Online Therapy Client Agreement

1. The therapeutic service

I, Tony Dunne, provide confidential, person-centred psychotherapy to adults aged 18 and over through Tony's Therapy and Counselling. Therapy offers a professional space to explore emotional difficulties, relationships, experiences and personal goals. It is a collaborative process and particular outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Before online therapy begins, I will undertake an initial assessment and ask for relevant information about your current circumstances, therapy needs, medical and mental-health history, risks, supports and goals. I will assess whether you are suitable and sufficiently stable for online therapy and whether the proposed work can be provided safely at a distance. Suitability will be reviewed throughout therapy.

Online therapy has limitations, including possible technology or privacy failures and a reduced ability to respond directly in an emergency. It is not an emergency, crisis, psychiatric or medical service and does not replace urgent assessment or treatment by local services. I may recommend another service or pause online work where appropriate.

2. Appointments and session arrangements

• A standard session lasts 50 minutes and will usually take place weekly or at another frequency agreed between us.
• The agreed appointment time is reserved for you. If you arrive late, the session will normally still finish at the scheduled time.
• Therapy is provided only in real time through the secure video method notified to you, with access details restricted to you. Telephone sessions will take place only where specifically agreed and clinically appropriate. Therapy is not provided by email, text, instant messaging or online forums.
• Neither of us will record, photograph, livestream or allow an automated transcription or AI note-taking tool into a session without a separate, explicit written agreement.
• You agree to join from a private, safe and suitable environment using a device and internet connection that reasonably protect confidentiality. You must not share the session link or access details. Please tell me if another person is present or can overhear.

3. Your physical location and cross-border practice

You must tell me the country and current physical location from which you are attending each session, particularly if this differs from your usual address. This information supports emergency planning and allows me to confirm that I can provide the service within the relevant professional, insurance and legal requirements.

If you travel or move to another country, please tell me before the next session. A session may have to be postponed or therapy may need to end if I cannot lawfully, ethically or safely continue while you are in that location.

Tony's Therapy and Counselling is established in Ireland. This agreement is governed by the laws of Ireland, and the courts of Ireland have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claim arising out of or connected with this agreement or the online therapy service, subject only to any mandatory rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

4. Fees and payment

Session fee: €72.50 for each 50-minute online session.

Payment is due in advance of the appointment. Payment may be made through the payment method or link supplied, including Stripe, Revolut or bank transfer where available. Payment providers process financial information under their own privacy terms. A booking is confirmed when the appointment has been agreed and any required advance payment has been received.

The fee may be reviewed periodically. You will be given reasonable notice of any proposed change. Any costs charged by your bank, card provider or currency-conversion service are your responsibility.

5. Cancellation and missed appointments

At least 48 hours' notice is required to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Where less than 48 hours' notice is given, or you do not attend, the full session fee is normally payable. This policy applies from the first booked therapy appointment.

Exceptions may be considered for genuine emergencies at my discretion. If I need to cancel, I will give as much notice as reasonably possible and will offer a new appointment or refund or credit any fee paid for that session.

6. Technology failure

If the connection fails, we will first try to reconnect using the agreed platform. I may contact you using the telephone number supplied. If the session cannot continue safely or privately, we will agree whether to complete it by another suitable method or rearrange it. No fee will be charged for time that cannot reasonably be provided because of a failure on my side. Repeated or substantial connection problems on your side may be treated in the same way as a late cancellation after reasonable attempts to resolve them.

7. Contact between sessions

Email, text and telephone contact between sessions should normally be limited to appointments, payments and essential administrative matters. These channels are not continuously monitored and should not be used for crisis support or detailed therapeutic disclosures. Administrative messages may be retained as part of practice records.

An appointment reminder may be sent by email or text. Tell me if you do not want reminders, recognising that you remain responsible for attending the agreed appointment.

8. Confidentiality and its limits

What you share in therapy is treated as confidential. Confidentiality is not absolute. Information may need to be disclosed where required or permitted by law, where there is a serious concern about your safety or another person's safety, where a child or vulnerable person may be at risk, where information is required by a court or other lawful authority, or where disclosure is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

If an adult discloses childhood abuse, I will consider whether a child may currently be at risk and whether consultation or a report to Tusla or an equivalent authority is required or appropriate. The applicable duties and reporting route may depend on the country concerned.

Where it is safe and lawful to do so, I will seek to discuss a proposed disclosure with you beforehand. In an urgent situation, or where doing so could increase risk or obstruct a lawful process, prior discussion may not be possible. Any disclosure will be limited as far as reasonably possible to relevant information.

9. Emergencies and risk

You agree to provide a current residential address, the location from which you attend sessions, a working telephone number and an emergency contact. I may also request details of your local GP or other healthcare provider where this is clinically appropriate.

If you are in immediate danger or require urgent help, contact the emergency services where you are physically located or attend the nearest emergency department. Do not wait for an email, text or voicemail response from me. If I believe there is a serious and immediate risk, I may contact your emergency contact, local emergency services, a healthcare professional or a safeguarding authority.

10. Professional supervision

I attend regular professional supervision in accordance with IACP ethical and accreditation requirements. Relevant aspects of clinical work may be discussed to support safe and effective practice. Information is minimised and identifying details are removed wherever practicable. The supervisor is also bound by professional confidentiality.

11. Records, privacy and access

I keep necessary contact, contractual, administrative and brief clinical records. Identifying contact information and clinical notes are separated where practicable and protected by appropriate security measures. Adult clinical and contract records are normally retained for seven years after the last date of service, unless law, safeguarding, insurance, complaint or legal-claim requirements justify another period.

The Online Therapy With Tony Privacy Notice explains the data collected, legal bases, recipients, international transfers, retention and your data-protection rights. You may request access to your personal data. Rights are subject to applicable law and may need to take account of another person's rights or information that must lawfully be retained.

12. Ending therapy

You may end therapy at any time. Where possible, it is helpful to discuss ending in a session so that the work can be reviewed and brought to a considered close. I may recommend ending, pausing or referring you where online therapy is no longer appropriate, where another service is required, where risk cannot be safely managed at a distance, where professional or jurisdictional requirements prevent continuation, or where the terms of this agreement are repeatedly not met.

Outstanding fees remain payable when therapy ends. Information about alternative or urgent supports may be provided where appropriate, but I cannot guarantee that another service will accept a referral.

13. Concerns and complaints

If you are concerned about any aspect of our work, I invite you to raise it with me where you feel able. I will seek to respond respectfully and professionally. As an IACP Accredited Psychotherapist, I am subject to the IACP Code of Ethics and Practice and its professional conduct procedures. Information about making a complaint is available from the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy at iacp.ie.

14. Agreement and informed consent

After a first appointment has been agreed, the fillable agreement records your client and emergency information and confirms that:

• You have read and understood this agreement and had an opportunity to ask questions.
• You have received, or have been given access to, the Privacy Notice.
• You understand the nature and limitations of online therapy.
• You agree to the €72.50 fee, advance-payment requirement and 48-hour cancellation policy.
• You agree to provide accurate contact and location information and to report a change of country or location.
• You understand the Irish law and jurisdiction provision and may withdraw from therapy while remaining responsible for fees already due.

A typed name, secure electronic signature or clear written confirmation of acceptance may be retained as evidence of agreement.