Running your practice

Once clients are coming, the job shifts. It’s less about setting things up and more about running them well: the contract you start with, the notes you keep, the way you handle people’s data, and the boundaries that keep both you and your clients safe. Get these into good habits early and the practice runs quietly in the background. Neglect them and they tend to surface at the worst moment.

This stage covers the running of it. None of it is glamorous, and all of it matters.

In this stage

Your counselling contract What to agree with a client at the start: fees, cancellations, confidentiality and its limits, and how the work will end.

Keeping notes What to record, how long to keep it, and how to store it securely.

GDPR and your privacy notice Handling client data lawfully, and telling clients plainly how their information is used.

Your diary and cancellations Managing your time, a fair cancellation policy, and protecting your own capacity.

Boundaries and endings Holding the frame through the work, and ending well.

Where to start

If you’re about to see your first client, the contract is the place to begin, because it sets the terms for everything that follows. If you’re already established but your record-keeping or data handling is patchy, sort those next, since they carry the most risk if left loose.

Note: our contract and privacy-notice tools produce templates to adapt, not legal advice, and we’ll always tell you to have important wording checked.