GREAT LAKES COUNSELING GROUP

KERN COUNSELING RESOURCES DBA GREAT LAKES COUNSELING GROUP IS NOT SET UP TO PROVIDE CRISIS COUNSELING TO PATIENTS IN CRISIS.

DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE FOR EMERGENCY NEEDS. IF YOU EXPERIENCE AN EMERGENCY, IMMEDIATELY CALL 911 OR GO TO THE NEAREST EMERGENCY ROOM.

If you are thinking about suicide or if you are considering taking actions that may cause harm to you or others or if you feel that you or any other person may be in any danger, or if you have any medical emergency, you must immediately call the relevant emergency service number, notify the relevant authorities, and seek immediate in-person assistance. The Great Lakes Counseling Group website displays the suicide hotline in several prominent locations. We implore all users of this site to use it when faced with an immediate or emergent crisis.

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Please read these Terms of Use carefully ("Terms"). These Terms govern and apply to your access and use of the communication platform offered by Great Lakes Counseling Group in connection with the online therapy services we provide via the Great Lakes Counseling Group website at www.GreatLakesCounselingGroup.com (“Website”) and Simple Practice mobile app (HIPAA-compliant platform used by Great Lakes Counseling Group) (“App”) (all hereinafter collectively, “Great Lakes Counseling Group” and the "Service(s)") and any information, text, graphics, photos or other materials uploaded, downloaded or appearing on the Service (collectively referred to as "Content"). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to comply with and to be bound by all of the terms and conditions described in these Terms. You are not authorized to use the Service if you do not agree to all of these terms and conditions. The terms “you," "your,” and “yourself” refer to the individual user of the Service.

These Terms are between you and Great Lakes Counseling Group and not with the App Provider (such as Simple Practice, the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or other similar platforms) where the App is made available (each such distribution platform an "App Provider"). The App Provider has no obligation to furnish any maintenance and support services concerning the App. Any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attributable to any failure of the App will be the sole responsibility of Great Lakes Counseling Group.

Weekly Subscription: By purchasing a Weekly Subscription, you agree to the initial and recurring Weekly Subscription fee and the then-current Weekly Subscription rate, and you accept responsibility for all recurring charges until you cancel your subscription. You may cancel your Weekly Subscription at any time, subject to the terms of our cancellation policy.

AUTOMATIC WEEKLY RENEWAL TERMS: Once you subscribe, Great Lakes Counseling Group will automatically process your Weekly Subscription fee every seven days after the initial subscription payment is made at the then-current Weekly Subscription rate until you cancel your subscription. We explain how to cancel your Weekly Subscription below in the Section “Cancellation Policy.”

Monthly Subscription: By purchasing a Monthly Subscription, you agree to the initial and recurring Monthly Subscription fee and the then-current Monthly Subscription rate, and you accept responsibility for all recurring charges until you cancel your subscription. You may cancel your Monthly Subscription at any time, subject to the terms of our cancellation policy.

AUTOMATIC MONTHLY RENEWAL TERMS: Once you subscribe, Great Lakes Counseling Group will automatically process your Monthly Subscription fee each month after the initial subscription payment is made at the then-current Monthly Subscription rate until you cancel your subscription. We explain how to cancel your Monthly Subscription below in the Section “Cancellation Policy."

PAUSE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION IF YOU CAN'T MAKE A SESSION: You can pause your subscription at any time for a period of up to 7 days. After 7 days your subscription will automatically resume. When your subscription resumes the automatic renewal is extended by the number of days the subscription was paused. It is your responsibility to pause your subscription as we will not issue refunds during the time-based subscription.

CANCELLATION POLICY: You may cancel your Automatic Weekly or Automatic Monthly Renewal at any time by logging into your account and selecting cancel my subscription. If you need help, feel free to contact us at terri@greatlakescounselinggroup.com. You will have access to counseling until the week or the month runs out after you cancel. Auto-renewing subscriptions cannot be canceled mid-term, nor will Great Lakes Counseling Group give a pro-rated refund if the subscription service is not used.

Emergency Contact Information

You agree to provide “Emergency Contact Information” (name and telephone number) for your personal contact and/or a close family member/relation to your Provider (defined below) to be used in case of a mental health crisis or other emergencies where knowledge of your location is crucial. You agree to obtain their consent before providing their Contact Information to your Therapist.

You acknowledge that your ability to access and use the Service is conditioned upon the truthfulness of the information you provide regarding your age, residence, and Emergency Contact Information and that the Providers you access (“Provider(s)”) are relying upon this certification in order to interact with you and provide the Services.

