Emergency and Crisis Information

EMERGENCY AND CRISIS INFORMATION

Version: 001

Effective from: 20th July 2026

Last reviewed: 20th July 2026

  1. MY SERVICE IS NOT AN EMERGENCY SERVICE

My psychotherapy, counselling and coaching practice is not an emergency, crisis or urgent mental-health service.

I do not provide:

  • Twenty-four-hour availability.

  • Continuous monitoring.

  • Emergency assessment.

  • Crisis intervention.

  • Urgent responses between sessions.

  • An on-call service.

  • Immediate responses to email, contact forms or WriteUpp messages.

Email, my website contact form, WriteUpp messages and booking facilities must not be used to request emergency or crisis assistance.

I cannot guarantee that an urgent message will be seen or answered within a clinically useful period.

  1. IF THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE DANGER

If you or another person is in immediate danger, there is an immediate risk to life, or urgent emergency assistance is required:

Call 999; or

Go to the nearest Accident and Emergency department.

Do not wait for a reply from me.

  1. URGENT MENTAL-HEALTH SUPPORT IN ENGLAND

If you need urgent help for your mental health but the situation is not an immediate life-threatening emergency:

Call NHS 111 and select the mental-health option; or

Use NHS 111 online where appropriate.

You may also contact:

  • Your GP or family doctor

  • Any physician you are registered with as a current patient

  • Your local NHS urgent mental-health service.

  • A charity or organisation providing emergency support or reponsiveness

  • An existing NHS mental-health team, if you have one.

  • Another urgent service identified in your local care or crisis plan.

  1. EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Samaritans provides confidential emotional support.

Call Samaritans free on:

116 123

Samaritans is a listening service.

It is not a replacement for emergency medical assistance where there is an immediate danger.

  1. IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE ENGLAND

Urgent and emergency arrangements differ between countries and regions.

If you are elsewhere in the United Kingdom, use the NHS or emergency arrangements applicable in your location.

If you are outside the United Kingdom, contact the emergency, crisis or urgent mental-health service in the country and locality where you are physically present.

Before attending an online session from another country, you must tell me your physical location.

I may be unable to provide or continue a session where your location prevents appropriate emergency, legal, insurance or safeguarding arrangements.

  1. IF YOU ARE AN EXISTING CLIENT

Being an existing psychotherapy, counselling or coaching client does not mean that I am available between appointments for emergency support.

If urgent help is required:

  • Use an appropriate emergency or crisis service.

  • Do not rely on email or WriteUpp messages.

  • Do not wait until the next scheduled session where delay would be unsafe.

You may tell me about the situation when I am available, but contacting me is not a substitute for obtaining urgent assistance.

  1. DISCOVERY CALLS ARE NOT CRISIS ASSESSMENTS

A paid discovery call is a brief introductory meeting.

It is not:

  • An emergency assessment.

  • A crisis intervention.

  • A suicide-risk assessment.

  • A psychiatric assessment.

  • An urgent mental-health consultation.

A discovery call should not be booked where urgent assistance is required.

If immediate or urgent help is needed, use the emergency or crisis services appropriate to your location.

  1. EMAIL AND MESSAGES

Email is not monitored continuously.

Because I am a sole practitioner and my administrative capacity varies, I cannot guarantee that I will read or respond to a message within four working days.

Messages can occasionally be delayed, filtered or overlooked.

Do not use email, the website contact form or WriteUpp messaging to communicate information that requires an immediate response.

A person who has not received a response to a non-urgent message within seven working days may send a brief follow-up.

That follow-up process is not suitable for urgent or emergency matters.

  1. SAFETY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Information shared with me is treated confidentially within professional and legal limits.

Where I become aware of a serious risk of harm or a safeguarding concern, I may need to consider disclosing information to:

  • An emergency service.

  • A safeguarding body.

  • A health professional.

  • A GP.

  • A person named as an emergency contact.

  • Another appropriate person or organisation.

Where reasonably possible, safe and lawful, I will seek to discuss this with the client.

However, I cannot promise that I will always be able to consult the client before taking action.

  1. ACCURATE LOCATION INFORMATION

Online work creates particular emergency limitations.

I may not be able to:

  • See the client’s complete physical environment.

  • Know what is occurring outside the camera’s view.

  • Determine the client’s location unless they tell me.

  • Reach the client physically.

  • Contact an appropriate local service without accurate location information.

  • Assess an emergency comprehensively through email or a brief online exchange.

Clients must provide accurate physical location and emergency information where requested.

Clients must tell me if they attend a session from a different country or location.

  1. INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS

Clients attending from outside the United Kingdom are responsible for identifying:

  • The local emergency telephone number.

  • The nearest emergency department.

  • Any local crisis or urgent mental-health service.

  • A local medical practitioner or other appropriate source of help.

I may ask an international client to provide relevant emergency information before beginning or continuing the work.

I may decline or suspend a service where adequate emergency arrangements cannot be established.

  1. LIMITS OF ONLINE PRACTICE

Online psychotherapy, counselling and coaching cannot provide the same emergency response as an in-person emergency or medical service.

I cannot guarantee that I will be able to:

  • Locate a client.

  • Contact a local emergency service.

  • Assess immediate physical risk.

  • Determine whether another person is present.

  • Intervene physically.

  • Ensure that a client follows advice to seek help.

Where the level of risk or need requires a more immediate, intensive or locally coordinated service, online private practice may not be suitable.

  1. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEEKING URGENT HELP

Clients remain responsible for seeking emergency or urgent assistance when needed.

A person should not delay contacting an emergency or crisis service because:

  • They have an appointment booked with me.

  • They have sent me an email.

  • They have left a WriteUpp message.

  • They are waiting for their next session.

  • They hope that I will contact them.

  • They are uncertain whether their situation is serious enough.

Where there is uncertainty about immediate safety, it is appropriate to contact an urgent or emergency service for advice.

  1. REVIEWING SUITABILITY

If repeated crises, serious risk or urgent support needs arise, we may need to discuss whether my service remains suitable.

This may include considering:

  • NHS mental-health support.

  • GP involvement.

  • A local crisis team.

  • Psychiatric or medical assessment.

  • A multidisciplinary service.

  • A more intensive or locally available service.

Ending or pausing private online work does not mean that the client has failed.

It may mean that a different level or form of support is required.

  1. THIS INFORMATION MAY CHANGE

Emergency-service arrangements can change.

Where possible, check current NHS or local emergency information rather than relying only on a saved copy of this page.