Counselling Complaints and Concerns

Hidden Dragon Holistics aims to provide counselling that is safe, respectful, ethical and professionally accountable.

If you have a counselling complaint or concern about any aspect of counselling provided through Hidden Dragon Holistics, I want you to have a clear way to raise it and have it taken seriously.

This procedure applies to adult counselling provided by Chris Smith MBACP through Hidden Dragon Holistics, including face-to-face, online video, online voice-only and telephone counselling.

Raising a concern

Counselling involves an important professional relationship, and there may be times when something does not feel right or when you are unhappy with an aspect of the service.

Where you feel able to, you are welcome to raise concerns with me during counselling. Sometimes talking openly about a difficulty, misunderstanding or rupture in the therapeutic relationship can itself be an important part of the work.

However, you do not have to discuss a concern during a counselling session, and you can make a formal complaint instead.

You can also raise a complaint if counselling has already ended, or if your concern arose during the enquiry or assessment process.

What can I raise a complaint about?

You can raise a concern or complaint about any aspect of the counselling service, including, for example:

  • the way you have been treated;
  • professional boundaries or conduct;
  • confidentiality;
  • something that happened during counselling;
  • communication or administration;
  • appointments, cancellations or fees;
  • accessibility or reasonable adjustments;
  • the handling of an ending or referral;
  • something you believe was unsafe, unfair, discriminatory or unethical;
  • something that did not happen as agreed.

You do not need to know whether something amounts to a breach of a professional rule before raising it. You can simply explain what has concerned you.

How to make a complaint

You can contact me using the Hidden Dragon Holistics contact form and select:

Complaint or concern

When using the website contact form, please initially provide only:

  • your name;
  • a brief description of the concern; and
  • a safe way for me to contact you.

Please do not include detailed or sensitive counselling, medical or safeguarding information in the website contact form. I will arrange an appropriate way for you to provide further information if this is needed.

If you need help making a complaint, require information in another format, or need a reasonable adjustment to make the process accessible, please let me know.

What information will help me consider your complaint?

You do not need to prepare a formal legal-style document.

It is helpful if you can explain:

  • what happened;
  • approximately when it happened;
  • what you are concerned about;
  • how it affected you;
  • anything you believe should have happened differently; and
  • what you would like me to consider doing in response.

You can provide supporting information where this is relevant, but you do not need to send your entire counselling record or repeat more personal information than is necessary.

What happens after I receive a complaint?

I will aim to acknowledge your complaint within five working days.

I will then consider the issues raised carefully and fairly.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, this may involve:

  • reviewing relevant counselling or administrative records;
  • asking you for clarification or further information;
  • considering your perspective and the effect the matter has had on you;
  • reviewing the counselling agreement and relevant HDH policies or procedures;
  • considering the BACP Ethical Framework and other relevant professional requirements;
  • discussing appropriate aspects of the matter in professional supervision;
  • seeking advice from my professional insurer, BACP or another appropriate professional where necessary;
  • considering whether any immediate corrective or safety action is required.

I will keep the information considered proportionate to what is necessary to understand and respond to your complaint.

When will I receive a response?

I will aim to provide a substantive written response within 20 working days of receiving the information needed to consider the complaint.

Some complaints may take longer because of their complexity, illness, planned absence, the need to obtain professional advice, or because further information is required.

If I cannot respond within this timescale, I will let you know, explain the reason for the delay and give you an indication of when I expect to respond.

How I will respond

My response will aim to explain:

  • my understanding of the concern you have raised;
  • what I have considered;
  • my findings or conclusions where these can reasonably be reached;
  • any uncertainty that remains;
  • any action that has already been taken;
  • any further action or learning arising from the complaint; and
  • what options remain available to you if you are dissatisfied with the outcome.

If I believe I have made a mistake or caused harm, I will aim to be open about this.

Where appropriate, this will include a clear apology and proportionate action to put matters right, reduce further harm and learn from what has happened.

