Terms and Conditions

This document contains important information about the terms and conditions of the services provided by Ana Amaral. It is important that you read and understand this before agreeing. By agreeing to use my services you agree that you have read these terms and conditions, understood them and agree to them. For any questions do not hesitate to contact me to ana.de.amaral@hotmail.com

Sessions Procedure: The length of the psychological therapy depends on the issue you bring to therapy.

During the intake/first sessions (1 or 2) we will discuss your reasons for seeking help and your goals and expectations for treatment. We will also see how we feel with each other and design a plan together. This can and will be always adjusted with your feedback. I will also evaluate if I am the right professional to help you.
In the end, we analyse the results and you can decide whether to end or continue with therapy. You can also decide to interrupt the therapy at any point.

Confidentiality: Every information provided, including the existence of the counselling itself, is confidential and private and will not be shared with any outside parties. No information will be revealed without the client's permission. All psychological work carried out is guided by ethical principles, defined and presented in the Code of Ethics of the Portuguese Psychologists Order (OPP).

• Supervision and intervison: There may be times when I consult with outside sources about cases (other Psychological professionals) in order to ensure that I am giving the best treatment and assistance possible. In these cases, no personally identifiable information, and only discussion topics, will be used to discuss the case. The psychological professionals with whom I discuss cases are legally bound to keep information confidential.

Overriding of confidentiality: Confidentiality can be broken if an immediate situation of danger is considered to exist for the client or for thirds parties, which could seriously threaten their physical or psychological integrity - danger to life, danger of significant damage, or any form of mistreatment of minors or particularly defenseless adults, due to age, disability, illness or other vulnerable conditions.
Other situations where information may be shared with others are: (a) You give a written consent or request me to share certain information; (b) I am ordered to break confidentiality by the court of law.
In case any of these situations arises, I will normally first try to contact you before breaching confidentiality so that you are informed beforehand.

Emergency care: I cannot provide emergency care. In case of an emergency, life-threatening crisis or if you or your loved one is losing grips with reality or having difficulty to communicate on a conscious level, contact your medical doctor (GP/huisarts), Hospital, the nearest emergency room or call 112.
Online therapy sessions are not meant for people with certain problems or conditions (such as suicidal and/or homicidal intentions, psychotic patients and in situations of sexual abuse or pedophilia). If so, please contact your medical doctor (GP/huisarts), Hospital, the nearest emergency room or call 112.

Age: My services (Online therapy sessions) are not intended to people with less than 18 years of age.

Complaints: If you have any complaints about my services please feel free to always voice them during our sessions. This may be a misunderstanding which can be solved by talking. You can also write a written complaint to ana.de.amaral@hotmail.com. I will respond to this in writing.

Contact: I prefer contact via email or via message (Email, Skype or WhatsApp). I always try to answer your emails/messages within one working day. Contacting via phone, e-mail is limited to the exchange of information before the intake session and discussion about scheduling the appointments. I cannot guarantee to answer phone calls as during working hours I give full attention to the sessions with clients and block all other distractions. Please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. No e-mail, message or phone therapy/counselling is provided.

Payment Conditions

Payment policy: The payment is made by bank transfer before each appointment. The invoices will be send to you by email at the end of each month.

Fees: The fee applies for a standard 50 minutes to 1 hour session. The session fee will be corrected yearly for inflation. In case a session is not paid, no more services will be provided until the prior session has been paid.

Cancellation policy: You can cancel or reschedule your appointment for no charge to a minimum of 24 hours before the agreed time, otherwise the full rate will be charged. No show results in 100% charge. More than 15 minutes late counts as a no show and will also result in 100% rate charged.

Insurance coverage: My services are not associated with any healthcare insurance providers. Nonetheless, the possibility of reimbursement is linked to your personal insurance plan, so it depends on what your insurance coverages.
You are responsible for the payment of the sessions yourself and for seeking potential reimbursement with your insurance company. If you would like more information about the possibility of coverage, please contact your insurance company.

Disclaimer

The information contained in our website is for general information purposes only.
Ana Amaral endeavours to keep all information on this website as current, complete and accurate as possible. Although the website has been carefully created, we cannot guarantee that information is always correct or complete. We are not liable for the consequences of activities undertaken on the basis of this website. No rights can be derived from the information on this site.
Our Privacy and Cookies Policy applies exclusively to our website. However, this website contains links to other websites which are not under our control nor governed by our privacy policies and terms and conditions. The connection to these sites always presupposes a user click on the respective link, and the connection is never automatic. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those websites. Thus, we cannot be held responsible for the content or privacy policy of external sites, and the sites’ owners are solely responsible for any legal or illegal damage that the consultation of these sites may cause.
Security measures are taken to keep your data confidential. However, by providing personal information to us or by accepting to do online therapy, you acknowledge that there is an associated risk. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. In addition, please note that emails, messages sent via your web browser, and other similar means of communication with other users, are not encrypted. I cannot guarantee that data, during transmission through the Internet or while stored on our systems or otherwise in our care, is absolutely safe from intrusion by others. Thus, I am not responsible for unauthorized acts by third parties that may jeopardize the confidentiality of your private information.
Ana Amaral is the ownerr of all copyright and other intellectual property rights regarding the logo, content and design of this website. It is not permitted to modify, copy or distribute the contents of this website. We always have the right to change the website without prior notice.

Ana Amaral - Psychologist