Client Services Agreement

I understand that I must be committed to attend sessions on a consistent basis in order to receive the greatest benefit from therapy. Although I may stop therapy at any time, I agree to inform my therapist of my decision prior to my last visit. I understand that I may not attend a session if I am under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or if I am in possession of a dangerous weapon.

I understand that I (the client) am fully responsible for the payment of all fees for services provided. I understand that it is Altitude policy that the fee for any session is payable at the beginning of the session or immediately after the appointment. If fees are not paid by the following session and you have not discussed payment options with your counsellor, your appointment slot can be allocated to another client until such payments are made. Altitude accepts cash and bank transfers as forms of payment. All sessions are 45 – 50-minutes in length. The fee for the first session is $160.00. Follow up session fees for individuals is $140, couples and families is $165. While sessions are not conducted by phone (unless prior arrangement in special circumstances), if phone consultation is initiated by the client, the first 10-minutes are at no charge. However, $35.00 will be billed to your account for each subsequent 15-minute period. All reports written for clients carry a charge of $100 per hour, if a report is to exceed an hour the client will be informed.

Your appointment is a protected time slot and your therapist cannot offer this appointment to anyone else, therefore cancellations without 24hrs notice or failure to attend will result in you being charged in full for your appointment. We expect that you would cancel or re-schedule your appointment 24 hours in advance. If you cancel appointments on a consistent basis or miss appointments twice in a row without reasonable cause, your therapist will discuss this with you and therapy may be placed on hold until you are able to commit to regular therapy sessions. At Altitude Counselling we endeavour to arrange to see Clients as soon as possible, however there is a demand for appointments at Altitude Counselling and some people have to wait to get an appointment.

This cancellation policy is important to help minimise wait times by reducing the number of unused appointments. In addition evidence shows an association between regular and consistent appointment attendance and positive therapeutic outcomes. Lastly this policy is not meant to be punitive, but instead is to request consideration for the professionals who are providing the service and for those awaiting an appointment.

I understand that the contents of counselling, intake, or assessment sessions are protected under the confidentiality laws of New Zealand.

Counselling is provided by Counsellors whose practices are governed by the code of ethics of the professional organisation they belong to. The information they collect will enable them to keep statistical records, records of session notes, goal plans and any other correspondence.

No recordings of the sessions are to be made without the consent of the therapist.

This information is kept solely for the purposes of counselling. This information will be treated as confidential.

Records will be kept in our secure cloud base system and in lockable cupboards on our premises and access to this information will be restricted to authorised personnel. You may access personal information that we hold about you. You may also request us to correct any errors or delete any information we hold about you. Altitude Counselling will not disclose any personal information to any other party without your consent, however the following exceptions are as follows:

• Signed authorization to release information to a specific individual or organization.
• Therapist determination that you may harm yourself or someone else.
• Disclosure of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a child, the elderly, or disabled.
• Disclosure of professional misconduct of another mental health professional.
• Court order or requirement by law to disclose information.

For audit purposes Oranga Tamariki, MSD, ACC and other professional bodies may require access to files to ensure procedures are being followed. In these cases, identification is obscured to the best of our ability to ensure client privacy.

At Altitude Counselling we are committed to providing an efficient and effective service. You will be asked for further feedback to ensure this is happening. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your care, please let your therapist know as soon as possible and we will work to resolve this issue.