What is the therapy agreement?
Short answer
The therapy agreement is what is settled at the start about the practical conditions of the work: fee, frequency, session length, policy on missed sessions and rescheduling, confidentiality and its exceptions, and how the process ends.
Why it exists
Almost every friction that shows up later — charging for a missed session, disappearing without an ending, expecting replies outside session hours — comes from something never agreed. The agreement is not a formality: it makes the rule visible before it gets tested.
It also protects the person being seen, who then knows what to expect instead of finding out at the first disagreement.
What usually goes in
The minimum worth stating, on both sides:
- Fee, how it is paid, and when.
- Session length, frequency and how to reschedule.
- What happens if a session is missed without notice.
- Confidentiality, and the narrow situations where it yields.
- How the process can be ended, by either side.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I charge for a missed session?
- That depends on what was agreed at the start — which is exactly why the agreement has to exist before the first missed session.
- Does the agreement lock the person in?
- No. There is no minimum term in psychotherapy; the agreement organises the conditions, it does not oblige anyone to continue.