Focused Psychological Services Terms And Conditions Of Use
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT EMERGENCIES
This website, its content, and the contact information provided is not a substitute for medical advice or the services of a health professional. If you experience a medical emergency, call 911 immediately or attend the emergency room of your nearest hospital. You should also call 911 if:
- you are thinking about suicide
- you are considering taking actions that may cause harm to you or to others
- you feel that you or any other person may be in danger
If you feel suicidal or are concerned about another person feeling suicidal, you can also phone 9-8-8 from anywhere in Canada. Information about this service can be found here: 9-8-8 | CAMH
The mental health crisis line phone number for Telehealth Ontario is 1-866-797-0000. For more information on this service for Ontario users, please visit: https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/are-you-in-crisis/.
For users outside of Ontario or anywhere else in Canada, the crisis line phone number is 1-833-456-4566. For more information on the national crisis line, please visit: https://crisisservicescanada.ca/en/
FOCUSED PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES WEBSITE TERMS OF USE
1. INTERPRETATION
The following terms have the following meanings:
“Account” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.1 of these Terms.
“Account Information” has the meaning given to such term in Section 3.1 of these Terms.
“Age of Majority” means the age at which a person is considered by law to be an adult. For greater certainty, the age of majority is 18 in six provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The age of majority is 19 in four provinces and the three territories: British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and Yukon.
“Clinical Counsellor” means a counsellor, with a minimum of a master’s degree in social services and a minimum of five years of clinical experience. For greater certainty, the term “Clinical Counsellor” is limited to those counsellors presented to you or engaged by you via Focused Psychological Services.
“Intake Consent Form” means an agreement between you and Focused Psychological Services which you will be required to complete and execute prior to booking any Sessions. For greater certainty, the Intake Consent Form will be presented to you through Owl Practice prior to booking a Session with a Service Provider. The Intake Consent Form incorporates these Terms, and by agreeing to the Intake Consent Form, you acknowledge and agree that you agree to these Terms.
“Personal Health Information” with respect to an individual, whether living or deceased, means:
(a) information concerning the physical or mental health of the individual;
(b) information concerning any health service provided to the individual;
(c) information concerning the donation by the individual of any body part or any bodily substance of the individual or information derived from
the testing or examination of a body part or bodily substance of the individual;
(d) information that is collected in the course of providing health services to the individual; or
(e) information that is collected incidentally to the provision of health services to the individual.
“Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual, including without limitation, Personal Health Information.
“Psychologist” means a registered psychologist in Ontario having completed master level study and supervised practice experience.
“Services” means the counselling or psychology services you receive from a Clinical Counsellor or a Psychologist, as applicable, via Sessions booked through Focused Psychological Services.
“Therapist” means Clinical Counsellor or Psychologist, as applicable.
2. TERMS OF USE
2.1 The below terms of use together with any documents and/or additional terms they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, the “Terms of Use”), govern your access to and use of the Focused Psychological Services Website (focused-psychological-services.com) including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through our Website, and any and all contact with FPS made using the contact information provided. These Terms of Use constitute a legal agreement between you and FPS. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you must not access or use the FPS Website.
The terms, policies and procedures that govern the Services will be discussed with prospective patients during our intake process. FPS uses OWL Practice to administer its practice, maintain medical records, and provide teletherapy services. For more information about their terms of use, please visit owlpractice.ca.
2.2 To use the Website, you must (i) be a resident of Ontario, (ii) be at least 18 years old, (iii) have the legal ability to consent to Services, or use the Website with your substitute decision-maker.
3. SITE CONTENT
3.1 Other than the advice you receive directly from your Therapist, the other educational, graphics, research sources and other incidental information on the Website (the “Content”) should not be considered medical advice. You should always talk to an appropriately qualified health care professional for diagnosis and treatment, including information regarding which medications or treatment may be appropriate for you. None of the Content represents or warrants that any particular medication or treatment is safe, appropriate, or effective for you.
