Terms of Use

Introduction to Terms of Use

Please read these Terms of Use carefully ("Terms"). These Terms govern and apply to your access and use of the communication platform offered by CityCouples Online Marriage and Family Therapy, PLLC, a New York registered company. CityCouples services available through the CityCouples website and mobile apps 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. If you do not agree to all of these terms and conditions, you are not authorized to use the Service. The terms “You", "Your,” and “Yourself” refer to the individual user of the Service.


You hereby certify that you are (i) over the age of eighteen (18) or have the legal ability to consent to Therapy or have your Parent/Guardian consent to Therapy, and (ii) physically located or are a resident of the State or Country you have chosen as your current residency when creating your Account. You agree to provide “Contact Information” (your personal contact and/or a close family member/relation) to your Provider to act as an information source to be used in case of a mental health crisis or other emergency where knowledge of your location is crucial. 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 contact information and that the providers you access are relying upon this certification in order to interact with you and provide the Services.

Site Content

Other than the guidance and advice you receive directly by you from your licensed Provider, the other educational, graphics, research sources and other incidental information on the Site, the Content, should not be considered medical advice. You should always talk to an appropriately qualified health care 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. CityCouples™ does not endorse any specific tests, medications, products or procedures. The mention of particular therapies and interventions on this website, including the blog, does not constitute an endorsement by CityCouples™.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to access or use the Service 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(i) a message or information under a false name; (ii) information that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, obscene, fraudulent, predatory of minors, harassing, threatening or hateful to any person; or (iii) information that infringes or violates any of the intellectual property rights of others or the privacy or publicity rights of others. You are solely responsible for the information or material you post on the Service.

Providers

All providers are the CityCouples™ team are licensed as marriage and family therapists in their jurisdiction. We only work with independent, licensed, insured, and vetted professional Providers. In order to receive approval to practice with CityCouples™, Providers must be found to be in compliance federal and state guidelines. Providers’ verification process includes, but is not limited to:


‍Verification of licensure. The practitioner holds a valid, current license to practice which is verified directly from the state license agency.
Verification of proper education and degree.
Verification of board certification for practitioners that state they are board certified.
Confirmation that the Provider can practice independently at the highest applicable state level of licensure.
Verification of malpractice insurance. A copy of the current malpractice coverage that shows the dates and amounts of coverage obtained from the malpractice insurance carrier or the practitioner.
Verification of malpractice history. This is completed by collecting history from the malpractice carrier.
Verification of any applicable specialized training. Written verification is needed for the completion of any specialized training the practitioner has received from the school or training program that provided the training.

Intellectual Property

All of the content available on or through the Service is the property of CityCouples™or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property law. You agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, 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 CityCouples™ or its licensors. Any copy made of information obtained through the Service must include all applicable copyright notices. You agree not to: (i) 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 (ii) 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. To the fullest extent permissible pursuant to the applicable law, CityCouples™ disclims all warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement.

Limitations of Liability

In the event of any problem with the service or any of its content, you agree that your sole remedy is to cease using the service. Under no circumstances shall CityCouples™, any CityCouples™, licensor or supplier, or any third party who promotes the service be liable in any way for your use of the service of 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.


Under no circumstances shall CityCouples™, its licensors or suppliers of mental healthcare or any third party who promotes the service be liable for any punitive, exemplary, consequential, incidental, indirect or special damages (including, without limitation, any personal injury, lost profits, business interruption, loss of programs, or other data on your computer or otherwise) arising from or in connection with your use of the service, whether under a theory of breach of contract, negligence, strict liability, malpractice or otherwise, even if CityCouples™ or they have been advised of the possibility of such damages.


*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 CityCouples™, nor should the presence of a link in any way be construed as a suggestion that any third party website has any relationship to CityCouples™. CityCouples™ does not endorse the content on any third-party websites. CityCouples™ 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. CityCouples™ 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.

Affiliate Links

CityCouples™ participates in the Amazon Affiliate Program. When beneficial to our users, we may link to relevant resources. If you choose to purchase using the available link, CityCouples™ will earn a small commission. A disclaimer noting that we have used an affiliate link will be posted on the page where the link is posted.

International Use and The GDPR

CityCouples™ advises both its Client/Users and practicing Providers to be aware of and respect and comply with the local laws of any international based Client. CityCouples™ is cognizant and respects the formal promulgation of the existing European Union (EU) data privacy regulations. The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area. It also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA and is commonly referred to as “GDPR.” CityCouples™ respects our Clients’ Privacy (see our Privacy Policy) and we are a HIPAA compliant entity following stringent data privacy rules.


The basic tenants of the promulgated GDPR regulations include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Disclosure when you sell, transfer or third party marketing of User’s data: As outlined in this Terms of Use, CityCouples™ does not sell or transfer Client data.

  • Access to collected data: At CityCouples™, you already have the ability to access your shared data (Your personal information, your emergency contact information and all your interactions with your Providers) and use it as you wish.

  • Clear Consent: At CityCouples™our Terms of Use are clear on what consent we seek with regards to your data and prior to your engagement with your Provider, you review and agree to further “informed consent” processes.

  • Security: At CityCouples™ we use encryption as well as HIPAA-compliant software for Private Health Information with full HIPAA compliance and in an anonymized form as required by the GDPR. 

  • Notice/Audit: We will notify our clients of any data breach.

    ‍
    Finally, dependent of your EU country or origin, the GDPR takes into account what was previously termed the right “to forget” or request deletion of your data once you cease using a particular application or site. This particular tenant of the GDPR may conflict with applicable medical records retention laws. In the United States, this requires at least seven years of retention, which is common around the world and is sometimes up to ten years or more in certain countries. So, unlike some data platforms, CityCouples™ cannot erase private health data directly upon a Client’s request, as it may be considered essential for other medical file retention purposes. Applicable individual country medical retention laws are generally considered an acceptable exception to the GDPR regulations regarding the right to deletion of certain data.

Termination

CityCouples™ may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. CityCouples™ has the right (but not the obligation) to refuse to provide access to the Service to any person, agency or organization at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all, in our sole discretion. CityCouples™ reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue all or part of the Service, temporarily or permanently, without prior notice.

Termination of therapy services will follow the AAMFT Code of Ethics, as well as relevant state laws, rules and regulations.

Privacy

You acknowledge that CityCouples™ must store all personal data as required by law, typically for no less than seven (7) years, and may not delete such medical records data, even upon your direct request.

Disputes

Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of the CityCouples™ Service will be resolved by binding confidential arbitration, rather than in court. The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to these Terms.

There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. However, an arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court (including injunctive and declaratory relief or statutory damages), and must interpret these Terms as a court would.

It is agreed that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated or representative action. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, CityCouples™ and you each waive any right to a jury trial. It is further agreed that you may not bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights.

General

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to any conflict of laws rules or principles. You agree to submit to the venue and jurisdiction of the Florida courts in the cases that arbitration is not successful or is assigned or appealed to a civil court. CityCouples™ 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. CityCouples™ may revise these Terms from time to time without notice to you. 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.

These Terms of Use were last updated on January 20, 2020 and are deemed effective as amended as of this date.