Who we are
In a rapidly evolving digital era, most of us occupy an online presence which can sometimes create difficulties when communicating or maintaining therapeutic boundaries online. Thus aim of this policy is to set out how we work and interact online.
The Online Trauma Centre was created by a team of skilled trauma therapists with a commitment to best practice through offering evidence based therapies online.
All our therapists are registered members of the (BACP) and other registration bodies. They adhere to the organisations ethical frameworks to promote a safe and confidential practice. All our trauma therapists also attend monthly supervision with a traumatologist supervisor that to promote their professional development and maintain best practice. Our therapists are all insured and have enhanced DBS checks.
Location
We work with clients in the United Kingdom due to the differing laws and practice in other countries.
Age Groups
Please see the individual therapist profiles to confirm age groups they work with.
Online Assessment for suitability for online work
Prior to starting therapy commencing each client will go through an online assessment with their therapist to ensure that online therapy is suitable. Not every difficulty is appropriate to work with online due to distance and support systems not being as readily available as they would be in face-to-face therapy but this is decided on an individual basis. If your therapist feels that you may need support during our work together then it is usual for them to work with you to put together a safety plan of support or coping strategies that you can use between sessions should you become overwhelmed. You can also access additional resources by looking at your ‘I need help now‘ page. Assessment also helps to determine the treatment pathway which you can find more about on the FAQ page.
If for any reason your therapist is unable to support you online they can help you to find a suitable service in your area or you can enquire about local services through your GP.
Online Relationship
Your online relationship with your therapist will remain a professional relationship as we all have an ethical duty to maintain boundaries to provide you with a safe and confidential space. Clients can sometimes find this difficult due to the intimate nature of therapy and it is something we will always talk to you about if we thought you were struggling with it. Contact between sessions is limited to sending you resources or information and changes in arrangements only, unless otherwise agreed with your therapist.
Netiquette
The Online Trauma Centre promotes and encourages online netiquette by modelling such behaviour as the absence of a physical person, voice or nonverbal body language can sometimes cause us to feel more disinhibited and say things that we may not necessarily say in person. This can be positive as it may help you to express yourself in a way that you struggle with face to face. It is something that could also lead to misunderstandings so we always have in mind that we are talking to another human being and as such consider how our communication may be perceived.
Misunderstandings
We have seen above how the online relationship can be prone to misunderstandings and therefore we always encourage you to seek clarity on any aspects of communication you are unsure about and your therapist will do the same.
Social Media
The Online Trauma Centra has an Instagram account to keep up to date news etc. Our therapists may have their own social media presence but to maintain professional boundaries they will not be able to accept any invitations for contact with current or past clients and they will not initiate contact with clients via social media sites or forums.
It is not permissible to publicise the content of any written, verbal or video communication regarding the online trauma centre or their therapists or share them with a third party or other aspects of personal and public forums.
Website Contact Form
All information that you send via the contact form on the website is encrypted as the website has been designed to use web industry standard encryption called SSL. This stands for Security Socket Layer which shows as a padlock in the URL bar. This ensures that all data sent from the web browser is encrypted in transit.
Therapy Via Webcam
Our therapists use Zoom or teams to delivery therapy via a webcam which encrypts meetings and provides a password. Your therapist will send you a link via email inviting you to the meeting at an agreed time and day. If you have any queries on this please contact your individual therapist.
Text messages
Our therapists use mobiles specifically for business purposes which is operational during their working hours. If you are running late to a session or need to cancel or rearrange then we are happy for you to do so by text. If you need to cancel a session, then a minimum of 24 hours’ notice is required, or the missed session will be charged for. For data protection purposes we delete all text messages once we have read and responded to them.
Technical Difficulties
When coming for online trauma therapy it is really important that you have a good and stable internet connection and a web cam that you can keep on for the duration of the session. If for any reason you and your therapist experience technical issues during a ‘real time’ appointment then they will try to re-connect with you. If this is not possible then they will finish the session on an agreed alternative device if it is appropriate to do so and depending on where you are in the therapy process. Please contact your therapist for more detailed information on what to do during a technical difficulty.
Last update: 21/02/25 by O.T.C