Terms of Service
Nature and purpose of the Psychological Service
Services provided and techniques used during counselling and/or behavioural modification vary depending on the personalities of the clients, and the particular presenting concern/s. Generally speaking, our first couple of sessions will involve a thorough evaluation of your needs. By the end of the evaluation, I will be able to offer you some first impressions of what our work will include, as well as some initial strategies. If you have questions about my procedures, we should discuss them whenever they arise. You are able to cease therapy with myself at any time. If you feel uncomfortable with what is happening in a session you may request for the session to cease at any time.
Both counselling and behaviour modification call for a very active effort on your part. In order for the therapy to be most successful, you will have to work on things we talk about both during our sessions and at home.
Access to your information
As part of providing a psychological service including assessments and counselling to you, Amy Bourke will need to collect and record personal information pertaining to you (for example, session and treatment notes). This information is a necessary part of the assessment and treatment that is conducted. The information will assist in providing an appropriate and thorough service. Information will be stored in a secure location.
Confidentiality and Privacy
All personal information gathered by the counsellor during the provision of counselling services will remain confidential and secure except when:
- it is subpoenaed by a court, or disclosure is required or authorised by law; or
- failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at risk of harm; or
- at your request, given your prior approval, to provide a written report to another professional or agency, or discuss information with another person e.g., employer; or other professional
- you would reasonably expect your personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency and disclosure is directly related to the primary purpose for which it was collected such as to inform your GP of treatment and progress; or
- clinical consultation with another professional is required to provide better clinical services (identifying details will remain confidential).
If during the course of your sessions, your counsellor becomes aware of risk to someone’s safety or wellbeing, they are required by policy of the state and federal governments to report the matter to the appropriate agencies.
Session Fees (fees are periodically reviewed, with clients given reasonable notice to any changes)
My agreed fee is $97 per session (50 minutes duration) and is payable upon booking of the consultation, or 24 hours prior to consultation.
Cancellation Policy
If for some reason you need to cancel or postpone your appointment, please give at least 48 hours’ notice. This allows us to offer the session time to another client. To cancel or rearrange an appointment, please email Amy Bourke at [email protected]. In cases where prepaid sessions are repeatedly cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, the practitioner reserves the right to refuse rescheduling.
Emergency
In case of emergency, please go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital. For further information refer to the website for your local health district. For out of hours phone support in Australia, you may find it helpful to call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
