General Terms

If you choose to use our website and its services, you are accepting the terms and conditions outlined here, along with any other policies we may publish or link to. This Agreement is formed between you and us. If you do not agree to these terms, you should not use our website. We reserve the right to terminate your access to our website if you breach our Agreement. Additionally, we may modify, suspend, or discontinue our website at any time.

Copyright

You acknowledge and accept that we own or have licensed the copyright of all the content present on our website. The use of our website and its content is limited to personal and non-commercial purposes only. Unless permitted by law or with our prior written consent, any other use is prohibited. If you wish to seek permission for any other use, please contact us at admin@tonynguyen.com.au.

Third Party Software & Links

We offer links to external websites on our site for your convenience only. We have no authority over these sites and do not endorse or recommend them in any way. You are solely responsible for your use of these sites and any products or services they offer, and should address any issues or inquiries to their respective owners. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the links are curated, however, we cannot ensure absolute safety. We also offer access to third-party applications and software to enhance the functionality of our website. However, we do not have control over these third-party resources and do not offer any guarantees or warranties concerning them. You must assume any risks and carefully read and agree to their terms and conditions before using them.

Idemnity & Liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, we are not liable for any damages or losses incurred as a result of using our website, including interruptions, changes, suspensions, or terminations of the website, as well as events beyond our control. By using our website, you agree to indemnify us for any claims arising from your use of third-party links, websites, apps, software, products, or services, as well as any breaches of this Agreement, local laws, or third-party rights.

Client/Patient Information

Personal information of a client is collected and utilized to offer psychological services such as evaluating, identifying, and treating the client’s presenting problem. The purpose of retaining this information is to document the sessions and help the psychologist provide an appropriate and knowledgeable psychological service.

Tony Nguyen Psychology Group collects a client’s personal information through various means during psychological consultations. These include direct provision by the client through hardcopy forms, email correspondence, and online intake forms hosted by Halaxy (halaxy.com.au), as well as personal information provided by other health practitioners through referrals, correspondence, and medical reports.

The information in each file includes personal information such as name, address, contact phone numbers, medical history, and other personal information collected as part of providing the psychological service. Digital copies of client files are stored online through third party provider Halaxy (halaxy.com). Halaxy’s privacy policy can be viewed here: https://www.halaxy.com/article/privacy#privacy-policy-inline. Additionally, clinical notes are kept on Notion (www.notion.so), and their privacy policy can be found here: https://www.notion.so/help/security-and-privacy.

Disclosure of personal information

Clients’ personal information is kept confidential and will only be disclosed in certain circumstances, such as when required by law or when failure to disclose the information could place someone at serious risk. Disclosure of information may also occur with the client’s prior approval or when it is reasonably expected by the client, such as for the purpose of providing a report to another agency or professional. Personal information is not disclosed to overseas recipients unless authorized by the client or required by law, and it will not be used, sold, rented, or disclosed for any other purpose.

The Doctor-Patient Relationship

When engaging Tony Nguyen as a psychologist, you enter a doctor-patient relationship which is afforded rights in line with the Australian Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics. The code of ethics is grounded in three general ethical principles:

Respect. Propriety. Integrity.

“The general principle, Respect for the rights and dignity of people and peoples, combines the principles of respect for the dignity and respect for the rights of people and peoples, including the right to autonomy and justice. The general principle, Propriety, incorporates the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence (including competence) and responsibility to clients, the profession and society. The general principle, Integrity, reflects the need for psychologists to have good character and acknowledges the high level of trust intrinsic to their professional relationships, and impact of their conduct on the reputation of the profession” (APS Code of Ethics).

The copy of the code can be found here.

The Coaching Relationship

Under a coaching relationship, different conditions may apply, although a general guideline reflecting the APS code of ethics is embodied.

Other Relationships

Engagement with Tony Nguyen Psychology Group in other forms outside of the ones listed above does not constitute a relationship. For example, the purchasing of a product or the commenting on a social media post where Tony may be the author.

Philosophy

Navigating the world of social media is tough and there are many potential pitfalls in maintaining professionalism within such a fast-moving and dynamic platform. For this reason, many psychologists stay away from engagement entirely. I don’t believe that this is the way forward. To protect myself and you, the general public, from these pitfalls, I have tried to make my rules of engagement as clear and transparent as possible

Rules of Engagement

Social media posts are informative in nature only and should not be used as a substitute for professional care. Additionally, engagement with Tony on social media platforms does constitute a relationship in any form. If you are a client who is engaged in a psychotherapeutic relationship with Tony (i.e., doctor-patient), and you make a comment on a social media post with any reference to that relationship, the comment will be ignored and in some cases, deleted. This is done so to protect your privacy and to prevent the platform from being an additional form of communication between doctor and patient.

Youtube

Tony’s presence on Youtube is strictly under the role of educator and content creator. The rules of engagement outlined above as it regards to commenting on posts applies here.