Client Services Agreement

1. Who this agreement is between

This agreement is between Ray Rivers, trading as Relationship Remedy™ (“Ray”, “we”, “us”), of 10015 Old Columbia Road, Columbia, Maryland 21046, and the person or persons enrolling in the Relationship Results programme (“you”, “the client”).

Where two partners take part, both are clients under this agreement and both are bound by it. The person who pays is responsible for the fee whether or not both partners complete the programme.

2. What these services are, and are not

[CONFIRM — this clause is the most important one in the document and your attorney must settle it before the agreement is used. Ray holds an LCPC licence and the marketing describes him as a licensed psychotherapist, but the programme is sold privately, outside insurance, with no diagnosis and no medical record. Whether these services are legally coaching or legally clinical counselling changes this clause, the confidentiality section, the record-keeping obligations, and whether HIPAA applies. The wording below is drafted for the coaching reading, which is what the rest of the marketing implies.]

The Relationship Results programme is relationship coaching and education. It is not psychotherapy, not medical or psychiatric treatment, and not a substitute for either. No diagnosis is made, no treatment plan in the clinical sense is created, and no claim is submitted to any insurer or health plan.

Ray holds a licence as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Maryland. He is not providing licensed clinical services to you under this agreement, and entering into this agreement does not create a therapist–patient relationship.

If at any point Ray believes you would be better served by psychotherapy, psychiatric care, medical treatment, legal advice or another professional service, he will tell you so and may end this engagement under section 11.

3. The programme

You are enrolling in one of the following:

• The GOLD Programme — $3,000. A minimum of ten hours of Ray’s personal time, comprising the proprietary intake questionnaire and Ray’s preparation on it, joint sessions, individual sessions, and a customised action plan, together with written tools, exercises and recommended material for use between sessions.
• The PLATINUM Programme — $5,000. Everything in Gold, with a minimum of twenty hours of Ray’s personal time, extended preparation on your questionnaire, longer intensive sessions in place of the standard hour, and priority scheduling.

These are programmes, not single consultations. The hours stated are a minimum and are delivered across multiple sessions over a period of weeks or months, by agreement between you and Ray. Sessions take place in person at the Columbia, Maryland office or by secure video.

The distribution of hours between joint sessions, individual sessions, preparation and written work is at Ray’s professional discretion and will be shaped by what your situation needs. Hours spent preparing on your questionnaire and building your action plan count toward the total.

4. Fees and payment

The fee is payable in full before the programme begins, unless a payment plan has been agreed in writing in advance. Fees are stated in US dollars and are exclusive of any applicable tax.

Where a payment plan is agreed, the full fee remains due regardless of how many sessions are taken, subject to the Refund and Cancellation Policy, which forms part of this agreement. A missed instalment may suspend scheduling until it is brought up to date.

Payments are processed by a third-party payment provider. We do not receive or store your full card details.

5. Scheduling and missed sessions

Sessions are scheduled by agreement. Because your time is reserved specifically for you and cannot be filled at short notice:

• Rescheduling with at least 24 hours’ notice is free and unlimited.
• Cancelling with less than 24 hours’ notice, or not attending, counts against your programme hours as though the session had taken place.
• Arriving late does not extend the session.

Ray will extend the same courtesy: if he needs to reschedule with less than 24 hours’ notice other than in an emergency, the session does not count against your hours.

Programme hours are available for twelve months from the date of enrolment. Hours not used within that period lapse, unless an extension is agreed in writing.

6. Confidentiality and its limits

What you tell Ray is treated as confidential and is not disclosed to anyone outside the practice, except in the circumstances set out below.

Confidentiality does not apply where:

• You give written permission for information to be shared.
• There is reason to believe a child, an older adult or a vulnerable adult is being abused or neglected. Reporting in these circumstances is a legal obligation and is not discretionary. [CONFIRM — mandatory reporting duties in Maryland attach to Ray’s licence and may apply regardless of how the services are characterised under section 2. Your attorney should confirm the exact scope.]
• There is a serious and imminent risk of harm to you or to another identifiable person.
• Disclosure is required by a court order, subpoena or other operation of law.

Where a disclosure has to be made, Ray will tell you about it wherever it is safe and lawful to do so, and will disclose only what is necessary.

Video sessions are conducted over a commercially available platform. No internet-based service can be guaranteed secure, and by taking part in video sessions you accept that residual risk.

