The clinician is a registered professional offering assessment, therapy, consultation services and other related services within their defined scope of practice and experience.

Services offered are discussed and agreed to by the client and/or their legal guardian(s).

The clinician holds a current Annual Practicing Certificate and professional indemnity insurance.

Young Citizens Psychology is registered to Helen Shadbolt as a sole trader.

Young Citizens Psychology acknowledges Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. We are committed to the principles of Partnership, Participation, and Protection in our clinical practice. This means:

• Partnership: Working collaboratively with Māori clients and their whānau in decision-making regarding their care.

• Participation: Ensuring equitable access to services and supporting Māori to engage in ways that are culturally safe and meaningful.

• Protection: Actively protecting Māori cultural values, beliefs, and practices, and ensuring that the rights of Māori as tangata whenua are respected within the therapeutic process.

The clinician shall ensure that explicit informed consent is obtained for all services.

Informed consent is gained by both legal guardians for children (under 16 years), unless obtaining consent from one legal guardian poses a clear risk to the child’s safety or wellbeing.

Informed consent will also be sought from the child/adolescent if they are deemed to have ‘sufficient maturity’ (Gillick competent) to provide informed consent.

Alternatively the clinician will seek the assent (agreement) of the child/adolescent to the extent feasible, based on their developmental stage, emotional maturity, and cognitive skills.

Young Citizens Psychology prefers dual-guardian consent, however we recognise the legal right of a "competent minor" to seek treatment independently under the Health and Disability Commissioner Code of Rights (Right 7).

Confidentiality: All information shared when engaging with Young Citizens Psychology is treated as confidential under the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020. Confidentiality is maintained with your child.

There are certain exceptions or limitations to confidentiality, and particular circumstances where there is duty to disclose as outlined in the Psychologists NZ Code of Ethics including:

• When there are serious threat of harm to you, your child/adolescent or another person.

• When there are concerns of abuse or child welfare.

• When compelled by law.

Where possible, this will be discussed with the client and/or parents/caregivers prior to the disclosure of personal information being made. Disclosure is required to ensure the safety of life/health of the individual(s) and/or public. If a Report of Concern is made to Oranga Tamariki, the clinician’s primary duty is the safety of the child, which may supersede parental rights to information.

If the clinician has concerns for the immediate risk of harm to your child/adolescent, you or others, the clinician will take appropriate action, which may include contacting emergency services or relevant agencies without client and/or legal guardian(s) consent.

Confidential information is not shared with third parties e.g., schools, funders or other professionals without prior consent from the client and/or legal guardians.

Record keeping and retention: We collect and hold information necessary to provide services in line with the Health (Retention of Health Information) Regulations 1996 and the Health Information Privacy Code (HIPC). All records are held securely, retained for a mandatory minimum period of 10 years, and securely disposed of thereafter.

Release of information: Release of information is only released with the permission of the client who is the subject of the records. Any decisions to the management and release of information must be in line with Health Information and Privacy Code 2020 principles and Privacy Act 2020. 

Requests can be made in writing to the clinician and will be handled within the timeframes set out in the Privacy Act 2020.

You and your child have the right to:

• Request access to your personal information.

• Request correction of any information you believe to be inaccurate.

Release of information may be limited if the clinician believes disclosure would cause significant harm to the client’s wellbeing or the safety of others.

Mandatory Privacy Breach Notification: In the unlikely event of a privacy breach that poses a risk of serious harm, Young Citizens Psychology will notify you as soon as practicable and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as soon as practicable, as required by the Privacy Act 2020.

Fees are listed under ‘Services’ on the website and at booking confirmation. Travel is a service, and costs are charged for any services that occur at locations other than Young Citizen Psychology office space. Travel costs are the current IRD milage rate plus a pro-rata hourly rate.

Fees are subject to change.

Invoices: Invoices are issued after services are provided. Payment is due within 7 days of the invoice date. Payment is by bank transfer.

Third-party: Clients remain ultimately responsible for ensuring payment of all fees. If the third party (e.g., insurers, WINZ, other government agency) declines payment, the client is responsible for the outstanding payment.

Late payments: If an account becomes overdue, Young Citizens Psychology will issue a polite written reminder. If the account remains overdue, Young Citizens Psychology will discuss the situation with the client, exploring payment plans or alternative arrangements. If an account is severely overdue (e.g., 30+ days) and the client refuses to engage in communication or negotiation of a payment plan, the clinician reserves the right to terminate the therapeutic relationship.

Legal Action: Legal debt collection action will only be considered as a final measure and only after the formal professional relationship has been ethically terminated and the client has been given reasonable opportunity to settle the account.

If debt is passed onto a collection agency, the client is liable for the collection costs.

Bookings: Bookings are confirmed in writing.

Client appointments: A standard face-to-face session is 50 minutes. We recognise that in some circumstances, a child may not be able to tolerate the full duration; in these cases, the session may be shortened at the clinician’s clinical discretion to ensure the child's well-being. As the client appointment block is reserved exclusively for you and also includes the clinician's preparation and post-session clinical documentation, the standard fee applies regardless of the duration.

