Thank you for choosing to work with me. My name is Raquel Dubois, and I’m a nervous system specialist and somatic trauma therapist.
This document is an agreement between my business, the Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd., ABN 99612581772 (me), and you (the “Client”), and describes the terms and conditions of working with me so that we both enjoy the experience.
You have engaged Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. to provide mind-body mentoring and/or psychotherapy services to you. In this Agreement, the Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. may also be referred to as “the Practitioner”.
Please read this document carefully. You are deemed to have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions contained in this Agreement by booking an appointment, signing up for a class or group program, and also by continuing to accept and engage the services of the Practitioner.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A. SESSIONS.
Most of the Practitioner’s time is spent teaching. However, the Practitioner maintains a small clinical practice for 1:1 clients who want to continue the work after having been through the Expansion Training program.
It is not possible to purchase a single session - all sessions are provided in a package of sessions - the number of sessions will be recommended by the Practitioner during your complimentary consultation call.
Clinic hours are currently Wednesdays from 9.15am until 5.15pm, and alternate Thursdays from 2.45pm until 6.15pm. The Practitioner may be available outside these hours by prior arrangement.
You understand and agree:
1. Before your session, you will be required to:
a) Fill in a client intake form
b) Write down what you would like to work on in the session, and
c) Bring this to your session along with any questions you have.
2. All sessions and services are non-transferable
3. No sessions may include or be attended by any third parties without prior arrangement
4. Late arrival for a session will result in a shorter session with the session concluding at the usual time
5. To get the most out of sessions conducting online, you must be free of all distractions.
Delivery
6. Sessions may be delivered in person, or via Zoom (preferred). Alternative platforms such as Skype or V-See can be arranged with prior notice.
7. Whether the delivery is in person or online will depend on location, and is at the discretion of the Practitioner.
B. PAYMENT.
You understand and agree:
Sessions
1. All therapy packages are to be paid before the first session of your package via Acuity (Stripe) or bank transfer.
2. Payment should be made and cleared two days before your first session
3. Bookings are made via the Practitioner's calendar (Acuity)
Session Duration
4. Initial consultations are 60 minutes.
5. Subsequent sessions (follow up) are 60 or 90 minutes, as determined by client needs and requirements
Payment Plans
6. Payment plans are available upon request.
7. All packages must be used within 6 months of the commencement date, or they are forfeited.
10. All prices are stated in Australian dollars.
C. CANCELLATIONS
You understand and agree:
Sessions as part of packages
1. You will forfeit the session if you miss your appointment, or for any reason do not show up for the booked session.
2. You will also be charged the full session fee if you do not give at least 48 hours’ notice of your intention to cancel.
3. You may cancel a session more than 48 hours prior to the booked session with full refund.
* I don’t check emails on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.
Group Programs - Expansion Training and Practitioner Training and Mentoring Immersion
4. An administration and cancellation fee of up to 20% of the full fee may be charged, plus any costs incurred in the process of onboarding and/or providing sessions to the client - e.g., merchant fees, virtual assistant expenses and supervision/consultation costs.
5. All requests for cancellation of services must be made in writing by email to: raquel@embodiedpresencetraining.com
D. REFUND POLICY
You understand and agree:
1. Other than provided for in this Agreement, refunds will only be provided to you by Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. if you cancel or if you are unable to attend a session because of serious illness or an emergency.
2. Refunds will not be issued for change of mind.
3. Refunds will not be issued because of changes to childcare arrangements.
4. Refunds cannot be issued for single sessions if you have purchased a therapy package or VIP package.
E. THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
Psychotherapy can be triggering, and you may not always leave a session feeling good, or as you would like to feel. You may not like something the Practitioner says, or you may feel they were insensitive. Nevertheless, you are encouraged to bring your reactions to the work you do in sessions directly into the therapy process. Bringing your dissatisfaction can be an important part of therapy, even if you ultimately decide not to continue beyond a few sessions. It can be a very healing experience to bring your emotional responses to a session and be supported to express them in a safe therapeutic environment. This can be transforming if you are used to having your hurt dismissed or minimised, or accustomed to relationships falling apart when there is conflict or disagreement.
F. FEEDBACK AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Your feedback is important.
Through the therapy relationship you will be engaged in direct and personal conversations with the Practitioner.
If you believe the therapy process is not working, it is your responsibility to communicate that belief to the Practitioner as soon as possible so the issues can be addressed promptly and effectively so that the therapeutic approach can be adjusted and therapy can continue in the most beneficial way for you.