7. Working with two people

This programme includes individual sessions as well as joint ones. Please read this section carefully, because it sets an expectation that couples work often gets wrong.

Ray does not keep secrets between partners. Information shared with him in an individual session may be brought into joint work if he judges that it is material to the couple’s progress. He will normally raise this with you first and give you the opportunity to share it yourself, but he will not agree to hold a secret that makes honest work impossible.

If you are not willing to work on that basis, say so before enrolling.

Ray works with the relationship. He does not act as an advocate for either partner, does not adjudicate disputes, and will not provide reports, letters, opinions or testimony for use in divorce, custody or any other legal proceedings. If either partner asks him to do so, he will decline, and he may end the engagement under section 11.

8. What is expected of you

• Complete the intake questionnaire honestly, separately, and before the first session.
• Attend scheduled sessions, on time, sober and able to take part.
• Do the agreed work between sessions. Most of the change happens there rather than in the room.
• Tell Ray promptly about anything that materially affects the work — including a separation, a legal proceeding, a new diagnosis, a change in medication, or an affair.

9. No guarantee of outcome

Ray does not guarantee any particular result. He does not promise that your relationship will improve, that it will continue, or that any specific problem will be resolved. Outcomes depend on factors outside his control, including what each of you chooses to do.

Nothing said by Ray, on this website, in any email, or in any testimonial from a former client should be read as a promise or prediction about your situation. Testimonials describe the experience of the individuals who gave them and are not a representation of typical results.

10. Emergencies and crisis care

This is not an emergency service. Ray is not available around the clock and does not monitor messages outside working hours.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you are in emotional crisis, call or text 988. If anyone in your household is afraid for their physical safety, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline free and confidentially on 1-800-799-7233.

Where there is violence or fear of violence in a relationship, joint sessions can make matters more dangerous rather than less. Tell Ray before enrolling if that is your situation, so he can advise you properly on whether this programme is appropriate at all.

11. Ending the engagement

You may end this agreement at any time by telling us in writing. What you are owed in that event is set out in the Refund and Cancellation Policy.

Ray may end the engagement, on written notice, if:

• He judges that the programme is not appropriate for your situation, or that another form of help is needed;
• Either partner is abusive or threatening toward the other or toward him;
• Either partner repeatedly fails to attend or to do the agreed work;
• He is asked to take a role he cannot properly take, including any role in litigation;
• An agreed payment is not made.

Where Ray ends the engagement for a reason other than your conduct or non-payment, unused hours are refunded in full. Where he ends it for the reasons in the second, third, fourth or fifth bullet above, the Refund and Cancellation Policy applies as though you had ended it yourself.

12. Records and data

We keep notes of the work, your questionnaire responses and correspondence, for as long as is reasonably necessary and in any event as required by law and by Ray’s professional obligations. How your information is handled is set out in the Privacy Policy, which forms part of this agreement.

Sessions are not recorded. If either you or Ray wishes to record a session, both partners and Ray must agree in writing beforehand.

13. Programme materials

The questionnaire, the S.W.I.M. System™, written plans, exercises, recordings and any other material provided to you remain the intellectual property of Ray Rivers and Relationship Remedy™. They are licensed to you for your own personal use during and after the programme.

You may not copy, publish, distribute, sell or teach from them, and you may not share your access with anyone outside the couple enrolled.

14. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you arising out of or in connection with this agreement is limited to the total fee you have paid.

We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of income, loss of opportunity, or any outcome in a relationship, a separation or a legal proceeding.

Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

15. General terms

Governing law

This agreement is governed by the law of the State of Maryland, and the courts of Maryland have exclusive jurisdiction. [CONFIRM — whether to add a mediation-or-arbitration step before litigation is a commercial decision for Ray and his attorney.]

Changes

We may update this agreement. The version in force for you is the one you agreed to at enrolment, and it is identified by the version number and date shown at the top of this page. We will keep a record of which version you accepted and when.

Whole agreement

This agreement, together with the Refund and Cancellation Policy and the Privacy Policy, is the whole of what has been agreed between us, and replaces anything said or written beforehand, including anything on the website or in marketing emails.

If part of it fails

If any part of this agreement is found to be unenforceable, the rest of it continues to apply.

Questions

Ask before you enrol rather than after. Call the office on (301) 220-6955 or email rayriverstherapy@gmail.com.