Terms - Conditions- Policies

•  If you are unable to keep your appointment, please contact us via text message on 0424 850 453 as soon as possible.
• Fees apply depending upon circumstances if less than 24 hours’ notice is received (please Cancellation Fees for more information)
• It is at the discretion of Obsidian Counselling [MHWB] owner and founder if an invoice and fee will be issued if less than 24 hours notice is given for a cancellation.

•  Obsidian is a private fee-paying service 
• All fees must be paid in full prior to session commencement. 
• Fees displayed on this website are current from the 1.6.2022 for all  clients or clients who have had a substantial break from counselling (6 months or more since last appointment).  
• Confirmation texts or emails will be sent 24 hours prior to your booked appointment, if a confirmation reply is not received the appointment will be automatically cancelled and a cancellation fee may apply (see below).
• Fees can be paid via bank transfer 
• Failure to show for an appointment with no notification will result in forfeiture of any fees already paid, and or an invoice for the full session fee being sent to you.
•  Online Counselling sessions must be paid for in full 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment. Details on how to pay will be supplied once you have booked your appointment. 
•  Failure to pay for services provided by Obsidian Counselling [MHWB] may result in legal action.

Please Note: that fees are reviewed every 6 months on the 1st July and 1st of December. Any fee increases will be published 4 weeks prior to these dates and will implemented for all client's after these dates if an increase is applicable. 

Cancellation Fees

• A cancellation fee of 100% will be applied if less than 24 hours’ notice of cancellation is received.
• An invoice will be sent to your email address provided and a copy to your phone number supplied
• Failure to show for an appointment will result in an invoice for the full session fee sent to your email address provided and a copy to your phone number supplied.
•  Failure to pay may result in legal action.

•  New clients are welcome and can enquire by emailing obsidian.counselling@gmail.com
• When booking you will be asked to provide your name, date of birth, correct phone and email details, and your address
•  A non-refundable deposit of 100% is required as confirmation of your appointment (with the exception of online appointments which must be paid in full). The deposit will be deducted from the full fee on the day of consultation. An email invoice will be sent to the email addressed supplied within 24 hours of receiving your booking with details on how to pay the deposit, please check your spam folder. 
•  If a deposit is NOT received 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment time, the appointment will automatically be cancelled.
• Confirmation texts will be sent 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment, if no reply is received within 4 hours, an email will be sent, if there is still no response then the appointment will be automatically cancelled. Please check your spam folder. 
•  Failure to show for the appointment will result in forfeiture of the deposit or full paid fee.

• Available only to those residing in Australia
• Bookings are required for all appointment.
• New client’s are welcome and are usually seen within 7days of making initial contact with us. 
• Self-referrals accepted.
• You DO NOT need a mental health treatment plan from your doctor to make an appointment.
• We are a private fee paying service, working outside of the 'Medicare Model' which allows us to maintain your privacy & confidentiality* 
• Appointments are available Online via telehealth. 
• All fees must be paid in full prior to conformation of appointment Cancellation fees may apply (see policy above).
• To book please email obsidian.counselling@gmail.com with your preferred time and we will see what is available. A booking is not guaranteed until a confirmation response has been received by you from Obsidian and until such time as the deposit is paid.

• Available only to those residing in Australia
• Is available via Zoom
• All sessions are a full 60 minutes
• Please log on a couple of minutes prior to the scheduled start time to test your microphone and video connection
• Intake and Informed Consent Forms must be completed prior to counselling commencing, these will be emailed to you prior to your appointment, please allow time between scheduling your appointment to complete them and email back) please check your spam/junk folder). 
• Please be aware that you privacy and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed if you are using an unsecure network to access this service
• Please be aware of your surroundings whilst on a Zoom session that you will not be disrupted for the full 60 minutes and that you will not be overheard by anyone else in the vicinity
• Try to make sure you have a stable internet connection and data available 
• Be mindful that data charges may apply from your provider if you are on a metred connection
• Find a comfy spot, have water with you and tissues
• All sessions must be paid in full via bank transfer prior to commencement of your session (see fees section for further information on fees) 
• Days and times available include: Monday, and Saturday  Appointments can be booked by email obsidian.counselling@gmail.com

 Privacy and Confidentiality (PACFA, 2017)

• Counsellors protect clients’ privacy and confidentiality. This is paramount to create a psychologically safe environment and to maintain the trust clients place in their counsellor .
• Counsellors inform clients of the confidential nature of counselling and psychotherapy services and explain the limits to confidentiality.

Limits of confidentiality

• Counsellors do not disclose personally identifiable and sensitive information about their clients and take steps to prevent unauthorised disclosure. Disclosure of your information may be authorised in the following circumstances: 
• i) by client consent; 
• ii) where there are risks to the safety of the client or 
• iii) the safety of a third party (if the circumstances are serious enough  to justify disclosure); or 
• iv) when required by the law and Queensland Health or Australian Federal Government Directive . 

Exceptions and legal limits to privacy and confidentiality

• i) Where the counsellor believes you may be of significant harm to yourself or to others and you are unable to give informed consent;
• ii) When required by law 
• When making an authorised disclosure of a client’s personal information, counsellors inform their clients of the actions they will take, to the extent that this is practicable. If possible, they obtain consent in writing prior to making the disclosure. 
• Counsellors protect clients’ right to confidentiality during supervision by ensuring information that could enable personal identification of the client is appropriately disguised.  

Further information on privacy and confidentiality are contained in the informed consent form and available upon request