Terms of service.
These Therapy Terms are the standard terms which apply to the services we provide to you (known as the “Services”), by us, Pathways Psychology Service, trading name of Dr Hazel Carrick, (known as the “Practice”, also referred to as us/we/our).
Please read these Therapy Terms carefully. You will be asked to sign these Therapy Terms before a service will be provided. If you have any questions on any part of this document, please do not hesitate to ask before signing.
Professional Information:
All of our Clinical Psychologists are chartered by the Irish Psychological Society, https://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/ and abide by their code of Professional Ethics.
Dr Hazel Carrick is registered with the United Kingdom’s Health and Care Professions Council, (HCPC) and complies with their standards of conduct, performance and ethics (www.hcpc-uk.org).
Consultations and Appointments
Each appointment is 50 minutes. Appointments shall be by appointment only. Details of the consultation timings, length and fees shall be made available to you in advance of the consultation.
Appointments can be made directly with Pathways Psychology Service, either by email or during consultations. For some clients, appointments may also be arranged using an online booking system.
If you are late in attending your appointment it still will end at the pre-agreed time.
For clients attending therapy through a direct arrangement with their private healthcare provider, employer or medico-legal representative, please be aware that the therapy plan and number of appointments is often agreed in conjunction with them.
General terms of operation
If you need to contact us between appointments please do so by email. We do not provide therapeutic support outside of therapy sessions. We aim to respond to emails/voicemails within with three working days.
The type of psychological work offered is not suited to managing emergencies or crisis. If you require urgent help between appointments then please contact your GP, phone 999 or 112 or attend A&E. You can also contact the Samaritans’ anonymous helpline on 116 123.
We reserve the right, at any time, to withdraw therapy and our Services to you based on clinical judgement. In such circumstances, any advance payments will be refunded for any Services not provided.
We will not undertake any procedure that is in conflict with any law in force, any voluntary or mandatory code or practice, or any similar rules, regulations or codes.
Fees & Payment:
Self-funders must pay for all Services in accordance with our current price list. We will let you know when you make the appointment when the fee for that session will be due and payable. You may pay us for Services using any of the following methods: secure payment link or bank transfer.
All prices of Services shown in the price list are exclusive of VAT (which is not chargeable unless we notify you otherwise). Current clients will be given four weeks’ notice of upcoming change in fees.
For clients attending therapy through an arrangement with their private health care provider, employer or medio-legal representative, we invoice and collect payment from them, unless otherwise agreed.
Cancellations:
You are required to give a minimum of 24-hours’ notice if you wish to cancel or re-book an appointment. For cancellations made with fewer than 24 hours' notice, or failures to attend, a full session charge will apply.
Where funding is via your private healthcare provider, employer or medico-legal representative, we advise clients to check with them what the arrangements for payment are in the event of missed or late-cancelled sessions, as the fee for these may be the client’s responsibility and/or it may be counted as one of your designated appointments.
We may cancel an appointment booked by you at any time before the time and date of that appointment in the following circumstances: (i) The required personnel and/or required materials necessary for the provision of the Services are not available; or (ii) An event outside of our reasonable control occurs. If we cancel an appointment in such circumstances, you will receive a full refund.
We will use all reasonable endeavours to start appointments at the time you have booked, but the start may be delayed by the overrun of a previous appointment or by other circumstances. If the start is delayed by 15 minutes or more you may cancel the appointment and we will refund you the session fee, if already paid.
If we are prevented from or delayed in performing our obligations by your act or omission or by any circumstance outside our control, we will not be liable to you for any costs, charges or losses sustained or incurred by you that arise directly or indirectly from such prevention or delay.
Online Sessions:
Appointments may be provided online via a pre-agreed livestream service (for example Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp, Skype, Doxy).
When using a third-party supplier for online sessions your personal and special category data will be treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy and may be subject to the privacy policy of the third-party supplier. We will not be liable to you for any costs or losses incurred by you as a result of using any third-party online provider for the purposes of attending a session virtually with us. You should make yourself familiar with such providers own terms and conditions and privacy policy.
