Terms and Conditions

The Couch Privacy Policy

Terms_and_conditions_Online_the_couch.docx

THE COUCH & CO TERMS AND CONDITIONS

If you are a harm risk to yourself or others, you need to proceed to the nearest causality hospital or contact an emergency helpline.

Please ensure that you read the terms and conditions carefully.

By accessing or using this service, you agree to comply with all the Terms and Conditions described in these terms. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions, you are not authorised to use the services.

Contents

1. ELIGIBILITY. 1

2. ACCOUNT ENROLMENT. 1

3. ACCEPTABLE USE. 2

4. NOTICES AND INFORMATION.. 2

5. THERAPISTS. 2

6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. 3

7. PAYMENT MECHANISM... 3

13. CODE OF CONDUCT. 5

14. EXPERT PROFILE. 5

15. SPECIFIC TERMS APPLICABLE TO EXPERTS. 5

16. INDEMNIFICATION.. 6

17. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. 6

18. ACCESS AND USE. 7

1.ELIGIBILITY

You hereby certify that you are over the age of 18 (eighteen).
You have the lawful authority and capacity to contract and be legally bound by these terms.
You have the lawful authority and capacity to give informed consent to use the services.
You are not a person, under the laws of the country from which you are accessing or using the services, who is either banned or otherwise legally prohibited from receiving or using the services.

2.ACCOUNT ENROLMENT

To access this service, you must first register on our website and provide us with certain personal information.
You agree that all the information that you provide about yourself will be truthful, accurate, current and complete.
You agree that each time you log in, you will update such account information should any changes occur.
If you provide information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if The Couch & Co has any reason to suspect that the information provided is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, The Couch & Co has the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of this service.
By clicking continue, you indicate that you have read and agreed to The Couch & Co terms and conditions.
You are entering this agreement irrevocably, accepting all terms and conditions stated and agree to abide by all of them.
If you do not agree with the terms and conditions stipulated by The Couch & Co, you will not be permitted to continue with the member registration process.
The Couch & Co holds the right to deny access without any notice to any person who we believe has violated any of the terms and conditions at our sole discretion.
We reserve the right, at our sole and absolute discretion to change or update our terms and conditions without notice, therefore, you are encouraged to check these terms and conditions regularly for any changes.
Services provided on this site are for non-emergency matters.

3.ACCEPTABLE USE

You agree not to access or use the service in an unlawful way.
You shall not post, use, store or record any of the information, online chats or calls.
You shall not attempt to disrupt the operation of the service by any method including the use of viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, denial of service attacks or spamming.
You are solely responsible for the material you post on the service.
These Terms are between you and The Couch & Co and not with the app provider.
You are responsible to safeguard your username and password for this site. If you suspect that your password has been lost or stolen, or your account been compromised, please notify us immediately and/or change your password.
We will not be liable if your user account details have been compromised or used by someone else, with or without our/your knowledge.
You consent to the electronic storage of information.
While steps will be taken to ensure confidentiality, should confidentiality be breached, we will not be responsible.

4.NOTICES AND INFORMATION

You agree that we may communicate with you, including by sending information, correspondence and notices to you, using the information provided by you at the time of creating a user account. These communications may be sent via email, SMS, push notification, on site notification or otherwise.

5.THERAPISTS

The Couch & Co assumes no responsibility for the quality of therapeutic services provided by the therapist; while we will assist in finding a good match for the services, we make no representation or warranty whatsoever as to whether you will find the therapists’ services relevant, useful or suitable to your needs.
You acknowledge and are aware that at times the care offered through The Couch & Co may not be a full and complete substitute for face to face sessions by a psychologist.
You should not make decisions purely on the use of The Couch & Co.
Never disregard, or avoid obtaining medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare providers because of information or advice received from The Couch & Co.
We shall not be responsible for any information or advice provided to you by the psychologists/experts registered with The Couch & Co. The service is to be used only to access general mental health care information and is in no way intended to provide medical advice.
The experts registered on this site are not your doctors, physicians or healthcare providers.
You agree not to use this site as a substitute for health insurance or a primary care doctor.
You agree and acknowledge that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and other security information related to your account.

6.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

You agree not to reproduce, distribute, sell or publish any intellectual property given to you by The Couch & Co therapists.
Access to the service and the information contained is provided as is, and is available without any warranty of any kind. The Couch & Co does not warranty that access to the service will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that defects if any will be corrected, nor does The Couch & Co make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, quality, completeness, usefulness, performance, security, legality or suitability of the service or any of the information contained.
Redistribution of any information made available on this site is strictly prohibited; this service is made available only for individuals to use to support their mental health decisions.
You shall be solely and fully be responsible for any damage to the service or any computer system, any loss of data, or any improper use or disclosure of information on the service caused by you or any person using your username or password.
The Couch & Co does not assume any responsibility for any loss, damage or liability arising from the failure of protected health information, advice ideas, information, instructions or guidelines accessed through the service.

