Attachment Matters adheres to the codes of ethics and practice of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation Of Australia (PACFA). Please see pacfa.org.au for details.

Confidentiality

Everything discussed with your counsellor is strictly confidential and will be treated so, with few exceptions.

1. If there is convincing evidence that you or another are at risk of detrimental harm it will be necessary for emergency services to be notified of the presenting risk along with personal details e.g., name, address and DOB.

2. A court of law subpoenas your records.

Your counsellor will always aim to discuss with you in advance any situation where confidentiality may need to be breached.

To ensure high standards of care, your case may also be discussed in individual, group, or peer supervision. This is a normal part of clinical practice and helps maintain best-practice support. In supervision, only your first name will be used—please let your counsellor know if you’d prefer a different name (relevant only for non-recorded sessions). Audio or video recordings will only ever be used with your explicit consent.

If you are receiving support from another health professional, such as your doctor, it’s important they are aware of your work with a counsellor. Your counsellor will not contact other providers without your knowledge and permission.

Court / Legal Matters

If your counsellor is required to attend court, write reports or engage in any other activity related to a legal matter, the hourly fee will be equal to the session fee you are typically charged.

Complaints

Any complaints about this service can be directed to the Health Complaints Commissioner: hcc.vic.gov.au, 1300 582 113 or via PACFA.

Cancellations / Reschedules

Appointments are booked based on current availability, and late changes often mean the time cannot be offered to someone else. To protect the counsellor’s income and stability, a fee may apply for cancellations or rescheduling made close to your appointment time, regardless of the reason.

For cancellations:

• more than 48 hours of the appointment time, there will be no change or a full refund will be provided.

• less than 48 hours and more than 24 hours of the appointment time, 50% of the appointment fee will be charged or refunded.

• less than 24 hours of the appointment, the full fee will be charged or no refund will be provided.

Payments

Session fees are processed securely via your credit card, with details tokenised and stored by Braintree (PayPal), a trusted provider with strict data protection standards. If you’re experiencing financial constraints, a payment plan of $50 per week can be arranged upon request.

Use of Heidi AI for Notetaking

To support accurate and efficient record-keeping, the counsellor may use a secure AI-powered tool called Heidi to assist with notetaking during sessions. With client consent, sessions may be audio-recorded and processed by Heidi solely for the purpose of generating session notes. Recordings are encrypted, securely stored, and automatically deleted once notes are finalised. Only the counsellor has access to the generated notes, which are handled with the same strict confidentiality as all other client records. Clients may ask questions or decline consent to recording at any time, without any impact on their access to counselling services.

Allow use of Heidi AI for notetaking Yes/No

Recording Of Sessions

Counselling sessions can move quickly, and reviewing recordings can help your counsellor reflect on the work or gain insight through supervision with other professionals. With your consent, sessions may be audio or video recorded for this purpose. These recordings are confidential, viewed only by professionals not personally connected to you, and are deleted after review. They are not part of your treatment record and will never be shared without permission. You can withdraw your consent or stop recording at any time without affecting your care.

Review by:

1. Your therapist Yes / No

2. Your therapist’s supervisor Yes / No

3. A peer supervision group of therapists Yes / No Signature Please sign and date below to indicate acceptance of the terms.