General Terms and Conditions

beziehungsweise – Psychological Counselling and Couples Counselling
Version: 5 October 2026

1. Provider, scope and contracting parties

These General Terms and Conditions apply to psychological counselling and couples counselling provided by Dr. Katharina Lewis, beziehungsweise, Eckartstr. 12, 85586 Poing, Germany, email: info@beziehungsweise-beratung.com, telephone: +49 176 41759122.

Services are offered to adults only. All participants in online counselling must be physically located in Germany during the session.

The contracting party is the person expressly identified as such in the booking. For couples counselling, one or both participants may become contracting parties. Each person becoming a contracting party must make their own contractual declaration or be validly represented. Booking for another person does not create a payment obligation for that person without appropriate authority to represent them.

Where only one person is the contracting party, that person owes the entire agreed fee and receives the invoice. Where both participants are contracting parties, the allocation of costs is expressly agreed before the contract is concluded. Unless otherwise expressly agreed, each person pays half and receives a corresponding invoice. Each participant’s voluntary participation and data protection declarations are independent of these arrangements.

Individual agreements take precedence over these terms.

2. Nature and limits of counselling

Counselling supports personal reflection, relationship development and work on individual or relationship concerns. The agreed service is professionally delivered counselling; no particular personal or relationship outcome is promised.

The services comprise psychological counselling and couples counselling without the practice of medicine. They do not include the diagnosis or treatment of mental illnesses and do not replace medical or psychotherapeutic treatment.

The service is not a crisis or emergency service. In an immediate emergency, call 112. Continuous availability outside agreed sessions is not provided. Where a concern falls outside the scope of counselling, the limits will be discussed and suitable further support may be recommended.

Participants decide for themselves which personal steps to take and whether to act on suggestions. This does not limit the counsellor’s statutory duties or liability.

3. Booking and formation of the contract

Displaying an appointment on the website does not constitute a binding contractual commitment. By submitting a booking, the person booking makes an offer to enter into a contract for the selected session. Before a paid online booking is submitted, the essential service and price information is displayed and these terms and the withdrawal information are made available.

The contract is concluded when the express appointment confirmation is received by email. For online sessions, this confirmation is sent automatically. For in-person appointments, it is sent once room availability has been secured, within 24 hours of receipt of the booking. An acknowledgement of receipt alone is not an appointment confirmation.

If an in-person appointment cannot be confirmed, this will be communicated within that period. An alternative appointment requires a new agreement. If no appointment confirmation has been received within 24 hours, the person booking is no longer bound by their offer. A later confirmation constitutes a new offer and requires their acceptance.

For bookings made by email or telephone, the contract is concluded through the subsequent express agreement and appointment confirmation. These terms must have been validly incorporated beforehand.

Each confirmed appointment is a separately agreed session. There is no obligation to book further appointments, no subscription and no automatic renewal. New appointments are subject to the terms agreed before the respective contract is concluded. Existing agreements are not changed unilaterally.

4. Duration, fees and payment

Unless expressly agreed otherwise for a particular appointment, the following apply:

These are final prices. No VAT is charged under the small-business exemption in Section 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG). Having two participants in couples counselling does not double the session fee.

A session may be extended if this is useful for the counselling process and the counsellor is available. Before the extension begins, the participant must expressly agree; for couples counselling, both participants must expressly agree. The contracting party, or all contracting parties, must also expressly agree to the additional fee. The proposed additional duration and cost are explained before consent is given. There is no entitlement to an extension.

Each fully delivered additional 15-minute unit is charged at €25 for individual counselling and €30 for couples counselling. Time is not rounded up to the next unit; remaining additional minutes of less than 15 minutes are not charged. For example, 20 additional minutes are charged as one unit and 30 additional minutes as two units. This rule applies to paid individual and couples counselling. The free initial consultation is not converted into paid counselling without a separate agreement.

Time used solely to make up for a delay or interruption caused by the counsellor and to deliver the originally agreed session duration is not a chargeable extension.

Billing takes the form of consolidated invoices covering several completed sessions. Each session is listed with its date, service type and respective fee. Valid charges for missed or cancelled appointments are identified separately. The billing period and invoicing frequency are agreed with the contracting party. Each consolidated invoice is payable by bank transfer within 14 days of receipt. Statutory requirements governing late payment remain unaffected. Reimbursement by health insurance or another funding body is not guaranteed; the payment obligation does not depend on such reimbursement.

5. Appointment cancellation and non-attendance

Appointments may be cancelled by email to info@beziehungsweise-beratung.com or through any cancellation function provided. Cancellation by postal letter is also possible. The time the cancellation is received is decisive. A request to reschedule is treated as cancellation of the original appointment unless expressly agreed otherwise.

The following maximum flat-rate charges apply to the contractual cancellation option, provided a legally recoverable loss arises for which the cancelling person is responsible:

These charges must not exceed the legally recoverable loss typically expected. Saved expenses and any alternative booking of the released time must be taken into account. The contracting party is expressly entitled to demonstrate that no loss, or a substantially smaller loss, occurred; the claim is then waived or reduced accordingly. A free initial consultation remains free even if cancelled or missed.