Occasionally, technical challenges can arise and would typically be beyond the psychologist’s control. If the start is delayed by circumstances beyond our control, we will not be liable for any such delay. As session times cannot be extended, if connection issues cause significant disruption to a session the clinician may suggest attempting an alternative format (e.g. another video calling platform or telephone line).
If a remote session is prematurely disconnected we will try to re-activate the call. If we are still unable to reach you, they will then send a follow-up email to plan accordingly. In exceptional circumstances, if we have imminent concerns regarding risk we may need to contact your GP, your emergency contact or emergency services to maintain safety.
Ahead of your online session, we ask you to plan where in your location you will sit for the meeting. It is important that the connection to the internet is as strong as possible. It is important that you ensure the space is private and that you cannot be interrupted. Wearing earphones attached to your mobile, laptop or tablet device is helpful in blocking out “feedback” noise and ensuring extra privacy.
Appropriate modes of attire and behaviour are required as if you were attending an in-person appointment and appointments will be terminated if this is not adhered to.
Recording of sessions:
To maintain our high-level professional accreditations, we are required to audio or video record some therapy sessions to be discussed within our clinical supervision. You will always be asked for your consent for this. It is important to note that there is no expectation or requirement for you to agree to this.
We are occasionally asked by clients if they can record our session to listen again in their own time. In most circumstances this will be fine, but please note clients are not permitted to record sessions without receiving our written consent first. This applies to any form of recording device including phones and live Skype/Facetime/Zoom/WhatsApp/Teams etc. It is not permitted, under any circumstances, that any agreed recording is shared with others or in any social media platform.
Confidentiality:
The information discussed in our consultations and appointments with you are of a confidential nature. We provide a safe place in which can share your feelings and thoughts with us. We will ensure that any confidential information you disclose to us shall not be disclosed to any person except as permitted in this section. We shall not use your confidential information for any purpose other than to perform our obligations under these Therapy Terms.
We may disclose confidential information relating to you: (i) to our employees, advisers, other healthcare professionals or social agencies who need to know such information for the purposes of carrying out our Services to you; (ii) as may be required by law, a court of competent jurisdiction or any governmental or regulatory authority; and/or (iii) if we believe that you are at risk of harm or others are at risk of harm, in which case we are entitled to report this to the relevant organisation. Where possible any breach of confidentiality related to risk of harm will be discussed with you first. Clients are advised that due consideration should be exercised before disclosing information of a criminal nature (whether historical or active, reported or unreported), as the service may be obligated to contact the relevant authorities.
We also recommend that you inform your GP about our sessions. We require your GP’s name and practice address and details of your emergency contact person.
If a medical or legal professional or social worker requests information from us, we will not release this without your consent unless there is a legal obligation to do so.
For clients attending therapy through a direct arrangement with their private healthcare provider, employer or medico-legal representative, Pathways Psychology Service is likely required to provide your representative with information regarding your therapy assessment and progress. Pathways Psychology Service may also be obliged to notify them of risk of harm and to provide information related to risk of harm. We advise clients to check with their employer representative what their policy and terms and conditions are regarding confidentiality.
It is a requirement for all Clinical Psychologists to have regular Clinical Supervision sessions in which they discuss their work in a safe and confidential space with an equally or more experienced colleague. All work that is discussed in these sessions is completely anonymised. Supervisors are bound by the same professional and ethical regulations as our practitioners and do not discuss clinical material outside of the supervisory context.
How We Use Your/the Patient’s Personal Information (Data Protection)
We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy on our website linked here. We can provide you with a printed version if requested.
We will collect, process, and store your personal health and sensitive data (in accordance with our privacy policy) for the purpose of providing psychological services and support. You understand that this may include sensitive data regarding your mental and physical health.
We share your personal and sensitive data with third parties for the purposes of carrying out our Services (such as third-party suppliers that assist with our practice management).