You understand and agree:
1. You will contact the Practitioner immediately with any concerns so that they may be resolved quickly and effectively.
2. You agree to meet in person, via Zoom, in good faith to seek to resolve the dispute.
3. You must advise the Practitioner the nature of the dispute, the outcome you seek and what actions you believe will settle the dispute.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS
1. If you experience any discomfort or distress:
a. Let me know in a session so that I can facilitate an appropriate repair for you in real time when we are ‘together’. Because we are sitting together in awareness, any interpersonal conflict that arises is an opportunity to return to our internal felt sense of safety, or to find one if you have been unable to connect to one in the past. Through bringing up your concerns in a session, you may discover that being supported by me can be a powerful experience that ‘corrects’ for the somatic memories held in your nervous system when you were let down, betrayed and not supported by others.
b. If you feel unable to bring your concerns to a session to be witnessed and supported by me, please send an email to: raquel@embodiedpresencetraining.com and request a telephone conversation with me as soon as possible.
2. Whichever course of action you decide to take, I will work with you so that you have a different outcome than the one your nervous system has been programmed to expect from persons in 'authority'/power figure roles. If you are triggered by anything I have said or done, I commit to helping you stay in therapy, but you are free to cancel your participation at any time.
3. You may feel that your grievance is a separate matter from your personal process/nervous system response – e.g., there may be things you wish to discuss that have arisen out of this Agreement. If either of us determines that a discussion on this basis is necessary, we agree that we shall communicate with the intention of making a genuine effort to seek a win/win solution and resolve any dispute by negotiation and discussion.
4. All information exchanged during this meeting or any subsequent dispute resolution process, shall be regarded as “without prejudice” communications for the purpose of settlement negotiations and shall be treated as confidential by the Parties and their representatives, unless otherwise required by law. However, evidence that is independently admissible or discoverable shall not be rendered inadmissible or non-discoverable by virtue of its use during the dispute resolution process.
MEDIATION
1. If we are unable to resolve a dispute by negotiation and discussion within 14 days, we agree to proceed to mediation with the assistance of an independent accredited mediator, seeking online dispute resolution or mediation by telephone if we are not both in Queensland, Australia.
2. The mediator is to be appointed by agreement between us or, failing agreement within 21 days of the negotiation period ending, the person initiating the dispute will seek the appointment of a dispute resolution professional by the President of the Law Society of Queensland, Australia, or similar neutral authority.
3. We agree to share all the costs of mediation equally between us.
4. We agree that neither of us will commence legal action until, in the opinion of the independent mediator, the potential for negotiation and mediation have been exhausted.
G. CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality is paramount to both the reputation of you and the Practitioner.
At no time will any communications or discussions be made public. This includes, but is not limited to, any social media websites of either party.
Any public discussion or comments about either party will be considered defamatory, negative or otherwise damaging, and will be the subject of compensation in any mediation or litigation claim.
H. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & DISCLAIMER
You understand and agree:
1. You have engaged Trauma Healing Australia Pty. Ltd. for mind-body mentoring and/or psychotherapy services at the agreed fee.
2. The Practitioner is not a psychologist or psychiatrist, and is not medically qualified to assess your physical or mental medical condition.
3. Psychotherapy services are not a substitute for medical treatment. If you are unsure, please seek expert medical advice.
I. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
You understand and agree:
1. Liability for the services provided by Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. is governed solely by the Australian Consumer Law and their Terms and Conditions.
2. Nothing in those Terms removes your Statutory Rights as a consumer under Australian Consumer Law.
3. Except your Statutory Rights, all material (including but not limited to educational demonstration videos and other material) and services, is provided to you without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, and Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
4. To the extent permitted by law, Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. excludes all express or implied presentations, conditions, guarantees, warranties and terms relating to any Services except those set out in this Agreement, including, but not limited to, implied or express warranties, representations, or conditions of any kind which are not stated in this Agreement.
5. Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. guarantees all services are supplied to you with due care and skill and fit for the purpose that the services have been advertised.
6. Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. cannot and does not guarantee that you, the Client, will take the necessary actions identified during the sessions to achieve a specific result. What results you achieve through these sessions is your choice and responsibility.
7. To the extent that Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. is unable to exclude liability, total liability for loss of damage you suffer or incur from Services by Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd. is limited to re-supplying the services to you, or, at the Practitioner’s discretion, refunding to you the amount you have paid for the services to which your claim relates.
J. GOVERNING LAW
You understand and agree:
1. The Terms and Conditions in this Agreement are governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Queensland, Australia.
2. Each party irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of Queensland.
Please read this document carefully.
You are deemed to have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions contained in this Agreement upon booking your first appointment, AND by continuing to accept and engage the services of Trauma Healing Institute of Australia Pty. Ltd.