For non-attendance without prior cancellation, the agreed fee may be claimed where the statutory conditions are met, particularly where there is a right to remuneration because the client failed to accept the service offered at the agreed time. Saved expenses and any alternative earnings, or earnings deliberately forgone, that must legally be credited are deducted. This is not a contractual penalty payable regardless of the actual facts and legal circumstances. The claim cannot exceed the agreed fee.

These provisions do not restrict statutory withdrawal or termination rights, including those under Sections 626 and 627 of the German Civil Code (BGB), where applicable. If the contract is validly withdrawn from or terminated, the consequences are governed by law; cancellation charges are not automatically imposed in addition. Depending on its content, an appointment cancellation may also constitute contractual termination or withdrawal and will be interpreted accordingly.

6. Late arrival

If a participant arrives late, the agreed end time generally remains unchanged. An extension may be agreed in an individual case subject to availability; there is no entitlement to one. Where the counsellor was ready to provide the service at the agreed time, statutory remuneration rules, including any required deductions, apply to the time that could not be used because of the participant’s late arrival.

If a session starts late because of the counsellor’s delay, the agreed counselling duration will be provided through an extension where possible. If this is not possible, the fee is reduced in proportion to the counselling time not provided. A replacement appointment or another solution may be agreed mutually. Participants are not obliged to agree to an extension beyond the scheduled end time. Statutory rights remain unaffected.

7. Cancellation by the counsellor

If the counsellor cannot conduct an appointment, she will notify participants as early as possible. No fee is charged for the cancelled session; any fee already paid is refunded. A replacement appointment is arranged only by mutual agreement. Any further statutory claims are not excluded.

8. Online counselling and technical difficulties

Online counselling takes place via Google Meet. A suitable internet connection and a device with the necessary audio and video functions are required. Participants should arrange a private space with as few interruptions as possible. Additional persons who have not been agreed upon must not listen in or participate.

If connection problems occur, an attempt will first be made to reconnect. Continuing by telephone requires the agreement of everyone involved. If meaningful continuation is not possible, a replacement service or billing for the service actually provided will be agreed. Where the cause falls within the counsellor’s responsibility, minutes not provided are not charged. Where the cause is on the client’s side, any claim is governed by statutory provisions; there is no blanket obligation to pay the full fee for every technical difficulty.

9. Confidentiality and couples counselling

The counsellor treats personal information and counselling content confidentially. Disclosure to third parties occurs only where authorised, particularly on the basis of valid consent or a statutory obligation or permission. Absolute confidentiality regardless of statutory exceptions is not promised.

For couples counselling, the working arrangements and handling of possible individual contact are discussed beforehand. Regular individual counselling is not provided as part of couples counselling without a separate agreement.

Confidential individual communications are not automatically forwarded to the other participant. If they are significant for joint counselling, the counsellor first discusses with the person sharing them how they may be introduced voluntarily into a joint session. Permanent secrecy cannot be promised for significant information that compromises the joint counselling process. If responsible joint counselling is no longer possible, it may be ended subject to statutory requirements. This does not authorise disclosure of the communication without an appropriate basis.

No person is compelled to participate or continue. If one partner is absent, a couples session is converted into individual counselling only by express agreement on the service and price.

10. Data protection and recordings

The processing of personal data is explained in the separate privacy policy and client information. These terms do not constitute consent to processing special categories of personal data. Where explicit consent is required, it is obtained separately from each participant.

The counsellor does not make audio or video recordings and does not use automatic conversation transcription or AI-generated summaries. Recordings by participants require the prior express consent of all persons concerned.

11. Ending the counselling relationship

Further sessions may be declined at any time. For sessions already agreed, statutory termination and withdrawal rights and the valid appointment provisions above apply. The counsellor may end the relationship particularly where it is unsuitable from a professional perspective or cannot be conducted responsibly. Statutory limits are respected, including any prohibition on termination at an inappropriate time.

Any right of termination under Section 627 BGB is not excluded by these terms. On termination, billing for services already provided and any further consequences are governed by law.

12. Liability

Statutory liability provisions apply. Liability for intentional wrongdoing, gross negligence or harm to life, body or health is not excluded or limited.

The absence of a promise of a particular counselling outcome does not exclude liability for a breach of duty.

13. Withdrawal and final provisions

Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal for distance contracts and contracts concluded away from business premises where the legal conditions are met. The separate withdrawal information explains this right. The session location alone does not determine whether a right of withdrawal applies; an in-person session booked online may also qualify.

German law applies. Any additional mandatory consumer protection provisions applicable under the relevant law remain unaffected. No exclusive place of jurisdiction is agreed to the detriment of consumers.

If a provision is invalid, statutory provisions take its place. The remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent provided by law.

The counsellor is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration body.