This reflects the HDH Professional Incident Procedure, which requires candour, direct apology, harm reduction and learning where something has not gone to plan. 

Complaints and the counselling relationship

Making a complaint will not in itself be a reason to end counselling or treat you differently.

If you are a current client, we may need to consider what effect the complaint and the events surrounding it have had on the therapeutic relationship.

Where possible, this will be considered collaboratively with you. Depending on the circumstances, counselling may continue, pause, or it may be appropriate to consider an ending or referral if continuing would no longer be therapeutically safe or appropriate.

Your welfare and the integrity of the counselling relationship will remain central to that decision.

Confidentiality and complaint records

Complaints are handled as confidentially as reasonably possible.

Information may need to be discussed in professional supervision or shared with an insurer, professional body, legal adviser or other appropriate person where this is necessary for professional, legal, insurance or safeguarding purposes.

Where information is shared, I will aim to limit this to what is necessary and proportionate.

A proportionate record of the complaint, my response, relevant advice, decisions and outcome will be retained securely in accordance with the applicable HDH counselling privacy notice.

Your existing privacy notices already explain that complaint-related records may need to be retained for professional, legal or insurance reasons. 

If your complaint involves a professional incident

If your complaint identifies something that has gone wrong and may have caused harm — for example a confidentiality breach, boundary issue, administrative mistake, safeguarding failure or other professional incident — I will also follow the HDH Professional Incident Procedure where appropriate.

This includes taking prompt steps to make the situation safe, reduce harm, explain what happened, apologise where appropriate, keep an accountable record and identify learning or changes needed to prevent recurrence. 

Safeguarding concerns

If your concern relates to the safety or safeguarding of a child, adult at risk, yourself or another person, please see the HDH Safeguarding page.

A safeguarding matter will not be delayed simply because it has also been raised as a complaint.

If somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.

Data protection complaints

If your complaint relates specifically to how your personal information has been collected, stored, used, disclosed or otherwise handled, please see the separate HDH Data Protection Complaints Procedure.

That procedure also explains your right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Complaints to BACP

I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP) and my counselling practice is subject to the BACP Ethical Framework and Professional Conduct Procedure.

If you have concerns about my professional conduct, you may be able to raise them directly with BACP.

You do not have to complete the HDH complaints procedure before contacting BACP.

BACP provides information for people who have concerns about counselling or wish to make a complaint about a BACP member. BACP currently accepts concerns from current clients, former clients and a number of other eligible people, and assesses concerns under its Professional Conduct Procedure. 

You can find further information through the BACP Professional Conduct section of the BACP website.

Because BACP’s procedures and eligibility requirements may change, please refer to BACP’s current information when deciding whether and how to raise a concern.

Using the HDH complaints procedure does not prevent you from contacting BACP, and contacting BACP does not prevent you from raising your concern with me.

As a sole practitioner

Hidden Dragon Holistics counselling is provided by me, Chris Smith MBACP, as a sole practitioner.

This means that if your complaint concerns my counselling practice or conduct, I am also the person responsible for receiving and responding to the internal HDH complaint.

I will aim to consider complaints openly, fairly and reflectively, using professional supervision and appropriate external advice where necessary. However, the HDH complaints process is not an independent adjudication of my conduct.

If you want your concern considered independently under professional standards, the appropriate external route is the BACP Professional Conduct Procedure, subject to BACP’s own eligibility and procedural requirements. 

Learning from complaints

Complaints and concerns can identify areas where practice, communication or systems need to improve.

Where appropriate, I will use the outcome of a complaint to review:

  • counselling practice;
  • professional boundaries;
  • policies and procedures;
  • record keeping;
  • safeguarding and risk arrangements;
  • accessibility;
  • administrative systems;
  • workload or supervision;
  • training and continuing professional development.

The aim is not only to respond to the individual concern, but also to reduce the likelihood of similar problems happening again.

Contact

To raise a counselling complaint or concern:

Hidden Dragon Holistics contact form:
Select “Complaint or concern”

Please do not use these routes for emergency or immediate crisis support.