General Terms & Conditions

These general terms and conditions are in addition to the treatment agreement between the therapist, Debby Poort, from Yellow Wood Integrative Psychotherapy Practice and the individual psychotherapy client and/or couples therapy clients.

1.) A treatment agreement is made from the moment a client decides to enter into treatment. This is a written  agreement between the therapist and the client. The client will sign this agreement during the intake session.

2.) The treatment agreement has two parts;

1. The client and the therapist enter into a client-therapist relationship for a certain period of time.
2. The treatment relates to the issue(s) that the client has indicated that they need help with and the treatment goals. Throughout treatment, these goals can be specified further and/or amended.

3.) The treatment agreement can be terminated under the following circumstances:

1. The therapist and the client determine in conversation together that further sessions are no longer needed;
2. The client indicates verbally or written via email that they no longer wish to receive further treatment;
3. The therapist indicates verbally or written via email that she will no longer provide sessions to the client;
4. The client repeatedly does not stick to the general terms of the treatment agreement or to the agreements made between the therapist and the client during the sessions;
5. The therapist is of the opinion that the issue(s) of the client and the competencies of the therapist do not match. Therefore, the therapist is unable to guide the client in the appropriate manner. This is always the case when the issue(s) are directly related to contra-indications.

4.) The treatment agreement is automatically terminated when there has been a term longer than 1 year after the last session, unless otherwise agreed upon between the therapist and the client.

5.) By entering into the treatment agreement the client agrees to an hourly fee. This fee is stated in the treatment agreement and is subject to change once per calendar year. The therapist will provide a minimum of 6 months notice in the case of an increase in the hourly fee(s).

6.) The client is to pay the invoice within 14 days of the invoice date.

7.) The minimum time for each session is 60 minutes for both couples and individuals.

8.) The client must provide 48 hour notice for all cancellations, regardless of the reason for cancelling. The therapist holds the right to invoice the client  the full session fee when the client does not show up for the session or fails to cancel within 48 hours.

9.) The therapist maintains a case file with notes from the sessions and other relevant documents. Clients receiving individual therapy have the right to see their case file and receive a copy of (a portion of) their file for the cost of 10 cents per page. Clients receiving couples therapy have the same rights, however both parties of the couple must sign a release of information form before receiving a copy of the file.

10.) The therapist upholds the confidentiality of the client. The details of the client will only be shared with third parties (doctors and other therapists) with explicit written consent from the client.

11.) The client will be invoiced at the regular hourly session fee rate in the case that a general practitioner or other mental health professional requests a written report of the treatment of the client. The invoice contains a maximum of one hour of work, in other words, one session fee as agreed upon in the treatment agreement.

12.) The therapist is a member of the Vereniging van Integraal Therapeuten (VIT), which is a professional organization for therapists. The therapist is required to uphold the guidelines of the Professional Code. Under the Wkkgz clients have a right to file complaints and in adherence to this right, the VIT has a specified complaint service. (www.vit-therapeuten.nl) In the event that you have a complaint, you can turn to the professional organization, VIT. The disciplinary ruling is organized via RBCZ, stichting TCZ Tuchtrecht Beroepsbeoefenaren Complementaire Zorg  (www.rbcz.nu). I am also a member of the disputes committee, Stichting Complementaire en Alternatieve Gezondheidszorg (SCAG) (www.scag.nl). For more information about complaints, see the ‘Therapy Complaints’ section on this page.

13.) The client is expected to behave as a guest and abide by the rules of the hostess (the therapist). Smoking and alcohol are not permitted during a session. The cost of destruction of any of the therapists property by the client is the responsibility of the client. The therapist will report any form of abuse towards the therapist by the client to the police.

14.) The therapist, Debby Poort, is not responsible for unwanted outcomes as a result of the client providing false information or failing to disclose known information that is otherwise recorded in doctors/specialists or other health care provider reports.

15.) The therapist, Debby Poort, is not responsible for damage that occurs to the property of the client via parking or entering the building on Lindenlaan 75 in Amstelveen, nor for any damage that occurs by entering the practice, the hall or during the use of the toilet

Therapy Complaints

You have a complaint. What now?

I do my utmost best to offer you help in a respectful and caring way. However, in some circumstances, you might not be completely satisfied with your treatment. It is important to first discuss with me any issues/complaints you might have. Sometimes there are misunderstandings between client and therapist. Once we speak about it, and you have expressed what you are unsatisfied with or what you otherwise expect from me, we can hopefully resolve the issue.

Are you unable or unwilling to speak with me personally about the issue or are we unable to resolve the issue? Then you can utilize the free complaint service offered by my professional organization: Vereniging van Integraal Therapeuten (VIT). The VIT will hear your issue and will provide you with support on how to formulate your complaint and will help you come up with a possible solution. Your complaint will be dealt with within 6 weeks.

Unsatisfied with the results from the VIT?

If you are unsatisfied with the results from the complaint service of the VIT, you then have the right to turn the complaint over to the disputes committee, Stichting Complementaire en Alternatieve Gezondheidszorg (SCAG). This committee serves as a neutral party and is specialized in the complimentary health care sector. The ruling that is made based on your complaint is definitive for both you and the therapist. In some cases, the committee will determine that there be financial compensation. The fee for registering a complaint with SCAG is € 52,50.

The fee is reimbursed if the ruling is in your favor. The disputes committee will make a ruling on your complaint within six months. For more information on how to file a complaint, go to: www.degeschillencommisse.nl The complaint service from the VIT can also help you with this.

You may file a complaint based on issues regarding the treatment you receive(d) from your therapist. For example, the quality of the therapy or the way in which you were treated by the therapist. You can also file a complaint if your therapist made an incorrect assessment about you or if the treatment lead to damages to you or your property.