Confidentiality

All personal information gathered during the provision of counselling services (e.g. clinical notes), will remain confidential except where:

  1. we believe that failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at serious and imminent risk of harm; or
  2. our prior approval has been obtained to:
    1. provide a written report to another professional or agency, e.g. a GP or other counsellor;
    2. discuss the material with another person, e.g. a parent, employer or spouse.

The only exception to the above is if disclosure is otherwise required by court order, and in such cases, a copy of the session notes for courts is only provided to verify the number of sessions attended and whether or not you engaged, other details of the session(s) are not provided unless specifically requested by the courts.

Fees

The cost of a session varies depending on level of experience of the counsellor, area they are practising from, whether the appointment is during or after business hours or on the weekend, starting from $100.00/ Hour.

Payment is due in advance of the session to hold the session slot unless otherwise arranged with your counsellor.

Any requests for written reports, filling out forms, etc. will be charged based on the time taken.

Payment will be taken in full through the online through the booking system using EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard or American Express when you book your appointment.

Bank transfers are also acceptable when booking over the phone to:

ASB – The Irreverent Bird – 12-3027-0024030-00

Payments will show in your statement as "The Irreverent Bird" to help protect your privacy about seeing a counsellor.

Reference: your initial and last name (if too long then just your last name)

Code: date of session or invoice number if you have been sent one.

Particulars: Counsellors last name

Cash or bank transfer payments are payable at the start of each session.

Unpaid invoices will be subject to debt collection and may incur associated costs.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel an appointment that has been paid for through the online payment system there will be a 3% administration fee charged for refunds (this is the fee the payment system charges to refund).

If you cancel or reschedule within 48 business hours of your appointment you will lose $100 of your session fee. If you cancel or reschedule on the same day as your appointment, or do not show up for your appointment, you lose your whole session fee.

HOWEVER, if I manage to refill the time slot you blocked out, then I will refund you in full minus the 3% administration fee the payment system charges.

The cancellation policy is there for all the reasons you would cancel at the last minute, the small things or the big catastrophes.