3.2 The content of our Resources is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain more specific or professional advice before taking, or refraining from, any action or inaction on the basis of the content on our Website.
3.3 Although we make reasonable efforts to maintain accurate content, we make no representations, warranties, or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content of our resources is accurate, complete, or up to date. Your use of our resources is at your own risk and neither the FPS nor its respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, licensees, funders, suppliers, or successors have any responsibility or liability whatsoever for your use of the Content.
3.4 These resources may include content or links provided by third parties, including from other users and third-party licensors. All statements and/or opinions expressed in any such third-party content, other than the Content provided by FPS, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. Such materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FPS, and may have changes since they were selected. Neither FPS nor its respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, licensees, suppliers, or successors have any responsibility or liability whatsoever to you, or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any third-party materials.
4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
All intellectual property at our Website including all text, images, illustrations, photographs, icons and other materials is owned by FPS and provided for information purposes only. Individuals may print or copy portions of the Website for personal use only. Unauthorized use of any portion of this Website may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.
5. ACCOUNT & THE OWL PRACTICE WEBSITE
5.1 To access the Services, you will be required to establish an individual user account (“Account”) through a third-party software provider that we use, “Owl Practice”. This can be accessed by selecting the “Existing Clients” tab, which will redirect you to the OWL Practice sign in page. Owl Practice is a secure, web-based practice management system used to store and manage our client records. This includes information such as client appointments, billing documents, session notes, contact details, and other client-related information and documents. The Owl Practice system is encrypted, has servers exclusively owned and operated privately, and access to the system is granted only on an as-needed basis and governed by their strict confidentiality policy. Additionally, all practice data in their system is routinely backed up to ensure the privacy and protection of sensitive client information and to assist us with PHIPA compliance. For more information about our privacy and security practices, please see our Privacy Statement.
5.2 You acknowledge and agree that by creating your Account, you will be required to complete the Intake Package, and provide certain information, including without limitation, your Personal Information (collectively, your “Account Information”). Your Personal Information will include providing a scanned copy of government identification with a photograph. You agree that you will not create more than one Account or create an Account for anyone other than yourself. You acknowledge and agree that you will:
(a) provide true, accurate, current and complete Account Information as required when enrolling for an Account through the Site; and
(b) each time you log on, maintain and promptly update such Account Information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete.
5.3 If you provide any Account Information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if FPS has reasonable grounds to suspect that such Account Information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, FPS reserves the right to transition your treatment to another health care provider outside of FPS and refuse any future request(s) for Services. You shall at all times remain responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account password and username (if any) and any other security information related to your Account. FPS will not be liable for any loss that you incur as a result of anyone accessing and using your Account either with or without your knowledge.
5.4 You recognize that Owl Practice is a third party software used to provide online booking, charting, scheduling, and billing services, and as such, will store your Personal Information if you create an Account. You acknowledge and agree that by agreeing to use this Website, and to gain access to the Services:
(a) you will be asked to create your Account through Owl Practice;
(b) you will be asked to complete the Intake Package through Owl Practice;
(c) you will be asked to review and agree to Owl Practice’s Terms of Use (“Owl Practice Terms”); and
(d) you will be asked to review and agree to Owl Practice’s Privacy Policy (“Owl Practice Privacy Policy”), as it applies to your Personal Information.
If you do not agree with the Owl Practice Terms, the Owl Practice Privacy Policy, or the FPS Privacy Policy, you should not sign up for an Account. If you have concerns about using Owl Practice, please let us know. Please be aware that FPS may not be able to provide Services without using Owl Practice.
5.5 You will have the option to subscribe to emails from FPS through your Account with Owl Practice. You can choose to stop receiving emails from FPS at any time by clicking “unsubscribe” in any emails from FPS.