We may occasionally transfer your personal and sensitive data outside of the Ireland and EEA (but only in line with our Privacy Policy). We only do this when we can be sure it is protected.
In certain situations we may need to share your personal data with courts, legal representatives, or other relevant authorities for medico-legal purposes. This includes situations where we are required to do so by law, or where it is necessary to protect your vital interests or the interests of another person. In such cases consent may not be necessary. We ensure that this data sharing is conducted lawfully and with due regard for your privacy rights.
Please note that a Clinical Will Executor has been appointed in the unlikely event that the clinician is unexpectedly deceased or medically unfit to practice. If this situation should arise the Clinical Will Executor will be provided with access to current clients’ contact information to notify them and direct them to alternative supports or will contact their representative who will be responsible for arranging follow-up support.
Note Keeping
Brief notes are made after each session in order to recall information and support our work together. Notes are kept securely, according to the Data Protection laws. These will be kept as electronic password-protected documents on a password-protected computer. We may also use a practice management system for storage of notes that is fully GDPR compliant. We may also keep a back-up on an encrypted memory stick which is stored inside a locked cabinet. We will not keep paper copies of any documents.
Notes are retained for a period of seven years, in adherence to professional recommendations (PSI Guidelines for Confidentiality and Record Keeping in Practice 2022).
We retain ownership of notes but we are happy to discuss their contents with you and you also have a right to access them formally. Should you wish to do this, please contact us in accordance with the Your Rights section of our Privacy Policy.
It is possible for the courts to access notes should they need to in relation to a matter of public interest. In this unlikely event, you will be informed before the notes are released.
For clients attending therapy through a direct arrangement with their employer or the employer representative, Pathways Psychology Service is required to input assessment and appointment notes on your employer representative’s electronic system. We advise clients to check with their employer representative what their policy is regarding recording keeping and data protection.
Limitation of Liability:
We will be responsible for any foreseeable loss or damage that you may suffer as a result of our breach of these Therapy Terms or as a result of our negligence. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is an obvious consequence of our breach or negligence or if it is contemplated by you and us when a contract with you is created. We will not be responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable.
We provide all Services only for your personal and private use/purposes. We will not be liable to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, interruption to business or for any loss of business opportunity.
Nothing in these Therapy Terms is intended to or will exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
The Practice does not recommend or make any representation about the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any treatments, services or opinions. We cannot guarantee any outcome nor promise to provide a diagnosis.
Changes to these Therapy Terms:
We may from time to time change these Therapy Terms without giving you notice, but we will use our reasonable endeavours to inform you as soon as is reasonably possible of any such change.
Complaints and Standards:
We are committed to providing as helpful and compassionate a service as possible to meet the needs of all our clients.
We always welcome feedback from our clients and, whilst we shall use all reasonable endeavours to provide a high standard of service, care and treatment to all clients, we nevertheless want to hear from you if you have any cause for complaint. If you have any complaint about our Services or any other complaint about us, please raise the matter with Dr Hazel Carrick who can be contacted at hello@pathwayspsychology.ie.
If this is not possible, or should you feel you would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Psychological Society of Ireland for further advice. https://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/
You may wish to raise your concern directly with the Health and Care Professions Council, should you feel you have encountered an issue of fitness to practise. This can be done by following this link: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/raising-concerns/
No Waiver, severance, governing law and jurisdiction
If a party fails to enforce a right under this Agreement, that is not a waiver of that right.
If any provision of these Therapy Terms is held by any competent authority to be invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions of these Therapy Terms and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.
These Therapy Terms are subject to the laws of Ireland and the jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.
As a consumer, you will benefit from any mandatory provisions of the law in your country of residency.
Before we can provide a service we will ask you to indicate your agreement and explicit consent to receive services from us and for us to process your data (including special category data) by signing our Therapy Terms and Conditions.
If you have any questions regarding these Therapy Terms, please do not hesitate to discuss with us, by contacting us on at hello@pathwayspsychology.ie