggest everyone speaks in turn, sometimes it is an open conversation. Be attentive to yourself and to each other, and from time to time “step aside” to make room for others.

Attendance, absence and payment terms are specific to each group and are described in that group’s working terms, which you receive together with the consent form before the interview. If you cannot come, let us know in advance so nobody waits for you.

• Non-alcoholic drinks are fine; eating during sessions is not encouraged.
• Camera on: a group is faces and reactions. If you need to switch it off, say so out loud.
• Taking part under the influence of alcohol or other substances is not allowed.

While the group is running, it is not recommended: it breaks the dynamics and makes the group less useful. If something does happen outside a session, it is brought to the session.

No. For comfort and safety, sessions are not recorded by facilitators or members.

An application, a short interview with the facilitator, sometimes a couple of questionnaires, signing that group’s consent form and paying on its terms. From age 18. Contraindications and inclusion criteria depend on the topic; we discuss them at the interview and suggest what might suit you instead of the group.

In a session, not by message: leaving is an event for the whole group, and it matters to say goodbye. Facilitators may ask a member to leave if her participation has become unsafe for her or others; we always talk in person first.

Email and messengers are not always confidential, so personal and sensitive matters are for sessions, and messages are for practical questions.

I am available from 09:00 to 20:00 London time and reply within 48 hours. Telegram: @olantonova. Email: olga.antonova.y@gmail.com.

Messages and booking are not for emergencies. If you are in danger now or thinking about harming yourself, contact the emergency services or the crisis line in your country.

Supervision is a special professional relationship: it includes learning, practice and feedback in a form agreed in advance. The main goal is the wellbeing of your clients. Along the way it develops clinical thinking and skills, supports your resilience and raises the quality of care. For me it matters that supervision is not only about difficult cases but also a place to gain new experience: to train skills through role plays and experiments, not only to discuss what has already happened. Supervision does not replace personal therapy and does not assess your personality.

You can and should bring:

• difficult and tangled cases;
• doubts about your decisions;
• professional mistakes;
• the conditions of your work;
• how you are doing as a practitioner;
• shame, confusion, uncertainty.

We formulate the question, look at the case or other material. We can work with fragments of session recordings and additional materials, agreed in advance. If needed, we choose targets and skills to practise. At the end we sum up and outline next steps. Feedback comes as questions, hypotheses, explanations and direct recommendations, depending on the request and our agreement.

In a session we can:

• refine the case conceptualisation;
• discuss the therapeutic relationship and your reactions;
• develop assessment and diagnostic skills;
• analyse interventions;
• do role plays;
• watch recording fragments together.

As you need. With regular work you get a fixed slot: we set professional goals, return to the dynamics of cases and to skill development. One-off sessions are devoted to a specific question or a repeat look at one case and are agreed each time around the schedule. Format and frequency can change.

I consider case conceptualisation an important skill for growth, so I welcome it in any format convenient for your method, including your own scheme, in reasonable volume.

Send a written conceptualisation no later than 24 hours before the session. Later than that, we get acquainted with it in the session.

A spoken conceptualisation during the session is a full option. You can come with an unfinished one, with questions about it, or with a request to build it together. If the request is about your reactions, relationships or the organisation of your practice, a detailed conceptualisation may not be needed. You can ask me for a template for your method.

The main focus of supervision is your practice and your request. If gaps in theory come up along the way, by mutual agreement we can devote part of the sessions to them; scope and goals are discussed separately. Supervision does not replace systematic training in a method.

A brief look at the conceptualisation and the request is part of preparation. Detailed review of materials outside the session, including watching recordings, is agreed in advance and paid separately: scope, deadline and cost before we start. Sending materials by itself does not mean I will prepare a written review; without an agreement we get acquainted with them in the session.

I actively use and know well:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT);
• Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT);
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT);
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT);
• Metacognitive Therapy (MCT);
• Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT);
• Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R);
• Schema Therapy (ST);
• group psychotherapy in these approaches.

You may work in another approach: we discuss in advance which questions I can be useful with. I provide clinical supervision in the transdiagnostic Seven-Eyed model; in ACT supervision I draw on the principles of the SEED and SHAPE models.

