PsychHelp Terms and Conditions

Welcome to PsychHelp.  PsychHelp is an online psychology practice.  Please read the Terms and Conditions carefully.  If you agree to the Terms and Conditions, you can use the services offered through the PsychHelp website.  If you do not wish to be bound by the Terms and Conditions, you cannot use the psychology services of this website.  By making a payment, you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions set forth below.

Acceptance and Changes to Terms

PsychHelp retains the right to modify or amend these Terms and Conditions at any time and without notice.  PsychHelp can amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by posting amended Terms and Conditions to this page on the PsychHelp website.  Unless otherwise stated, all amendments shall be effective immediately upon posting on the PsychHelp website.  You are responsible for regularly viewing the Terms and Conditions and checking for any updates.  Continued use of the PsychHelp website after any changes to the Terms and Conditions constitutes your consent to such changes.  If at any time you choose not to accept these Terms and Conditions, you may not use the PsychHelp website.

Definitions

In the Terms and Conditions for the PsychHelp website you are sometimes referred to as “you”, “the client”, or “the user”.  PsychHelp means PsychHelp1 Pty Ltd ACN 631 533 732 and its psychologists and is referred to as “PsychHelp”, “PsychHelp Services”, “we” and “our”.

Terms of Use

PsychHelp and PsychHelp services are not appropriate for you if any of the following apply:

  • If you are in an emergency situation and need urgent and immediate assistance. Please see our emergency contacts page for the appropriate phone numbers; or
  • If you are currently intoxicated from the use of alcohol or drugs.

If you are residing outside of Australia, we will consider on a case by case basis working with you.  There are restrictions on our ability to work with people overseas due to registration and insurance requirements.  Please contact us to discuss your situation.

PsychHelp will consider on a case by case basis working with you if you are suicidal or at risk of harming yourself or others as long as you have local mental health support to manage times of crisis. We are not a crisis service and do not have the ability to manage crises.  Please see our emergency resources page for services to help you in a crisis or emergency situation https://psychhelp.com.au/help-now/

You are certifying that you are over the age of 18 years or if you are under the age of 18 years that you have consent from a parent or guardian.  If you are under the age of 18 years you need to obtain consent from your parent or guardian to use PsychHelp. Consent will include providing your guardians name and contact details.  We also require an email from your guardian to confirm consent before your first appointment.  Only adults who can form legally binding contracts under the applicable law, so consent is required for you to be able to actively participate in the activities conducted through PsychHelp. By using PsychHelp services you certify that you have consent from a parent or guardian who is 18 years of age or older, competent to assume legally binding obligations, and has the resources available to fully honour those obligations that you undertake.  If you are the legal guardian of another person who is accessing the PsychHelp website, you hereby accept full liability for any harm caused by their wrongful use of the PsychHelp services.

PsychHelp reserves the right to refuse, limit, and/or restrict our services to anyone, for any reason, at any time, and at our sole discretion.

The PsychHelp Service

The information provided to you through PsychHelp is solely for your personal use. The use of this information or services may not be made available to third parties.

Psychologists at PsychHelp agree to practice in accordance with the Ethics Codes and Codes of Conduct as provided by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)/Psychology Board of Australia.

User Responsibilities

You, or anyone using this service on your behalf, agree to not use the PsychHelp service to:

  • Send or receive any content that is unlawful, offensive, malicious, abusive, harmful, threatening, tortious, defamatory, obscene, libellous, or objectionable;
  • Be in breach of confidence, intellectual property, copyright, privacy or any other rights;
  • Pretend to be any person or entity other than your true identity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
  • Intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any regulations having the force of law; or
  • Non-conform with any acceptable use policies of any connected networks and general internet standards and protocols.

When using this online psychology service, you are responsible for:

  • Providing the psychologist with all relevant information in order for him or her to assist you.
  • Behaving in a respectful manner while online. PsychHelp does not tolerate any abusive behaviour and we reserve the right to terminate the session if this is the case.
  • Making your own decisions. The goal of PsychHelp is to assist you to the best of our abilities to understand the options available to you but ultimately you will need to make the decision as to what you do.  We do not take responsibility for those decisions or the result of those decisions.

PsychHelp Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

PsychHelp psychologists use private rooms and are not observed by anyone else while in session with you. Our psychologists may print and keep a copy of your transcripts from emails or chat conversations.  These notes will be kept in accordance with the PsychHelp Privacy Policy and the provisions within the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics.

There are limits to confidentiality which are outlined in the Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics.  As a result, PsychHelp reserves the right to report to the appropriate authorities, such as the police or child protection authorities, situations where a client or associate of the client is judged to be at risk of self-harm, or of harming others, especially if a child under the age of 18 years is at risk.  Psychologists are also obliged to report to police information received about the commission of a criminal act.

It is your responsibility for keeping the confidentiality of any content you download onto your computer.  It is your responsibility to delete or keep safe emails and transcripts of online conversations.  You need to be aware that even deleted files can at times be accessed.

For further information please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Intellectual Property

The content and materials (including website designs, software, logos and information) available and displayed on the PsychHelp website are the sole property of PsychHelp and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws.  Content from PsychHelp may not be used, reproduced, sold or retransmitted without prior written consent. You are permitted to view the content online and print a copy for your personal use or record.    You indemnify PsychHelp from and against any and all liability, claims, damages and/or costs brought by third parties concerning any alleged infringement of intellectual property rights by you.

Appointments

Payment details are required to confirm an initial individual consultation at the time the appointment is made.