7.PAYMENT MECHANISM

All services are chargeable.
When you schedule a session, it is understood that you accept and agree to pay the fees charged and you will be liable to make payment upon reserving or scheduling your session.
This site will only ask you for your credit card details or other payment information if you indicate that you want to book an appointment.

8.CANCELLATION

24-hour cancellation policy applies. Please note that sessions need to be cancelled 24 hours prior to your appointment with the psychologist.
There are no refunds for cancellations that have not been made 24 hours prior to the appointment date.
If you have paid for a therapist’s services and for some reason that therapist is not available to provide therapy services later or instantly, you are entitled to rebook the same therapist or another therapist of the same price for some other time. If this option is not suitable for you, a complete refund can be issued. You can write to The Couch & Co if you face this issue, this needs to be initiated within one week of this happening.

9.HYPERLINKS

Any information or link provided to you by any therapist does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by The Couch & Co.
The Couch & Co does not endorse any content by any third-party websites.

10.TERMINATION

The Couch & Co may terminate or suspend your access to the service at any time for any reason or for no reason at all.
The Couch & Co has the right to refuse to provide access to the service to any person, agency or organisation at our sole discretion. We reserve the right to change, suspend, or discontinue all or part of the service, temporarily or permanently without any prior notice.
We reserve the right in our sole discretion to suspend or terminate a client or experts access to the website and the services with or without notice and to exercise to the fullest extent of the law any other remedy available under the law. If you breach these terms and conditions of use.

11.PRIVACY

The Couch & Co will attempt to find a therapist that matches your needs.
You consent that The Couch & Co may record your calls to customer service to assure Quality assurance.
You grant The Couch & Co permission to have your therapist disclose some information, non-content based, of your progress on The Couch & Co.
All data collected by The Couch & Co will remain the sole property of The Couch & Co. You shall not request The Couch & Co to remove or delete any of such data.

12.DISPUTES

Any dispute or claim relating in any way to a therapist or Services offered by The Couch & Co will be resolved by binding confidential quick arbitration rather than in court.
There is no Judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited.
It is agreed that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class/ group, consolidated or representative action.

13.CODE OF CONDUCT

The services used on this site should be used responsibly.
This use of services provided on the site shall in no way be unlawful, abusive or harmful to minors.
You may not access our networks or the information and services in a manner that damage or impair them or interfere with any other persons use.
You may not upload any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, file or programmes designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of this site.
You may not use this site to conduct any fraudulent activity.
You may not use this site to develop or assist anyone in developing a competitive product or service or for other competitive purposes.
You may not attempt to gain access to any information or services. Unauthorised access includes but is not limited to, using another person’s login credentials to access the services or the site.

14.EXPERT PROFILE

Every Expert who wishes to register on our site shall have a minimum qualification of a degree in the relevant field from a reputed and recognised institute along with experience in the field. Only those individuals possessing the minimum qualification shall be approved and enlisted on our site.
We take no responsibility for any misrepresentation by any expert of their qualifications or experience.

15.SPECIFIC TERMS APPLICABLE TO EXPERTS

All experts who wish to register on our site must be compliant with the requirements of their board, must have a degree that must be provided to The Couch & Co as proof of their qualification.
You shall not use this site in violation of any applicable laws or regulation of any country.
You will personally provide services on the site.
You hereby consent to The Couch & Co posting your profile and a picture of yourself onto our site.
You ensure that you have a clear criminal record.
In the event that you cease using the site or take leave, you shall give prior written notice.
You will maintain the confidentiality of every client, not breach any of your ethical or legal obligations.
You shall ensure that you attend all of your appointments on time and answer questions at your earliest convenience.
You shall keep a record of consultation session notes and video recordings and therefore agree to taking full legal responsibility for safeguarding the documents and recordings.

15.10 You agree that in the event that your password is lost or stolen, you will notify us immediately.

Should you think that a client needs medical assistance, you shall inform the client upfront as well as The Couch & Co.

16.INDEMNIFICATION

By accepting these terms and conditions and using this site you agree that you shall defend indemnify and hold harmless the company, its directors, shareholders, officers and other representatives from and against any and all claims, costs, damages, loses liabilities and expenses (including attorney fees and costs) arising out of or in connection with your use or access of the services, violation or breach of these terms or any applicable law or regulation.