6. ACCEPTABLE USE
You agree not to access or use the Website or any aspect of the Content in an unlawful way or for an unlawful or illegitimate purpose or in any manner that contravenes these Terms of Use. You shall not post, use, store or transmit (i) a message or information under a false name; (ii) information that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, fraudulent, predatory of minors, harassing, threatening or hateful to any person; or (iii) information that infringes or violates any of the intellectual property rights of others or the privacy or publicity rights of others. You shall not attempt to disrupt the operation of the Services or the operation of this Website by any method, including through use of viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, denial of service attacks, flooding, or spamming. You shall not use the Website in any manner that could damage, disable, or impair the services which FPS provides. You shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any user accounts or computer systems or networks, through hacking, password mining or any other means.
7. PAYMENT
7.1 The fees payable by you for the Services (the “Fees”) may be different than those listed on the Website. However, fees will be discussed and agreed to in writing prior to the Services being provided. You agree to pay all Fees and charges associated with your Account on a timely basis. Such Fees (including any taxes, late fees, as applicable) may be charged to the credit card you provided during the initial setup of your Account. You agree to maintain valid credit card information in your Account. For greater certainty, by providing us with your credit card information through Owl Practice, you authorize FPS to bill and charge your credit card for the Services, until you or FPS terminate your agreement in accordance with these Terms.
7.2 Your payment of the Fees is remitted to FPS for the direct clinical services provided to you. Regardless of the payment of the Fees through Owl Practice, Owl Practice does not hold itself out as your direct service provider or therapist.
7.3 The Fees may not be covered under your employer’s group benefits package/insurance policy. It is your responsibility to determine whether the Fees are covered by your insurance provider.
8. DISCLAIMERS
ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE, THE CONTENT, AND THE SERVICES AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE, PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, FPS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, FPS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE OR SESSIONS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS, IF ANY, WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ACCESS TO THE SESSIONS, AND YOUR RELIANCE UPON ANY OF ITS CONTENTS IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.
YOU SHALL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE AND FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO THE WEBSITE, YOUR ACCOUNT, OR THE CONTENTS OF YOUR SESSIONS OR ANY COMPUTER SYSTEM, ANY LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY IMPROPER USE OR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION CAUSED BY YOU OR ANY PERSON USING YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORD. FPS CANNOT AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGES, OR LIABILITIES ARISING FORM THE FAILURE OF ANY TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE, OR THE INTERNET, OR FOR YOUR MISUSE OF ANY PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION, ADVICE, IDEAS, INFORMATION, INSTRUCTIONS OR GUIDELINES ACCESSED THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF PRIVACY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF THE PARTY WAS ALLEGEDLY ADVISED OR HAD REASON TO KNOW, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, OR RELIANCE ON, THE WEBSITE, ANY LINKED WEBSITES OR SUCH OTHER THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES, NOR ANY WEBSITE CONTENT, MATERIALS, POSTING, OR INFORMATION THEREON EVEN IF THE PARTY WAS ALLEGEDLY ADVISED OR HAD REASON TO KNOW.
9. WAIVER
No failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, any right, remedy, power, or privilege arising from these Terms of Use operates, or may be construed, as a waiver thereof. No single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power, or privilege hereunder precludes any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege.
10. SEVERABILITY
If any term or provision of these Terms is invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other term or provision of these Terms or invalidate or render unenforceable such term or provision in any other jurisdiction.
11. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TERMS OF USE
We reserve the right in our sole discretion to revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time. Any and all such modifications are effective immediately upon posting and apply to all access to and continued use of the Website. You agree to periodically review the terms and conditions in order to be aware of any such modifications and your continued use shall be your acceptance of these.
The information and material shared on our Website may be changed, withdrawn, or terminated at any time in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if, for any reason, all or any part of our Website is restricted to users or unavailable at any time or for any period.
12. INDEMNIFICATION
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless FPS, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your breach of these Terms of Use or your use of information obtained from our Website or during counselling sessions, including, but not limited to, your communications to FPS, third-party sites, any use of session content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact us at: diane@focused-psychogical-services.com.
Thank you for reading our Terms of Use and abiding by them while you’re here.