Understanding our Cancellation Protocols & Payment Policies

Your use of our site or service to make a booking signifies your agreement to the following terms and conditions, which supersede any other terms and conditions which may be inconsistent with these terms and conditions:

In making a booking, you will be either a client or authorised by the client to make a booking on the client's behalf.

You should ensure to have made adequate enquiries to make sure that you make a booking for the appropriate service so that if you are seeking to make any of the available services, you will book in for the said service, but if you are seeking to make a booking for a child or an adolescent, you will do so by selecting the appropriate service for the child or adolescent.

If the person making the booking is not clear as to which service to select or which service is most appropriate, then you should book an initial call or contact me by telephone or email to discuss any questions.

Booking

Bookings are available via our online booking portal located on our website or via telephone.

If it is your first appointment with Serene Solutions, you will be required to fill out a New Client Form and Telehealth consent form. The links to these forms will be in your appointment confirmation email. Failure to complete these forms before your first appointment may mean the session cannot go ahead

Once booked, you will receive the following communication:

· A confirmation of your booking via email

· An SMS two working days prior to the appointment

· A reminder email 24hrs before containing the appointment telehealth link

Payment

Fees for face-to-face sessions are charged for each session prior to or at the end of the session. Fees for telephone and online sessions are paid when a booking is made. Payments will be received via Cash or EFTPOS.

Preferred payment methods will be explored in our Initial Session or introductory call.

Cancellation

When scheduling an appointment, that time is specially set aside for you. If you are unable to attend your appointment, please cancel or reschedule with a minimum of 24 hours' notice.

The appointment will be rescheduled for the next available time. You may also request to move a face-to-face session to a telehealth session.

If you cancel a session with less than 24 hours notice from your appointment time or fail to attend, you will be charged the full amount for the appointment.

Booking Terms and Conditions

Consent for a counselling telehealth /online session

As part of providing a service to you, Serene Solutions needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and other relevant information as part of providing counselling services to you. This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of the therapy process and planning.

Disclosure of personal information

Personal information gathered as part of this service will remain confidential except when:

- a court subpoenas it, or

- failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or

- your prior approval has been obtained to

a) provide a written report to another professional or agency. e.g., a GP, a lawyer, or

b) discuss the material with another person, e.g. a parent, employer or health provider; or

c) disclose the information in another way; or

- you would reasonably expect your personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency (e.g., your GP), and disclosure of your personal information to that third party is for a purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose for which your personal data was collected; or

- disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.

Provision of a counselling telehealth /online session

You are responsible for the costs associated with setting up the technology needed from your end so you can access telehealth services. To access telehealth consultations, you will need access to a quiet, private space with appropriate boundaries created around that space, ensuring privacy; a suitable device, i.e., smartphone, laptop, iPad, or computer, with a camera, microphone and speakers; and a reliable broadband internet connection.

Limitations of telehealth

A telehealth session may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection, outages or similar, which may affect the quality of the therapy session. Serene Solutions will not accept responsibility for quality or performance issues associated with internet connectivity or the telehealth software platform.

Your counsellor will call you on the phone number you supply before the session to complete the session by telephone if, in the event, the telehealth call quality suffers significantly enough during the session.

In addition, there may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective (such as group therapy). Your counsellor will consider and discuss the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth sessions during the initial telehealth session.

Furthermore, the privacy of any form of communication via the Internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. Serene Solutions will not accept responsibility for breach of security or privacy arising from communication via the Internet.

Privacy Policy

Serene Solutions will try to protect your privacy by following the Privacy Laws of Australia. However, Serene Solutions does not guarantee the integrity of email, Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or any other online medium where communications occur between Serene Solutions and you.

Accordingly, Serene Solutions will not accept responsibility for any breach of your privacy due to matters beyond our reasonable control arising out of or connected directly or indirectly with Skype, Zoom, Google Meet or any other online medium in which communications occur between Serene Solutions and you.

For further details, please review our Privacy Policy.