Privacy policy.
The following Privacy Policy is what is agreed to before commencing service at Victoria Thornton Psychology.
As part of providing psychology services, Victoria Thornton Psychology needs to collect and record relevant personal information such as name, contact information, medical history, and information collected on forms as well as through conversations between the client and their parent or guardian and the psychologist. This collection of personal information is a necessary part of accessing psychological services.
Purpose of collecting and holding information
Personal information is gathered as part of psychological services, stored securely on Halaxy (www.halaxy.com), a health practice management system, which complies with Commonwealth Government standards governing the security of IT systems and infrastructure. In the interests of privacy this personal information is only used by the assigned psychologist. Personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables the psychologist to provide a relevant and informed service.
If you do not wish for your child’s personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this privacy policy, Victoria Thornton Psychology may not be in a position to provide the service to your child. You may request that your child be anonymous or use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for the psychologist to deal with or if required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals. In most cases it will not be possible for your child to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym.
All client files are securely stored either electronically. Victoria Thornton Psychology is required to securely hold all client files until the child turns 25 years old, or for a period of at least 7 years. When being destroyed, all physical documents that contain confidential client information are disposed of via our secure shredding bins. These bins are locked at all times and the contents are securely shredded and disposed of regularly.
Access to client information
At any stage you are entitled to access your child’s personal information kept on file, this will be reviewed on a case by case basis and is subject to exceptions in the relevant legislation. Victoria Thornton Psychology may charge a reasonable fee to reimburse costs incurred for access.
Disclosure of personal information
All personal information gathered by Victoria Thornton Psychology during the provision of the service will not be disclosed except when: 1. it is subpoenaed by a court; or 2. failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief place your child or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or 3. your prior approval has been obtained to 1. a) provide a written report to another professional or agency, e.g. a GP or a lawyer; or 2. b) discuss the material with another person, e.g. an employer or health provider; or 3. c) disclose the information in another way; or 4. you would reasonably expect your child’s personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency (e.g. their GP) and disclosure of their personal information to that third party is for a purpose which is directly related to the primary purpose for which the personal information was collected; or 5. disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.
Cancellation policy
If you need to cancel or postpone your appointment, when possible please give admin at least 48 hours notice or a fee of $80 will be charged.
Cancellation fees do not attract a medicare or insurance rebate.
NDIS client cancellation policy is in line with NDIA guidelines and subject to change based upon NDIA adjustments.
Cancelations.
Terms and Conditions.
Separated Parents Policy.
Website Terms and Conditions of Use
Terms
By accessing this website, you are agreeing to be bound by these website Terms and Conditions of Use, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site. The materials contained in this web site are protected by applicable copyright and trade mark law.
Use License
Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials (information or software) on Victoria Thornton Psychology’s website for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing only. This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of title. This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by Victoria Thornton Psychology at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.
modify or copy the materials;
use the materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);
attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on Victoria Thornton Psychology’s website;
remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or
transfer the materials to another person or “mirror” the materials on any other server.
Disclaimer
The materials on Victoria Thornton Psychology’s website are provided “as is”. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, Victoria Thornton Psychology makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, Victoria Thornton Psychology does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials on its Internet web site or otherwise relating to such materials or on any sites linked to this site
Limitations
In no event shall Victoria Thornton Psychology or its suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption,) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on Victoria Thornton Psychology’s Internet site, even if Victoria Thornton Psychology or a Victoria Thornton Psychology authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.
Revisions and Errata
The materials appearing on Victoria Thornton Psychology’s website could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors. Victoria Thornton Psychology does not warrant that any of the materials on its website are accurate, complete or current. Victoria Thornton Psychology may make changes to the materials contained on its website at any time without notice. Victoria Thornton Psychology does not, however, make any commitment to update the materials.
Site Terms of Use Modifications
Victoria Thornton Psychology may revise these terms of use for its website at any time without notice. By using this website you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these Terms and Conditions of Use.
Governing Law
Any claim relating to Victoria Thornton Psychology’s website shall be governed by the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
When parents separate or divorce, it can be really hard for everyone, especially children. There are often difficult feelings involved and a lot of disruption and change for everybody, which can make communication between parents difficult. This can be challenging for children when things are uncertain, different or unpredictable. When the parent relationship is difficult, therapy can provide a safe place for children to talk about their thoughts and feelings. We want to be clear the approach when parents are separated or divorced, to help you understand how we will work with you to support your child. Please note that “client-parent” refers to the parent that has engaged services for their child with psychology and “other parent” refers to the non-referring parent.
How can therapy help your child?
Having a trusting relationship with a therapist can:
• give children a chance to express their feelings about the changes they are
experiencing, which are often big and confusing, including guilt, grief, sadness and anger.
• provide a neutral and safe place where feelings can be shared or explored to someone not involved in the situation. This means that children who worry
about saying the wrong thing to a parent because they don’t want to upset them, can speak openly.
• help children understand and adjust to the new family arrangements.
• help children learn ways to maintain positive relationships with each member of the family.
How can your child’s attending therapy help you as a parent?
When parents separate or divorce, family members often have different needs and perspectives. Two separate families are created, and each parent may have different views about the situation, their own fears about the future, and face additional life pressures. Supporting children in these situations can be challenging. We know that the best outcomes for children occur when all parents are involved and work together to support the child, but we understand this is not always easy or possible. We would like to provide the following information about what services we can and cannot provide and to be clear about boundaries that we have in place to support you and your child.The psychologist can:
• offer feedback and recommendations to you about how your child is progressing and how best to support them to use the information and skills they develop in therapy.
• provide suggestions to you as a parent about ways to support your child in your household and during transitions.
• offer individual parenting sessions to either parent, with consent from the “client-parent.” These sessions should be booked separately to the child’s therapy sessions and will be charged to the parent who attends unless otherwise arranged.
The psychologist:
• will not take one parent’s side over another.
• will not influence your child to take the side of one parent over another.
• will not make recommendations about care or custody arrangements.
• will not provide reports for court or lawyers.
• will not act as mediators for family disputes.
• will not share information provided to us by one parent to another parent without consent.
• will not client communicate with the “other parent” without written consent from the “parent- client”.
• will not communicate with the “other parent” without written consent from the “parent-client”.
How you can work with us
Research has shown that when parents separate, conflict between parents can negatively impact children, so we encourage parents to work together with us and we recommend the following:
• The “client-parent” is encouraged to tell the “other parent” about their child’s involvement in therapy and if appropriate invite them to communicate with the therapist about the therapy process and how they can be involved.
• We encourage both parents to help the child to see the therapist as a helper, someone who will support them and is not on the side of either parent.
• The “client-parent” is encouraged to share any relevant information regarding their child’s therapy, such as session information and resources, with the “other parent”. It is not the responsibility of the therapist to share this information.
• The “client-parent” is encouraged to provide a copy of this policy to the “other parent” as provided by Victoria Thornton.