17.DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

You acknowledge and agree that the entire risk arising out of your use of the site or and/ or availing or providing any services remains solely with you.
We shall not under any circumstances whatsoever be a party to disputes, negotiations of disputes between clients and experts.
We will not be liable for the quality of the counselling sessions being given by the experts.
We are not liable for any negligence on the part of the experts, any inconvenience suffered by the client due to a failure on the part of the expert.
We are not liable for any misconduct or inappropriate behaviour by the expert.
The experts on this site are neither our employees, nor agents nor representatives.
Registration is at the Providers sole discretion.
The provider will bear all the risks associated with associated with uploading and transmitting material and utilizing the site including reliance on its accuracy, reliability or legality.
Under no circumstances will we be held liable to any provider for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive or exemplary damages, including but not limited to loss of business, revenue, profits, use, data or other economic advantage.
The provider agrees to indemnify and hold us harmless in connection with any claim suit or action brought by a client in connection with provision of any services by a psychologist and any damages or expenses arising therefrom.
The provider will not mislead users to believe that he or she can provide a service which is outside of his field.
The psychologist will provide services only about and in respect of non-emergency matters. For emergency matters and issues, the provider will instruct clients to immediately contact their local emergency assistance number.
The provider will not prescribe any medicines.
Whenever appropriate the provider will recommend users to seek help by meeting a qualified professional face-to-face.
The provider may not use this site to perform any illegal activity or other activity which infringes our rights or the rights of others.

18.ACCESS AND USE

We shall not be held liable for any breach of confidentiality obligations by the Expert or any third party service providers.
You shall be solely responsible for procuring and maintaining your network connections.
You shall be solely responsible for all problems, condition delays, delivery failures and all other loss or damage arising from or relating to your network connections or caused by the internet.
You agree that the experts registered with our site shall determine at their sole discretion whether to provide you with services through our site.

Outpatient

Welcome to The couch
This document contains important information about our services and business policies. When you sign this document it represents an agreement between us.

Please note that our working hours are from Monday to Friday 07:30 am to 17:00pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm. Consultations booked outside of these hours will incur an after-hour rate. Please enquire about these rates with reception. Please note that medical aids will not reimburse you for after hour rates.

Please note that due to the nature of being in session with patients during the day, we may not be able to return your calls or emails. Contact made outside of the therapy session (telephone calls, emails etc) will be billed for per minute. Please note that your medical aid will not reimburse you for this.
Rates for Individuals, couples, family therapy, supervision, workshops all vary, kindly enquire with reception of the rates prior to your consultation with your psychologist/psychiatrist/occupational therapist.
Please note that if you have an emergency and are unable to get hold of us, please ensure you go to your nearest casualty/Emergency room.

1. When cancelling appointments, notice must be given 24 hours before your appointment, within working hours which are from 07:30 to 17:00 Monday to Friday. The full consultation fee will be charged if appointments are not cancelled accordingly. If the appointment falls on a Monday, it must be cancelled on the Friday or the consultation will be charged for in full. This is non-negotiable.
Medical Aids require an International Statistical Classification of Disease and Health Problems code (ICD 10 Code). Please note that this code is required to be given on your statements for your medical aid. Please be aware that future policies may require your medical aid to give them access to the diagnosis of this treatment. Please feel free to discuss any questions you have about the ICD10 Codes.
In order to offer a professional service, cases and academic material is sometimes discussed and written up with a suitable senior colleague. Identifying details are avoided. The psychologists concerned are qualified professionals who treat information as confidential.
Your signature indicates that:
1. I as your psychologist/psychiatrist will only make contact with persons you have advised me
  that I can contact
2. The limits of confidentiality have been discussed with you.
3. You understand that you are fully responsible for settlement in full of all fees/shortfalls due to this practice and undertake to ensure their payment.
4. Should you fail to make payment within 3 months, you are fully aware that legal procedure will be taken against you, and that your debt will be handed over to either lawyers or debt collecting agencies. Please note the bills outstanding more than 30 days will incur interest. You will be responsible for all costs incurred for any legal action taken to retrieve outstanding debt.
5. The duration of the first session with your psychologist is 61 to 65 minutes and subsequent sessions will be 51 to 55 minutes - you agree that longer consultations will be billed accordingly.
  The duration of the first session with your psychiatrist is 60 minutes and subsequent sessions will be 30 minutes.
  The duration of the first session with your occupational therapist is 75 minutes and subsequent sessions vary depending on treatment.
6. Any dispute or claim relating in any way to a psychologist/psychiatrist or The Couch will be
  resolved by binding confidential arbitration rather than in court.
7. All administrative queries relating to setting up of appointments and settling of accounts will be discussed with administrative staff and not with your psychologist/ psychiatrist/ occupational therapist.

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