Yes, by agreement, and it is voluntary: a recording is not a condition of supervision. Choose fragments in advance, note the timestamps and formulate your questions.

Before recording and showing it, separate informed consent from the client is needed for the recording and for the supervisor viewing it: purpose, who has access, how it is transferred, how long it is kept and when it is deleted. Consent to discussing a case is not consent to recording. In couples and group work, consent is needed from all participants. A recording is never fully anonymous, so that cannot be promised to the client.

Only with your permission and by separate agreement. You can decline or ask to stop the recording during the session. Recordings are kept for 3 years and can be deleted earlier at your request. They are used only for the agreed purposes; any other use needs your additional consent. While we watch client video, the supervision recording is paused.

I do not disclose the content of supervision to third parties and follow the principle of “do no harm”. To discuss a case, the client’s consent to bringing their work to supervision is needed.

Descriptions must not reveal:

• names;
• contact details;
• identifying biographical details;
• anything else by which the client could be recognised.

If you doubt whether a case is sufficiently anonymised, we discuss it before the review. If I see a breach of ethics or a risk of harm to the client, I say so directly and discuss with you what to change.

1. Where and how long. Online on Zoom, 50 minutes. Regularity by agreement.
2. Homework. I often suggest materials, reading and tasks. If the pace or volume does not suit you, say so and we adjust.
3. Lateness. If you are late, the session ends on time and is paid in full. If I am late, we compensate the time in the way that suits you: extend, carry over the remainder or reduce the fee.
4. Cancellation and rescheduling. Less than 24 hours on your side means the session is paid in full. If I cancel, the session is not paid; a prepayment is carried over or refunded.
5. Technical failures. We get in touch by any available means and agree how to continue; lost time is compensated at no extra charge.
6. Other supervisors. You can combine supervision with me and with others without any approvals.
7. Ending. Either side can end at any time.

A session costs £40. Payment is before the session or no later than 2 hours after it ends, unless we agree otherwise. We will discuss the payment method. Additional work with materials outside sessions is paid on terms agreed in advance.

• Setting the goals of supervision together with you, around the needs of your practice.
• Being clear about my training, experience, approaches and the limits of my responsibility.
• Giving professional feedback in the agreed form.
• Keeping a working and respectful atmosphere, ethics and confidentiality.
• Being on time and keeping to the practical terms.
• Giving advance notice of cancellations, breaks, holidays or being unable to continue.

• Use supervision as a professional space for discussing practice.
• Obtain clients’ consent to discussing cases, and for recordings separate consent to recording and viewing.
• Anonymise cases and follow the terms for transfer, access and storage of materials.
• Keep a respectful tone and professional boundaries.
• Pay for sessions and agreed work with materials on time.

You are. I am responsible for the professional and ethical standards of supervision, a respectful environment and the quality of the process and feedback. Professional decisions, risk assessment, choice of interventions and actions within your competence remain yours. Supervision does not remove responsibility for your own practice.

Yes, on request I issue a free-form letter stating the number of supervision hours completed, for directories, programmes or clients. I cannot guarantee that a particular organisation will accept it.

I can refuse confirmation only if my recommendations for correcting professional violations are systematically ignored. Mistakes and difficulties in the work are not in themselves grounds for refusal.

You can and should. The hierarchy in supervision creates tension, and you have the right to argue with my hypotheses and recommendations, ask questions and propose your own reasoned solutions. Disagreement and criticism are a normal part of the process and do not affect confirmation of hours. If difficulties or tension arise between us, they can become a topic of discussion at any moment. I am a member of ACBS, contextualscience.org, where a complaint can be directed in case of irreconcilable differences.

• systematic breaches of professional or client ethics;
• refusal to keep confidentiality;
• if supervision is used to justify unsafe practice;
• if a working alliance is impossible.

Messages are for practical questions and preparation; clinical and personal matters are for sessions. I am available from 09:00 to 20:00 London time and reply within 48 hours. Telegram: @olantonova. Email: olga.antonova.y@gmail.com.