If you are eligible for Medicare rebates for Telehealth services, you are required to have a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP. You need to email a copy of your Mental Health Care Plan to our service before your first appointment.  Your credit card details will be taken at the time of booking and the total fee amount charged to this card.  Your Medicare rebate will be processed automatically and deposited into your bank account.  If for any reason Medicare finds you are not eligible for a rebate your credit card will be billed the full amount for the appointment.

If you are eligible and would like to Bulk Bill for your appointment you are required to have a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP.  If you are Bulk Billed, you will not be charged for your appointment.  You need to email a copy of your Mental Health Care Plan to our service before your first appointment.

If you are accessing PsychHelp using Medicare rebates you will need to have a GP review before your 7th appointment.  This needs to occur before the appointment otherwise your credit card will be charged the full amount for this appointment.

Only confirmed bookings are considered.  PsychHelp does not offer tentative appointments.

Both the client and PsychHelp have the right to terminate any services agreement for any reason, including the ending of the services that are already underway.  However, no refunds shall be offered where an appointment is deemed to have begun and is, for all intents and purposes, underway.

Cancellations

Appointments that are cancelled within 24 – 48 hours of a scheduled appointment will incur a cancellation fee, which is 50% of the appointment fee. A cancellation fee is not claimable through Medicare and may not be claimable through other funding providers.   Bulk billed clients are not exempt from cancellation fees.

Appointments that are cancelled within 24 hours of a scheduled appointment will incur a cancellation fee, which is 100% of the appointment fee. A cancellation fee is not claimable through Medicare and may not be claimable through other funding providers. Bulk billed clients are not exempt from cancellation fees.

If you do not cancel the session before your appointment you will be charged the full amount for the appointment. Please let us know if there is a genuine reason for not cancelling the appointment and we will try to reschedule your appointment.

If technical difficulties occur, please report these to PsychHelp as soon as possible so we are able to discuss these with you and ensure a fair outcome.

If for any reason your Psychologist is unable to attend the appointment, we will notify you by email and your Psychologist will contact, you to reschedule the appointment.

Payments

Payment details are required at the time of booking an appointment. Payments are to be made online by credit or debit card. You can also use PayPal to make payments.

PsychHelp accepts all major credit cards and debit cards.  Funds will be deducted from your credit or debit account after your appointment has been completed.

For successful payments, PsychHelp will send you an invoice confirming payment to the email address you have provided.

This online merchant (Halaxy) has an office located in Australia and all prices quoted are in Australian dollars. There may be additional payment processing fees applied to your appointment fee by the payment platform.

For payment that remain outstanding invoices may be forwarded through to debt recovery where additional charges may be applied.

Record Keeping

The PsychHelp psychologists will make adequate records and keep these records for a minimum of seven years after last client contact in accordance with the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Ethics Code.  Your records will be kept in Private Practice software which complies with the relevant Australian Privacy Acts or in a locked physical cabinet for this period.  At the end of this period they will be disposed of by either electronic deletion and/or shredding.

Security

Online payments to PsychHelp are made through a secure payment service.  Payments will be processed directly through the HealthKit payment gateway in Australian dollar transactions using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.  However, PsychHelp shall have no liability for the interception or hacking of data through the website by unauthorised third parties.

Credit card numbers are protected with a high level of encryption when transmitted over the Internet.  PsychHelp does not have access to your credit card details.

 

Disclaimer

When you access PsychHelp it is entirely at your own risk.  Except as expressly provided by law, PsychHelp will in no event be liable for any claims, losses or damages of any kind (including special, indirect and consequential loss) arising out of or in relation to the use or performance of the PsychHelp website.  We retain all of our rights at law as to how we may discharge our obligations with regards to any liability that cannot be lawfully excluded under these Terms and Conditions of Use.

Website Content and Access

This website is provided to you on an ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ basis.  While PsychHelp endeavours to take reasonable care in preparing and maintaining the information on this website, PsychHelp does not give any warranties or representations of any kind as to the security, accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any of the website content.  You acknowledge and accept that the website content may include technical inaccuracies and typographical errors.

PsychHelp is not liable for and does not warrant that access to the PsychHelp website will be uninterrupted or that the website is free from viruses, or anything else which may damage any computer which accesses the PsychHelp website, or any data on such computer.

Third Party Websites

The PsychHelp website may contain links to third party websites.  The inclusion of a link to other websites does not imply endorsement by PsychHelp.  Unless otherwise stated, PsychHelp does not control, endorse or approve any such third party websites or their content, nor does PsychHelp provide any warranty or accept any liability, or responsibility for, any content of those websites.

Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions and any agreement including these Terms and Conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws in the State of Queensland, Australia, and the parties irrevocable submit to the jurisdiction of the Courts of Queensland.

APS Charter for Clients of Psychologists 

Please visit the APS Charter for Clients of Psychologist which explains your rights as a client of a psychologist.

Complaints and Feedback Process

  • In the first instance it is best if you discuss your concerns or feedback with your psychologist.
  • If you do not comfortable or able to address your concerns with your psychologist, you can contact our office on 1300 144357 or email [email protected].
  • If you do not feel satisfied with this response or you would like to talk to someone outside of PsychHelp you may call either the Psychology Board of Australia on 1300 419 495, or the Australian Psychological Society on (03) 8662 3300.
  • If you have a compliment about the PsychHelp service or your psychologist you are welcome to contact our office on 1300 144357 or email [email protected].