By subscribing to our Services, you agree to these Terms and acknowledge the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices (for US members only), and you acknowledge that we handle the information you provide us in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Account Eligibility and Enrollment

To access the Services, you must first enroll to establish an individual user account (“Account”) by providing certain information as set out in the Privacy Policy. You agree that you will not create more than one Account or create an Account for anyone other than yourself without first receiving permission from the other person. In exchange for your use of the Service and, if applicable, in order for Providers to send messages to you, you agree to:

provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as prompted by our Account enrollment form (understanding that during therapy sessions, you may use a nickname); and
to maintain, and promptly update such Account information, each time you log on, as far as possible, to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. Suppose you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or Great Lakes Counseling Group has reasonable grounds to suspect that such Account information is false, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete. In that case, Great Lakes Counseling Group reserves the right to transition your treatment to another Provider outside of Great Lakes Counseling Group or take other steps as appropriate.
certify that you are (i) over the age of eighteen (18) (for UK/ EU users), or have the legal ability to consent to the Services or have your Parent/Guardian consent to the Services (for US users only), and (ii) physically located or are a resident of the State or Country you have chosen as your current residency when creating your Account.
remain responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account password and username (if any) and any other security information related to your Account at all times. Great Lakes Counseling Group will not be liable for any loss you incur due to someone else accessing and using your Account, either with or without your knowledge.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to access or use the Services in an unlawful way or for an unlawful or illegitimate purpose or in any manner that contravenes these Terms. You shall not post, use, store or transmit any of the following:

A message or information under a false name;
information that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, abusive, vulgar, obscene, racist, fraudulent, predatory of minors, harassing, threatening, or hateful to any person;
unsolicited email and/or advertisement or promotion of goods and services;
any content that may cause damage to a third party;
any content which may constitute, cause, or encourage a criminal action or violate any applicable law; and
information that infringes or violates any of the intellectual property rights of others or the privacy or publicity rights of others.

You shall not attempt to disrupt the operation of the Service by any method, including through the use of viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, keystroke logger, spyware, adware, denial of service attacks, flooding, or spamming. You shall not use the Service in any manner that could damage, disable, or impair the Service. You shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any user accounts, computer systems, or networks through hacking, password mining, or any other means. You shall not use any robot, scraper, malicious code, or other means to access the Service for any purpose. Neither Great Lakes Counseling Group nor its affiliates are under any obligation to respond to messages posted on the Service. You are solely responsible for the information or material you post on the Service.

If you download the App, you agree that from time to time, the software may require that you download upgrades, updates, and additional features we publish in order to improve, enhance, and further develop the software, Service, or App.

Payment

You agree to pay all fees and charges associated with your Account on a timely basis in accordance with the fee schedule, and the terms and rates published by Great Lakes Counseling Group from time to time. Such fees and charges (including any taxes and late fees, as applicable) may be charged to the payment method you provided during the initial setup of your Account. You agree to maintain valid payment information in your Account. By providing Great Lakes Counseling Group with payment information, you authorize Great Lakes Counseling Group to bill and charge your credit card or another payment method.

Suppose you access the Services through an EAP or an employer-sponsored benefit plan, or other insurance backed plan. In that case, your payment will be arranged by a third party, “Payor” which is a third party that administers or insures the benefits program you are a member of through your employer. Your co-payments, coinsurance, or deductible may be charged automatically at the beginning of the session period or after the claim is processed by your insurer.

Providers

You are always advised to exercise a high level of care and caution when making any mental health or medical decision. You should never disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical advice from your primary doctor or other qualified healthcare providers or use or combine Great Lakes Counseling Group with traditional face-to-face appointments solely because of information you saw on the Website or App or advice you received through the Provider. Great Lakes Counseling Group supports a holistic approach to mental health and your choices to create the best therapeutic journey that matches your individual needs. If you feel that the Provider does not meet your expectations, you may change to a different Provider at any time.

Other than the guidance and advice you receive directly from your Provider, the graphics, educational and research sources, and other incidental information on the Website or the Content should be considered something other than medical advice. It would be best if you always talked to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment, including information regarding which medications or treatment may be appropriate for you. None of the Content represents or warrants that any particular medication or treatment is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. Great Lakes Counseling Group does not endorse any specific tests, medications, products, or procedures.

Great Lakes Counseling Group reserves the right to limit the scope of clinical practice provided.

Intellectual Property

All Content available on or through the Service is the property of Great Lakes Counseling Group or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property law. You agree not to reproduce, modify, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, exploit, publish, broadcast, or circulate the content received through the Service to any third party. All software and accompanying documentation made available for download from the Service is the copyrighted work of Great Lakes Counseling Group or its licensors. Any copy made of information obtained through the Service must include all applicable copyright notices.

"Great Lakes Counseling Group," "Texting Therapy," and “Live Video” are copyrighted terms. All rights reserved. Subject to the Terms of this Agreement, Great Lakes Counseling Group hereby grants you a limited, revocable, non-transferable, and non-exclusive license to use the software, network facilities, content, and documentation on and in the Service to the extent and only to the extent, necessary to access and use the Service.

The license granted herein does not permit you to, and you agree not to:

modify, translate, reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, or create derivative works of the Service or allow a third party, whether directly or indirectly (including, but not limited to the direct or indirect use of wizards, agents, bots, or other utilities), to modify, translate, reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, or create derivative works of the Service; or
transfer, distribute, sell, lease, rent, disclose or provide access to the Service to any third party or use the Service to provide service bureau, time-sharing, or other services to third parties.

