Our Responsibilities to you as Therapists

Collection of Information

As part of providing psychological, mental health and/or animal-assisted therapy services to you, we need to collect and record personal information that is relevant to your current situation.

This information will be a necessary part of the assessment and treatment that is conducted and will only be seen by the treating clinician. You do not have to give all your personal information, but if you donʼt, this may restrict the type of services able to be provided to you.

The information is retained in order to document progress during sessions and provide a relevant and informed therapeutic service.

Access to Client Information

We prioritise the safety and privacy of your information. We will release your full files only in the event of a legally binding subpoena. In all other cases, we are committed to protecting your sensitive information.

Upon request, we will provide you or authorised third parties with a summary that highlights the main and relevant treatment points while safeguarding your privacy. We understand that psychological records can be sensitive, and our policy aims to ensure your well-being and confidentiality.

Confidentiality

All personal information gathered by 12 Points Psychology during the provision of services will remain confidential and secure except where:

1. It is subpoenaed by a court, or is otherwise required to be disclosed by law,

2. Failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at risk of serious harm; or

3. Your prior written or verbal approval has been obtained to; provide a report to another professional or agency, e.g., your GP or lawyer, discuss the material with another person, e.g., your parent or employer, discuss your case (with identifying information removed) for the purposes of supervision or teaching

Charter for Clients of Mental Health Clinicians

Please see the Charter (available on our website) which explains your rights as a client of a mental health clinician.

Your Responsibilities as a Client

Fees

Please see the list at reception or on our website for a full breakdown of current fees for a standard consultation (usually around 50 minutes).

Fees are automatically deducted in full the morning of your session. For third-party funders such as WorkSafe and TAC, clients are responsible for paying for their account in full and then claiming back any rebateable amounts directly from their third-party agency. If accounts are not settled on the day of session, additional fees apply.

If you are accessing services under the Better Access Scheme, we will endeavour to remind you when a new mental health care plan or review is due, however, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do have a current plan before attending your scheduled session, or private fees will apply.

* Please note: there is a surcharge initial consultations. Phone calls of less than ten minutes are normally free. However, if we spend more than 10 minutes in a week on the phone, if you leave more than 10 minutesʼ worth of phone messages in a week, or we spend more than 10 minutes reading and responding to emails from you during a given week or report writing you will be billed on a prorated basis for that time.

Session Fee Policy

Regular attendance is crucial to therapeutic outcomes, so once your session time has been booked in, look at it as a space you have carved out of your day for yourself.

We understand that life can sometimes get in the way though, so to balance our responsibilities to you and our other clients, if you cancel or postpone your appointment with less than two (2) full business daysʼ notice, our admin team will try to find a way to help you make use of that spot. That may mean converting a face-to-face session to an online or phone appointment, or asking your clinician to prepare some take-away strategies for you in that time. If you do not want to take us up on those options, we will cancel the appointment out, but your full session fee will still be charged.

Other Rights

You have the right to ask questions about anything that happens in therapy. Weʼre always willing to discuss how and why weʼve decided to do what weʼre doing, and to look at alternatives that might work better. You can ask us about our training for working with your concerns, and you can request a referral to another clinician if you decide this isnʼt a good fit. You are free to leave therapy at any time; however, it is always preferable to let us know that you are planning on leaving (so we can have a final summation session with you and so we donʼt keep calling you to make appointments).

Special Provisions

1) Animal-Assisted Therapy Some of our clinicians are certified animal-assisted therapists and we often have therapy animals on the premises and/or in sessions. While there are many benefits to working with an animal in therapy, there are also risks in working with a live animal. These procedures and policies are designed to protect the therapy animals, the client and the handler.

1. Participation in AAT is not guaranteed, and the animals may not be present in every session. This is up to the best judgement of the clinician.

2. Please let us know if there are any known allergies or phobias before treatment starts.

3. Although all possible precautions are taken and all the animals will remain current with their vaccination schedule and health screenings, there is always a slight risk of animal to human illnesses being spread when working with therapy animals.

4. AAT is a completely voluntary aspect of therapy work here. If you don't wish to have any of the animals in the sessions just let us know. Please Note: If, after reading this you are at all unsure of anything, please discuss it with your clinician before signing.

2) Telehealth

Our practice uses Coviu, Doxy or Zoom to deliver our Telehealth services. These platforms are private companies that are separate and outside of 12 Points Psychology. You can obtain information about these platforms and their privacy policies here: www.coviu.com; www.doxy.me; www.zoom.us.

Privacy

As is our usual process we will treat your information with respect and in confidence. We will not record the sessions nor share material from the sessions without your consent (as per our normal confidentiality guidelines and limits). We will email you a meeting invitation prior to your appointment with instructions on how to access that appointment. There are also instructional videos on our YouTube page. With all of these platforms, you can control what name and details you provide and do NOT need to sign up to the online platform or create your own account. You may also choose to keep your video turned off or stick to a telephone appointment.

Our practitioners make a commitment that we will undertake these calls in a private setting where others cannot hear your information. We recommend that you also find a private setting where you feel comfortable. It is important that steps are made by you to protect your information. If you are not able to find a private location where you feel comfortable let your psychologist know when they call and they will respect your request, make other arrangements, or keep the discussion more general. Your privacy is important, and we will respect your decisions.

Distractions

Please minimise distractions during your telehealth session. This may include not playing games (unless thatʼs part of your session with your clinician), sending messages or doing other activities. You can treat this like your usual face-to-face sessions with your clinician and we will do the same.

Data Transfer & Usage

Please check that you have enough data to undertake the telehealth sessions. 12 Points Psychology will not cover the cost of the data usage for these calls. 12 Points Psychology cannot take responsibility for any disruptions to your call due to poor internet speeds. We will make all reasonable efforts to make sure we use reliable internet connections when undertaking our sessions, however, the internet can be unreliable and as such we are unable to promise uninterrupted sessions.

Attempts to Connect

We will send you a meeting invitation, and at your scheduled appointment time we will make a maximum of three attempts to connect with you. If we are unable to connect within 5 minutes or 3 attempts, we will move the session to a phone session and call you on the phone number you have registered with the practice. By signing below, you are indicating your agreement with the full terms and conditions as outlined in this document and acknowledging the following:

I have read and understood the above consent form I understand that 100% of my session fee will still be payable in the case of cancelled appointments (with less than 2 days' notice)

I agree to these conditions for the services provided by 12 Points Psychology

I consent to treatment with my clinician via Telehealth where needed

I understand that 12 Points Psychology is an animal-assisted therapy practice and animals may be on site at anytime

Audrey Tran Psychologist

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