Booking Agreement

Last Updated: 13-09-2026

By booking a session you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to the terms outlined in this booking agreement (“Booking Agreement”). This Booking Agreement is between myself, Dr Matthew Cott (“me”, “my” or “I”), and you (“you”, “your” or “the Client”).

Support you in identifying and working towards your therapy or coaching goals.
Conduct sessions professionally and manage the therapeutic/coaching process responsibly.
Maintain confidentiality and adhere to professional and ethical standards.
Reflect on and continually improve my own professional practice.

Read and ensure you understand this Booking Agreement.
Complete the Contact Details and Preferences form provided when you book your first session.
Attend sessions regularly and at agreed times.
Be in a quiet and confidential space for virtual sessions.
Provide timely and honest feedback to support the process.

Session fees (in-person or online) are €120 (Ireland) or £100 (UK) per 50-minute session.
Full payment is required:
at the time of booking your first session; and
at least 72 hours in advance of each follow-up session.
Accepted payment methods: card, Apple Pay or Revolut, or by cash (in-person). Bank transfer is also available on request.
Payment receipts are issued 2 working days after each session.
Fees are reviewed periodically. You will receive at least 1 month’s notice of any changes.
Please refer to the Cancellation Policy below regarding any refunds.

If you intend to claim fees through private healthcare insurance, please notify me in advance of booking your session.
As a Chartered Psychologist I can provide health insurance receipts.
It is your responsibility to ensure your claim complies with your insurer’s policy terms.

Once booked, your session time is reserved for you.
A reminder will be sent 2 days prior to your session (via text or email depending on your preference).
Cancellation of sessions: At least 48 hours’ notice is required if cancelling or rescheduling your session.
Cancellations with less than 48 hours are non-refundable.
I will give you as much notice as possible if I need to reschedule and will contact you via your preferred method.

Sessions will be held either in person or virtually, as agreed:
Virtual sessions: will be held on Google Meet.
In person sessions, UK: will be held at:
Phoenix House, Skinner’s Hill, Rushden, NN10 9YE.
In person sessions, Ireland: will be held at:
17 Bridge Street, (Front room, 1st Floor), Cork City, T23 K6HT. Note that there is no lift access to the 1st Floor.
Sessions are held weekly, unless otherwise agreed.
Therapy or coaching takes place only during scheduled sessions.
Either party may end this Booking Agreement at any time.

Before your first session, please complete a Contact Details and Preferences Form.
To contact me about our scheduled sessions please contact me by email: drmatthewcott@gmail.com or phone me on +353 85 226 2846 or +44 7786 694791.

Ending therapy is best approached as a shared and planned process. If, at any time during our work together, you wish to end the sessions, I encourage attending a final session so that we can seek to work together through any difficulties that you may be experiencing. Ending therapy is ultimately your decision but it can be beneficial to explore any emotional or impulsive factors.

Please inform me in advance of any holidays or breaks you intend to take so that we can plan accordingly and consider the potential impact to you of a break. I will also provide notice of upcoming breaks on my part as early as possible.

Please keep me informed of:
• any changes to prescribed medication.
• any physical or mental health changes that may affect our work.
• any other relevant conditions or needs that may require support.

Therapy sessions offer you a confidential space to express your thoughts and feelings. Everything that is discussed and takes place in the sessions remains confidential between us and will not be shared with any other party, with the following exceptions:

Risk to safety, of harm or abuse: I have an ethical obligation to report any threats to safety or sexual or physical abuse or neglect. Where possible, I will always seek to discuss this with you first before submitting any report.
Other Healthcare providers: I may be required to contact an external healthcare provider such as your GP or health insurer if there are elements of your care that may need input from an outside party. This will be done only with your consent.
Legal obligations: If you tell me about direct risk of harm or abuse to anyone or knowledge of plans of terrorism, there are legal requirements for me to report this to the relevant authorities.
Court proceedings: If you are involved in any court proceedings, the court may issue a formal summons for access to your clinical notes. If this happens, they ensure only notes that are relevant to the case in question are used in any proceedings.
Clinical Supervision: As a Psychologist, I am required to work with a Supervisor to undertake regular Clinical Supervision to ensure that I provide you with the best possible service. Only non-identifying details may be shared about you and are subject to strict confidentiality. Professional supervision is an essential element of good therapeutic practice.
Teaching/training: occasionally, anonymised examples may be used in discussions or training with peers and prospective clients. These examples will never contain personal details or information that might identify you and will use only information necessary to demonstrate or to explain the example.

You are invited to discuss with me at any time any concerns you may have about your confidentiality. If I become aware during a session that I may need to break confidentiality, I will aim to discuss this with you beforehand.

I operate under the British Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct: https://www.bps.org.uk/guideline/code-ethics-and-conduct and under the Health & Care Professions Council’s (HCPC) Standards of conduct, performance and ethics: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-conduct-performance-and-ethics/

If you have any concerns or complaints about the therapy, please discuss these with me in the first instance. If unresolved, you may escalate your concerns via the HCPC’s concerns procedure: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/raising-concerns/

Session notes and related correspondence are stored securely for a period of 7 years, which is the minimum legal requirement for Psychologists. These may be on paper or electronic format.
A number of measures have been adopted to ensure the security of documents and electronic data to comply with legal, financial, data protection and health care regulations.
Notes of our sessions are considered confidential between you and I and are only for the purposes of your psychological therapy - you can request to see the notes at any time.
Electronic notes of our sessions are stored only on encrypted and password-protected devices and are synched (in encrypted format) to cloud storage.
If you have any concerns about how notes are stored or recorded, or prefer not to have specific details recorded, please let me know.

See my Privacy Policy for full information on data processing and protection.

Please note:
• I do not offer an emergency or crisis response service.
• I cannot provide support outside of scheduled sessions (whether via text, email or phone).
• In a crisis, please contact your GP, local mental health service or a 24-hour crisis helpline, or your social support network.

Download Agreement

My Responsibilities

Your Responsibilities

Payment Of Fees

Private Healthcare Insurance

Cancellation and non-attendance policy

Location and frequency of sessions

Contact details

Ending therapy

Holidays and breaks

Medication and health changes

Confidentiality

Ethics and complaints

Records

Limits of service

Contact Details

Location