Terms and Conditions of the psychotherapy

In order to maintain clarity about the administrative aspects of the therapy, I've decided to publish this post about the terms and conditions. Please, take some time to read through the following text. If there is any information missing, or if anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask me during a session or via email.

About me: I am a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist with the appropriate educational qualifications. Currently, I am in the Clinical Psychology post-graduate studying program. I attend regular supervision (once a month) and continue in my professional development.

Therapy: In my practice, I provide psychotherapy which is not covered by insurance. The cost of the sessions are at the client's expense. The length of each session is 50 minutes.

Confidentiality: All sessions are completely confidential. No personal details are gathered other than contact information (except for the VZP program for the Mental Health Support purposes). If any notes are taken, they are not connected with a name of the client. The client has no obligation to share his or her full name or any other personal data, as it's not essential for the therapy process. A feeling of safety is crucial in psychotherapy, because it underpins the sense of trust and contributes to making the therapeutic relationship different than any other.

Booking an appointment: Therapy sessions can only be made through discussion between me and the client, via email, telephone or in-person. When you are inquiring for appointment by emailing/texting/call, wait for a booking confirmation. On the contrary, once I suggest a specific time and date to the client, who is interested in starting the therapy, I wait up to 48 hours for the response. In the case the client doesn´t react within that time range, I can offer the slot to another client.

Long-term psychotherapy: Once agreed with the client, that we begin the long-term therapy setting, the client is provided a regular session time, usually every week at the same time and day of the week. The session time is pre-booked for every week, unless the client cancels it.

Cancellation: If there are any adjustments in the time of the session (for example cancelling the session or changing the time), they need to be made at least 24 hours in advance. Otherwise, the client is charged the full fee for the session. In the case of missing two consecutive sessions without notifying me, the psychotherapy contract would be terminated.

Late attendance: There is no other consequence of coming late, than having a shorter session for a full fee. The time, which is booked for each client is limited by its´ begginning and the end and it´s up to every client, how they utilize it. I cannot guarantee to provide the full length of the session by exceeding the scheduled time. A session shorter than 15minutes can hardly have any therapeutic benefit.

Frequency: Once we start a long-term psychotherapy, I require an attendance of, at least, 80% of the sessions. If there are more than 20% of the sessions being canceled on a regular basis, I discuss the topic with the client to understand the reasons for the absence and discuss, whether there are sufficient conditoins in his/her life to attend and benefit from therapy.

Payment: The current prices for my services are displayed on the website. The payment can be done either by cash, QR code at the session, or a bank transfer within the 3 days after the session. I don´t accept credit or debit cards. I also can't guarantee to have change for any cash payments.

Ending: Therapy comes to a completion naturally as an agreement between both parties. The client is free to end therapy at any stage by giving at least two-week notice before finishing to allow for the process of closure and have the last session for concluding our work, exchangng feedback and saying goodbye.

Substances: Its not acceptable to arrive to the session under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs. If I have reason to believe that this may be the case, I will draw the session to a close/not commence a session.

Other agreements: If not agreed other way, my clients and I address each other by our first names. Meeting in public: If we happen to accidentally meet each other in public and outside the context of therapy, I always wait for the client to make first contact before I do.