Cancellations: The client is required to provide a minimum of 24 hours' notice (one working day) to cancel or reschedule a scheduled appointment.

• Cancellation of more than 24 hours will not be charged.

• Cancellation of less than 24 hours will be charged the full session fee.

The clinician may, at their sole discretion, waive the cancellation fee in cases of genuine emergency, sudden illness, or unavoidable crisis. This decision will be made on a case-by-case basis and does not set a precedent.

If a session cannot occur due to a "force majeure" event (e.g., a natural disaster, pandemic-related lockdown, or major power outage), this will not incur a fee.

Non-attendance (no shows): Non-attendancewithout prior notice will be charged the full session fee.

• When there is a pattern of repeated non-attendance (3 or more sessions in a 2 month period), the clinician will attempt to discuss this with the client.

• If repeated non-attendance occurs and suggests that the client cannot engage at this point in time, or if the pattern compromises the clinician’s ability to maintain a financially sustainable practice, the clinician may initiate the termination process.

Rescheduling: We will attempt to reschedule sessions if given plenty of notice and dependant on clinician availability.

Clinician cancellations: If the clinician is required to cancel a session (e.g., due to illness, emergency, or professional training), they will provide the client with as much notice as possible and endeavour to reschedule the session immediately at no cost to the client.

You or your child can withdraw consent at anytime.

Where possible, endings are discussed to review progress and support a smooth transition.

If the clinician believes therapy is no longer appropriate, this will be discussed, and suitable referrals will be offered (if needed).

By Young Citizens Psychology: the clinician may provide a reasonable notice period to terminate services (unless there is immediate safety risk) if there are:

• repeated non-attendance that cannot be resolved within a client-clinician relationship

• repeated failure to pay,

• poses safety concerns to the client or clinician,

• if a conflict of interest arises

• when continuing treatment is not in the best interests of the child.

When possible, the clinician will refer onto an appropriate clinician.

Young Citizens Psychology is committed to providing a high-quality services to children and families within the scope of their expertise. However, please note that we cannot provide services in the following situations:

• Families have current involvement with Oranga Tamariki. If families become engaged with Oranga Tamariki during the course of engagement in services, the clinician reserves the right to terminate the services and/or refer to an alternative clinician.

• Families with current involvement. If the matter becomes a court issue during the course of engagement in services, the clinician reserves the right to terminate the service and/or refer to an alternative clinician.

• Families seeking assessment and reports for immigration applications.

• Families needing acute mental health assessments or intervention. Young Citizens Psychology is not an acute mental health service. In such cases, please call 111, or seek support from your local Mental Health Crisis Team.

Young Citizen Psychology is committed to resolving all client concerns and complaints in a fair, confidential, timely, and supportive manner. Clients have the absolute right to complain about any aspect of the service received. The clinician has an ethical duty to facilitate this process and to use feedback as a tool for continuous professional improvement.

At any time, you have the right to seek advice or make a complaint to an external authority such as the Health and Disability Commissioner and/or New Zealand Psychologists Board.

The clinician is required to seek professional supervision to support their practice. The clinician may share personal information about you and your child with their supervisor(s) to ensure quality of care, clinical safety and professional development.

Clients and their legal guardians are informed about supervision, the supervisors name and their professional information. Where possible, non-identifying information (e.g., full names, work places, school) will not be shared in accordance with the New Zealand Psychologist Board Code of Ethics/guidelines.

Supervisors are registered with their professional bodies, adhere to their respective Code of Ethics/professional practice guidelines, and also bound by the Health Information Privacy Code.

Young Citizens Psychology offers a telehealth when needed to support accessibility, provided that such services can be delivered with the same commitment to professional, ethical, and clinical standards as in-person sessions.

Telehealth Services are provided under New Zealand Law.

Informed consent: informed consent must be gained from the client and/or legal guardians prior to engagement in telehealth services, while acknowledging the inherent privacy risks.

Technical Protocol and Security: the designated video-conferencing platform that offers end-to-end encryption and is recognised as appropriate for health services.

The clinician and client must ensure that they are in a private, confidential location, free from external interruptions, have reliable internet access and device.

The clinician and client must have an agreed contingency plan if video or audio connection is lost. Young Citizens Psychology is not liable to interruptions caused by technology failures outside of our control.

Sessions are not video or audio recorded unless explicit, written, and informed consent is obtained from all participants for a specific clinical purpose (e.g., training, playback)

Emergency contact and location: in case of an emergency, the client must provide an emergency contact and physical address they are located at the time of the call.

These terms are governed by New Zealand law.

Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act: Nothing in these terms seeks to exclude or limit rights that cannot be excluded by applicable consumer protection legislation.

Health and Disability Code of Rights: Clients have rights under the Health and Disability Code of Rights.

Amendments: Young Citizens Psychology may update these terms to reflect changes in law or clinical practice. These terms are subject to change with 30 days notice. We will notify you of any significant changes via email. Continued use of services after such notification constitutes acceptance.