PRIVACY POLICY

You will be asked to provide verbal informed consent for any information you share to be collected for the purposes of assessment and counselling by Lisa Menzel of Well Within Counselling.

Your personal information will be treated as confidential and used only to support your care. Information will not be disclosed without your consent except in circumstances where there is a legal or ethical duty of care, including if you disclose risk of harm to yourself or others. This includes physical or sexual abuse, violence, or neglect.

Lisa Menzel of Well Within Counselling has a duty of care and will exercise mandated and professional discretion in relation to interrupting confidentiality when required.

If confidentiality is appropriately breached, relevant services may be notified, including emergency services and/or appropriate state or federal departments. For minors, parents or guardians will also be informed in accordance with legal and ethical obligations.

Storage and Protection of Case Notes 

All case notes and personal information are stored in accordance with the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics and relevant privacy legislation:

• Case notes are maintained securely in password-protected electronic systems

• Access to client information is strictly limited to Lisa Menzel and only used for the purpose of providing counselling services

• Records are retained and disposed of in line with legal record-keeping requirements and APS recommendations

• Reasonable steps are taken to protect information from unauthorised access, misuse, loss, or disclosure

• Clients have the right to request access to their personal information, subject to legal and ethical considerations

You are not required to provide information that you feel is not relevant to your assessment or support (although this may impact the level of service that can be provided).

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CANCELLATION POLICY

All counselling sessions (online or in-person) must be pre-paid at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment via PayID or Direct Transfer. Payment is required to secure your booking.

Appointments may be scheduled in advance via the website booking form (using the “Book an Appointment with Me” tab), or by email or phone. Initial contact may also include discussion of informed consent and other relevant intake information to ensure suitability of referral.

Cancellations and Rescheduling

If a session is cancelled by you (the client) with less than 24 hours’ notice, the full session fee will apply.

If a session is cancelled by Well Within Counselling with less than 24 hours’ notice, a full refund will be provided, or an alternative appointment time will be offered.

If you choose to reschedule (postpone) your session, the full session fee will be carried forward to the new appointment time. The cancellation policy will then apply to the rescheduled session.

Late Arrivals and Non-Attendance

If you arrive late, your session will still conclude at the scheduled end time, and the full session fee will apply.

Clients who do not attend (no-show) their scheduled appointment without notice will be charged the full session fee.

Online Sessions

For online counselling sessions, once payment has been received, a secure video link will be emailed prior to the appointment. This link can be used to join the session at the scheduled time.

If technical difficulties occur during an online session, reasonable efforts will be made to reconnect. Where this is not possible, the session may be rescheduled at a mutually agreed time.

Refunds

Refunds, where applicable, will be processed via the original payment method, unless otherwise agreed.

Extenuating Circumstances

It is understood that unforeseen circumstances can arise. Exceptions to this policy may be made at the discretion of Well Within Counselling in cases of genuine emergencies.