Disclaimers

ACCESS TO THE SERVICE AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, Great Lakes Counseling Group DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS, IF ANY, WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE AND YOUR RELIANCE UPON ANY OF ITS CONTENTS IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

YOU AGREE THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR PASSWORD AND ANY OTHER SECURITY INFORMATION RELATED TO YOUR USE OF Great Lakes Counseling Group.

YOU AGREE TO NOTIFY Great Lakes Counseling Group IMMEDIATELY OF ANY UNAUTHORIZED USE OF YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORD.

YOU SHALL BE SOLELY AND FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO THE SERVICE OR ANY COMPUTER SYSTEM, ANY LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY IMPROPER USE OR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON THE SERVICE CAUSED BY YOU OR ANY PERSON USING YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORD.

Great Lakes Counseling Group CANNOT AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS, DAMAGES, OR LIABILITIES ARISING FROM THE FAILURE OF ANY TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE, OR THE INTERNET, OR FOR YOUR MISUSE OF ANY PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION, ADVICE, IDEAS, INFORMATION, INSTRUCTIONS OR GUIDELINES ACCESSED THROUGH THE SERVICE.

Limitations of Liability

IN THE EVENT OF ANY PROBLEM WITH THE SERVICE OR ANY OF ITS CONTENT OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, APP, OR SERVICES OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF, OR IN RELATION TO, THESE TERMS, YOU AGREE THAT Great Lakes Counseling Group’S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL AND ANY DAMAGES, LOSSES OR CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER CONTRACTUAL, TORTIOUS OR OTHERWISE) SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF PAYMENT MADE BY YOU TO Great Lakes Counseling Group IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS UNLESS OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL Great Lakes Counseling Group, ANY Great Lakes Counseling Group LICENSOR OR SUPPLIER, OR ANY THIRD PARTY WHO PROMOTES THE SERVICE OR PROVIDES YOU WITH A LINK TO THE SERVICE BE LIABLE IN ANY WAY FOR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR ANY OF ITS CONTENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT, ANY INFRINGEMENT BY ANY CONTENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR OTHER RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the limitations above may not apply to you.

Hyperlinks

Any link (including a hyperlink, button, or referral device of any kind) used in the Service is provided for your use and convenience. The appearance of a link does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or certification by Great Lakes Counseling Group, nor should the presence of a link in any way be construed as a suggestion that any third-party website has any relationship to Great Lakes Counseling Group. Great Lakes Counseling Group does not endorse the content on any third-party websites. Great Lakes Counseling Group is not responsible for the content of linked third-party websites or third-party advertisements and does not make any representations regarding its content or accuracy. Great Lakes Counseling Group does not knowingly link to websites that may infringe on valid and existing trademarks, service marks, copyrights, or patents. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

California Residents

The Board of Behavioral Sciences receives and responds to complaints regarding services provided by therapists, clinical social workers, or professional clinical counselors. You may contact the board online at www.bbs.ca.gov, or by calling (916) 574-7830.

Termination

Great Lakes Counseling Group has the right (but not the obligation) to refuse to provide access to the Service to any person, agency, or organization for any illegal or improper use of the service, nonpayment, or other material misuse of the services. Great Lakes Counseling Group reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue all or part of the Service, temporarily or permanently, without prior notice.

Trial Subscriptions

From time to time, Great Lakes Counseling Group may offer a Trial Subscription (“Trial Subscription”) to receive introductory services. You may only receive one Trial Subscription. Without limitation, any attempt by You to receive more than one Trial Subscription, such as by creating alternate accounts, will be considered a material breach of these Terms.

Refunds

Except as prohibited under applicable law, Great Lakes Counseling Group may at its sole discretion provide a full, partial, or pro-rated refund for services rendered.

Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio without regard to any conflict of laws, rules or principles. You agree to submit to the venue and jurisdiction of the New York courts in the cases that arbitration is not successful or is assigned or appealed to a civil court.

ANY ARBITRATION UNDER THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS WILL TAKE PLACE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS; CLASS ARBITRATIONS AND CLASS/REPRESENTATIVE/COLLECTIVE ACTIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT A PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN EACH INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PUTATIVE CLASS, COLLECTIVE AND/ OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING, SUCH AS IN THE FORM OF A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION AGAINST THE OTHER. FURTHER, UNLESS BOTH YOU AND Great Lakes Counseling Group AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE MORE THAT ONE PERSON’S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A REPRESENTATIVE OR CLASS PROCEEDING. THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. Great Lakes Counseling Group MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES IN THE SITE AT ANY TIME. Great Lakes Counseling Group AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS'' WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND.

General

Great Lakes Counseling Group’s failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. Notices required to be given to you by Great Lakes Counseling Group may be delivered by electronic mail to the address provided during the creation of your Account. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between Great Lakes Counseling Group and yourself regarding the Service and supersede and replace any prior agreements you and Great Lakes Counseling Group might have regarding the Service.

Great Lakes Counseling Group may revise these Terms from time to time without notice to you, except for material changes. By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. We encourage you to read the Terms periodically.

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These Terms of Use were last updated on January 6, 2022, and are deemed effective as amended as of this date.