Therapist Guide

Referrals & Bookings (Assessment Session)

How clients reach you, and what to expect at the first session.

Clients arrive in one of two ways:

For referred clients, we take payment during the placement call and book the assessment session directly into your calendar. You'll receive a referral email confirming:

• The appointment date and time
• The type of therapy booked
• Your placement team point of contact for that client

Post-Session Follow-Up & Payment

What happens between the assessment and the first block of sessions.

After the assessment, our team has a follow-up call with the client to:

• Discuss how the session went and whether they felt it was a good fit
• Agree how many sessions they'd like to book initially if they're happy to move forward

We then send the client the appropriate payment link for that block of sessions.

Scheduling Sessions

Once payment is received, you'll be notified of how many sessions the client has purchased — and you have two options for scheduling them.

Either is completely fine — pick whichever fits your existing workflow.

Calendar Management

Setting your availability up correctly is what allows clients to be matched to you. Our placement team books directly into your calendar — so keeping it accurate is essential.

Setting up your schedule

Your working hours should reflect when you're genuinely available for client sessions. When setting yours up, think about:

• Core working hours
• Regular breaks
  50-minute sessions, 10-minute buffer built in. Our system creates 60-minute events automatically — so you'll always get a 10-minute break after each 50-minute session without having to add it yourself.
• Administrative time
• Session preparation

Our placement team books clients straight into your calendar based on what they see. If your availability isn't accurate you may be matched with clients you can't actually take — or miss matches you could have.

Sharing your calendar

Your UK Therapy Guide calendar syncs with Google Calendar, so you'll never double-book and your live availability is always what clients see.

Privacy workaround: If you'd prefer we don't see your other bookings, you can create a second Google Calendar just for UKTG and sync it with your other calendars. Share only the UKTG calendar with us — your private bookings stay private.

Safeguarding

Clinical work stays with you. Our role is matching and ongoing support.

What we hold (and what we don't)

As a platform we hold only basic information about each client:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address
• Their concerns or goals

We do not hold GP details or any other personal client data, and we do not take part in any aspect of the clinical work. Any special category data (sensitive information such as a client's health) shared with us during matching is used for that purpose only and is not stored.

Your safeguarding processes

Once a client is referred to you, please follow your usual safeguarding processes exactly as you would in your private practice. This includes:

• Sending your contract
• Collecting any personal details you require (including GP information)
• Using your standard procedures if an emergency or safeguarding concern arises

If a client isn't the right fit

If during the assessment — or at any point afterwards — you feel a client may not be the right fit, this is handled the same way as in private practice:

1. You communicate this directly with the client
2. You let us know, and we'll support with a new placement

All clinical decisions and processes remain in your hands as the therapist. We're always here to support you and the client, and we can help rematch them with a therapist who may be a better fit for their needs.

Invoicing & Payments

How to mark sessions complete and when you'll be paid.

Completing Sessions

In your online account under Session Tracking, you'll see the client's name alongside a number of blank boxes — one for each session they purchased.

After each session — or at the end of each working day — please:

1. Enter the date of the session once it has been completed
2. Click "Mark as Complete"
   Watch: How to mark sessions complete

Monthly cut-off

The cut-off for marking sessions as complete is the 1st of the month following when the sessions took place.

If any sessions haven't been marked as complete before this monthly cut-off, please mark them as completed on the 1st of the next month instead.

Running Sessions

A few practical pointers for the actual session, especially if you're using our booking system.

Google Meet links

• You don't need to open Google Meet or click "Start meeting" — we create and send the meeting link automatically
• Just join at the scheduled time using the link in the calendar invite
• A fresh link is generated for each session

Session environment

Same standards you'd hold in private practice — private and quiet, good lighting, neutral background, and a stable internet connection. A backup device (phone hotspot etc.) is a good safety net if your main connection fails mid-session.

Initial assessment

For matched referrals, the assessment is your chance to gather the client's background first-hand, confirm fit, and cover the practical side — frequency, cancellation policy, and how many sessions to book initially. As case details are no longer shared in advance, the assessment session is where you'll learn about the client's situation directly.

Explainer Videos

Short walkthroughs covering the booking system and day-to-day tasks. Click any video below, or open the full playlist on YouTube.

1. How to share your Google Calendar with UKTG

The one-time setup that links your Google Calendar to our booking system so your availability syncs automatically. Do this first.

2. How to update your availability

Where to set or change your weekly working hours, so clients only see slots you actually want to offer.

3. How to add a single session using date override

How to open up a one-off slot outside your normal availability — useful for ad-hoc bookings without changing your regular schedule.

4. How to book new sessions

Once payment comes through on our end, this is how to schedule the block of sessions directly into the client's calendar.

5. How to reschedule a session

Moving an existing booking to a different time without cancelling or losing the session from the client's pack.

6. How to mark sessions complete

The Session Tracking workflow that triggers your invoice. Do this after each session (or end of day) — see the Invoicing section above for the monthly cut-off.

FAQs

Quick answers to the things therapists ask most often. Click any question to expand it.

Who to Contact

Your first port of call is always the Placement Coordinator who sent you the referral — they're the best person for general enquiries, updates, and day-to-day feedback on a client. Escalate to Nicole if something needs more senior attention, and contact Tala for anything technical.

Escalations

Nicole

For anything that needs escalating beyond your Placement Coordinator — serious client concerns, unresolved issues, or matters that need senior attention. Nicole can also help with navigating the dashboard.

nicole@uktherapyguide.com

Technical

Tala

Profile changes, calendar setup, account settings, or anything technical on the platform.

tala@uktherapyguide.com