Purpose of This Agreement
In couples therapy, the relationship is considered the primary therapeutic focus. My role is to support the health of the relational system while maintaining fairness, trust, transparency, and therapeutic integrity for all involved.
This agreement is designed to reduce the risk of triangulation, secrecy, coalition-building, or perceived favouritism, while creating a clear framework for how both joint and individual sessions are ethically held within couples work.
i. Core Therapeutic Principles
This framework supports:
Transparency and trust between all parties
Protection against triangulation, collusion, or secrecy that may undermine therapy
Ethical, balanced practice that protects the therapeutic alliance with both individuals
Clear boundaries around communication and confidentiality within the couples framework
Emotional safety alongside honesty and accountability
ii. The Relationship as the Primary Therapeutic Focus
When engaging in couples therapy, my responsibility is to the relationship system as a whole, while also holding care, compassion, and respect for each individual within it.
This means I work to:
Avoid aligning with one partner over the other
Maintain therapeutic neutrality
Support both individual experiences without creating exclusion or imbalance
Protect the integrity of the shared therapeutic process
iii. Communication & Email Transparency
For any contracted service involving a couple - including couples sessions, individual sessions connected to couples work, or therapeutic support related to the relationship:
At times, individual sessions may be clinically useful within the broader couples therapy framework, particularly for:
Trauma-informed support
Personal history exploration
Emotional regulation
Clarifying individual patterns that impact the relationship
Supporting safety, capacity, or therapeutic progress
While these sessions may provide space for personal exploration, they remain connected to the shared therapeutic goals of the relationship. Individual sessions are held with respect for personal dignity and care, while also operating within the agreed transparency framework that protects openness, trust, and the integrity of the couples process.
v. Transparency Pathways Following Individual Sessions
If individual sessions occur as part of couples therapy, both parties agree that relevant relationship-impacting insights will be brought back into the shared therapeutic space through one of the following options:
Option A - Client-Led Disclosure
The individual attending the session chooses to personally share relevant insights, discoveries, or therapeutic themes with their partner outside of session
These insights are then integrated into the next couples session
Option B - Therapist-Supported Shared Summary
I provide a summary email to all involved parties outlining relevant relational themes, key discoveries, and therapeutic next steps
This summary is designed to support clarity and transparency, not to disclose every personal detail processed in session
vi. Limits of Confidentiality Within Couples Work
To maintain therapeutic integrity:
Information that significantly impacts relational safety, treatment direction, or the therapeutic process cannot be held in ongoing secrecy where doing so would compromise the work
I will not knowingly participate in dynamics that place me in a secret-keeping role, coalition, or therapeutic imbalance with one partner against the other
Where significant disclosures arise, I will work ethically and compassionately to support appropriate transparency
In some circumstances, this may involve facilitated disclosure, boundary clarification, referral, or reconsideration of the therapeutic structure
vii. Therapist Ethical Responsibility
My role is to remain ethically grounded, relationally balanced, and clinically accountable. This includes:
Avoiding collusion or covert alliances
Maintaining professional integrity
Supporting informed consent
Protecting both individual dignity and relational fairness
Working in alignment with ACA and PACFA ethical principles, including transparency, beneficence,
non-maleficence, and professional responsibility
viii. Client Consent & Agreement
By engaging in couples therapy services, both parties acknowledge and agree that:
The relationship is the primary therapeutic focus
Transparency is foundational to effective couples work
Individual sessions may occur within the couples framework while remaining connected to shared
therapeutic goals
Relevant relationship-impacting material will not be held in ways that undermine the couples process
One of the agreed transparency pathways will be used following individual sessions
This agreement exists to protect honesty, fairness, emotional safety, and therapeutic integrity for all
parties
