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    Teletherapy Informed Consent

    Last updated: 20 October 2026

    Please read this before your first session. It explains what online therapy on HappenCare involves, so you can decide whether it is right for you. You will be asked to accept it before you book.

    1. What online therapy is

    Online therapy ("teletherapy") means counselling or psychotherapy delivered by video — and possibly by chat in future — instead of in person.

    Therapists on HappenCare are independent professionals, not HappenCare employees. Before a Therapist is listed, the Head of our Expert Panel, a practising clinical psychologist, checks their qualification certificates, professional registration (verified against the official register where one exists, such as the Rehabilitation Council of India's register for clinical psychologists), photo identity, and professional experience. This is repeated annually. Each profile states the Therapist's category — Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist, or Counsellor — and what that category requires is explained in our Terms of Service.

    Therapists provide talk-based support only. They do not diagnose medical conditions or prescribe medication through HappenCare. If your Therapist thinks you may benefit from medication or a medical assessment, they will suggest you see a psychiatrist or doctor separately.

    2. Benefits and limits

    Benefits: convenience, privacy, access from wherever you are, and the ability to find a Therapist who speaks your language.

    Limits:

    • Your Therapist cannot see all of your body language, and cannot respond physically if something happens to you.
    • Technical problems can interrupt a session.
    • Online therapy may not be suitable for people in crisis, at high risk of self-harm, or living with certain severe conditions. If your Therapist believes online sessions are not right for you, they may recommend in-person or specialised care, and may decline to continue on that basis.
    • Therapy can bring up difficult feelings before things improve. No result is guaranteed.

    3. Confidentiality, and its limits

    What you share with your Therapist is confidential. Your Therapist will not share it with anyone, including HappenCare, without your consent.

    Confidentiality is strong, but it is not absolute. It is subject to the law, to your Therapist's professional obligations, and to the following exceptions, when your Therapist may have to disclose information without your consent:

    • there is a serious and imminent risk that you may harm yourself or another person;
    • you disclose abuse or neglect of a child, or of an adult who cannot protect themselves. Reporting child sexual abuse is a legal duty in India, not a matter of discretion;
    • a court order or other legal requirement compels disclosure;
    • your Therapist consults a supervisor or professional peer for guidance. In that case you are not identified.

    Where your Therapist has to disclose something, they will tell you what they are doing and why, wherever it is safe and practical to do so, and share only the minimum necessary.

    HappenCare is not inside your session. We do not join, record, monitor, or transcribe sessions, and we do not hold your Therapist's clinical notes. If you later change Therapists, your new Therapist starts fresh and receives nothing from the previous one. Our Privacy Policy explains exactly what we do hold.

    4. Joint sessions

    If you attend with another person — for example couples counselling — everyone attending must be an adult and must accept this consent separately. What is discussed in a joint session is shared between everyone present. Your Therapist will explain at the start how they handle information one of you gives them privately, and what they will and will not repeat in a joint session.

    5. Technology and privacy

    • Sessions take place on Google Meet, using the link HappenCare sends you. Google processes the technical data needed to run the call under its own privacy terms.
    • Each Therapist has their own meeting room, and your Therapist must admit you to it at the start of your session. Please join a few minutes early and wait to be let in. Never share the link with anyone.
    • Sessions are not recorded by HappenCare or by your Therapist. You also agree not to record them.
    • No AI tools are used on your session. HappenCare does not use automated transcription, AI-generated notes or summaries, or any automated analysis of session content, and Therapists are prohibited from using such tools on HappenCare sessions. If this ever changes, it will require your separate opt-in consent first, and it will never be applied to past sessions.
    • Please join from a private place where you cannot be overheard, and use your own device where possible.
    • No online platform is completely risk-free. We take the steps described in our Privacy Policy to protect you.
    • If a session drops, try to rejoin using the same link. If you cannot reconnect within 10 minutes, our Refund & Cancellation Policy applies.

    6. Safety and emergencies

    • HappenCare is not an emergency service. Between sessions, if you are in crisis, contact your local emergency services or go to the nearest hospital. See our Emergency Disclaimer.
    • At the start of your first session, your Therapist will ask for your current location and your emergency contact, so that help can reach you if an emergency arises during a session. Please tell your Therapist if you are in a different place than usual at the start of any session.
    • You agree that, if there is a genuine and imminent risk to your safety or someone else's, your Therapist or HappenCare may contact your emergency contact, local emergency services, or the relevant authorities.
    • Your Therapist follows an agreed safety procedure in these situations and reports serious incidents to HappenCare, sharing only the minimum information needed.

    7. Your rights

    • Ask your Therapist about their approach, qualifications, and experience at any time.
    • Stop therapy, or change Therapists, whenever you choose.
    • Decline any technique or topic you are not comfortable with.
    • Ask what records your Therapist keeps about you.
    • Raise a concern through our Grievance Redressal process.

    8. If you are outside India

    HappenCare currently serves clients in India and in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

    Your Therapist practises from India, under Indian law and their Indian professional obligations. You are responsible for making sure that receiving online counselling from an India-based professional is permitted where you live. Emergency support must come from services in your own country, because your Therapist cannot reach emergency services abroad on your behalf.

    9. Adults only

    HappenCare is for people aged 18 and over. If your Therapist believes you are under 18, they will end the session and tell HappenCare, and your account will be closed with a refund of any session not yet held.

    Consent

    ☐ I have read and understood this Teletherapy Informed Consent. I am 18 or older, and I agree to receive online counselling and therapy through HappenCare.

    ☐ I understand that confidentiality has the limits set out in Section 3.

    ☐ I understand that HappenCare is not an emergency service, and I know how to get emergency help where I live.