Therapist to Client Therapy Contract
1. Introduction
1.1. Welcome to The International Psychology Clinic. Below is a contract between me, as your therapist, and you, for professional therapy services. It provides a full description of how I practice so you are thoroughly informed. Just take a moment to read this through.
1.2. These terms and conditions govern your use of my professional services. By engaging my therapist services, you accept these terms and conditions in full.
2. Service Provider
2.1. The International Psychology Clinic is a company that manages associate members who work on a self-employed, freelance basis. The service provider shall at all times be considered myself as your therapist and not the company.
3. Confidentiality
3.1. All personal information provided to me during the provision of my therapist services will be kept strictly private and confidential.
3.2. I will keep brief records of sessions to document our meetings. These will include date and time of your appointment and topics covered. Records of sessions are stored in digital format on a password protected or encrypted computer hard drive, in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679.
3.3. I will only disclose information with other professionals at your request and with your consent. You can tell me not to share any information, or you can ask me only to share some information. For example, you may be happy for me to tell your GP and/or family about your treatment and care needs, but not your diagnosis.
3.4. There are a limited number of circumstances in which I should reveal relevant information about you and it is important that you are aware of the rare legal exceptions where codes of practice on confidential information needs to be broken. These are:
- where there is a risk of serious harm to you or to others, or
- where there is a risk of a serious crime.
For example, if you tell me that you are planning to hurt yourself or other people, I could decide to share this information with your next of kin, or contact the police. In certain circumstances, I can share your personal information if this is for the public good. Your personal information can also be shared if this is required by law. For example, a court could order to provide information to them.
4. Therapy Sessions
4.1. Sessions last for 50 minutes, unless otherwise agreed, and I will agree regular weekly appointments with you at a time that is suitable for you both.
4.2. Weekly attendance is required in order for you to benefit from therapy. If you do not commit to regular weekly sessions, I might not be able to continue working with you (with the exception of clients who have moved to a maintenance program after having engaged in weekly therapy sessions).
4.3. The number of sessions that you require to complete treatment will be discussed and agreed with me. If it is open ended the need for therapy will be reviewed as required.
5. Fees
5.1. The fee for an initial 50 minutes consultation is as stated on my therapist profile.
5.2. Following your first appointment, all subsequent sessions are 50 minutes and usually take place at the same time each week, unless otherwise agreed.
5.3. All sessions are the same fee as your first appointment.
5.4. Please note that if your session are longer than 50 minutes, the fee will be subject to change and charged on a pro-rata basis.
5.5. My hourly fees are reviewed annually, with any increases applied in April.
6. Contact Outside Sessions
6.1. You can contact me outside sessions only for administrative reasons, such as rescheduling or cancelling your upcoming appointment.
6.2. Please do not contact The International Psychology Clinic's admin team to cancel or reschedule a session. If you do, they will just forward your query to me.
6.3. I will not be able to assist you outside sessions if you are in a crisis. You can go to any hospital A&E department and ask for help. You can call 112 and ask for an ambulance.
7. Ending Therapy
7.1. Upon booking your first therapy appointment you are booking a weekly recurring appointment until you explicitly end therapy.
7.2. You can end therapy at any time. If you wish therapy to stop for any reason, you should notify me directly in writing by text or email and, whenever possible, allow at least one or two more sessions to give time for working through any issues and feelings that arise.
7.3. If you discontinue your sessions, but then decide to resume therapy, you’ll need to see if there are slots open, remembering that there is no guarantee that a slot would be available upon your return.
8. Lateness and Session Times
8.1. If you arrive late for your session, the session will still end at the same time.
8.2. If you arrive early, please wait in reception and your psychologist will come to collect you on time.
9. Cancellations
9.1. The first session is non-refundable, but can be rescheduled with more than 48 hours notice.
9.2. After the first session, the full fee will be charged for all sessions cancelled with less than 48 hours notice. No refunds are payable for booked but unattended sessions with less than 48 hours notice.
9.3. I offer a maximum of 1 free cancellation with a minimum of 48 hours notice in any 10 weeks period. The full fee will be charged for additional cancellations regardless of notice period.
9.4. In the event of exceptional circumstances (such as holidays, business travels etc.), a Skype or Telephone session will be offered as a replacement to a face to face session and if this is declined then cancellation charges will still apply as above.
9.5. Health insurance clients may forfeit a session as a result of cancellations. Please note that some insurers do not cover for missed appointments. I advise you to check with your Insurer prior to starting treatment.
10. Payments
10.1 Full payment is required at the time of booking without exceptions.
10.2. When you first book a session The International Psychology Clinic asks you to enter your credit or debit card details to pay for the session and payment is taken immediately by Stripe.
10.3. By entering your credit card details you are authorising The International Psychology Clinic to take payment on my behalf for your first session and any follow up sessions you ask me to book for you.
10.4. This card is stored on Stripe and used for your subsequent appointments. Your card data (card number, CVV code etc) is never disclosed to us. Stripe sends us an authorisation token that allows us to charge your card. You can revoke this authorisation at any time. Stripe is PCI compliant which means they meet the highest security for protecting your details, as demanded by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
10.5. After the first session, payment will be taken immediately for sessions you book on the International Psychology Clinic website. Payment will be taken 48 hours in advance of the session start time when booked by your therapist on the International Psychology Clinic website. You can ask for a refund provided you give 48 hours notice.
10.6. If taking the charge fails for any reason you'll be notified and asked to make changes to ensure the charge can be taken. We reserve the right to cancel appointments for which payment is not received 48 hours in advance.
10.7. We do not accept payments on site.
10.8. In the event that an account is outstanding, The International Psychology Clinic will decide the most appropriate next step to take recovery of the money you owe. They may instruct our debt collector agent to recover the money you owe. This will incur a surcharge of 15% of the debt plus VAT and additional costs depending upon the amount owed and the action taken. You agree that you will be legally liable to pay us the debt recovery costs plus any cost incurred in the process and that payment can be enforced against you in court. You also agree to pay interest at the relevant interest rate and compensation for debt recovery costs as set out under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
11. Therapist Absence
11.1. I’ll give you as much notice as I can regarding my planned holidays, and also of any ad hoc absences that I try to limit to a minimum. You are not going to be charged for my absences.
12. Law and Jurisdiction
12.1. These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Any disputes relating to these terms and conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
13. Complaint
13.1. I am subject to the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the professional body I am registered with.
13.2. Complaints and enquiries with regards to specialist psychological assessments, assessment and/or treatment reports, psychological treatments, conduct and ethical issues should be addressed directly to my professional body.
14. Acknowledgment
14.1. By signing this form or by engaging our services you are acknowledging that you understand and agree to abide by the terms and conditions detailed in this document.