The present ethics code aims to ensure key elements in your counselling process, namely: confidentiality, cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and professional competence. This has been designed in line with recommendations from the Professional Practice Deontological Guidelines from the Portuguese Psychologists Order as well with Personal Data Protection Regulations.
You are kindly requested to read this code and follow the instructions below.

Competence

All psychologists at outCOme have been trained and are prepared to intervene in one or more areas of human behaviour. As such, they are able to recognise any limitations to their professional competence. When methods deemed necessary are not within their scope of skills or expertise, they may either forward the case to another psychologist or engage in collaborative work with a psychologist that has the adequate experience and qualification in such methods.

Informed consent

The client must be explicitly informed about any assessment that they may be subjected to and its purposes. The client must know the results of any diagnosis that may be made in order to provide consent to any further psychological interventions.

Psychologist-Client relationship

Assurance of integrity is paramount as a basic requirement in professional relationships. The following guidelines for the relationship between outCOme psychologists and their clients are presented in order to promote the client’s trust and reassurance regarding the ethical competence of outCOme psychologists:

1. The psychologist constantly develops a strictly professional relationship with the client and their family members (if applicable);
2. The psychologist will not have any other type of benefit or interest besides the established professional relationship;
3. The psychologist shall terminate the clinical relationship with the client once there is no clear further benefit of the sessions;
4. The psychologist and the client establish a timeframe for the clinical work;
5. Once it has been scheduled, the appointment may be cancelled up to 24h before the session. If that is not the case, the session will be considered as delivered;
6. All psychologists are part of a team with a supervisor. This means that no psychologist works alone and this group of professionals may share and discuss the best course of treatment for the client;
7. During the session or when an unforeseeable situation arises for which the psychologist does not have enough information or knowledge, a follow-up session may be suggested or the client may be forwarded to another professional. This process must be clear and transparent to the client. Cases that have a high degree of complexity or that involve family interventions may require the presence of two psychologists.

Confidentiality and anonymity

outCOme psychologists protect their client’s right to privacy, especially focusing on confidentiality and anonymity.

1. Anonymity implies not revealing the client’s identity;
2. Confidentiality implies not revealing information conveyed by the client;
3. The psychologist provides a professional service if there is open and honest communication between the two (client and psychologist);
4. outCOme psychologists must break confidentiality in the following instances: abuse or violence against others, as well as all activities and situations that may put the client’s or others’ lives in danger.

Personal data Privacy Policy

All gathered data is private and bound to secrecy and it is only handled and stored by outCOme for the exclusive purpose of providing psychological support and counselling. In this regard, all timeframes for data management and storage will be followed in conformity with current legal dispositions (regarding updates, elimination, limitations to data handling, portability, withdrawal of consent, and complaint to control authorities). For more information, you may contact us through email: info.geral@outcome.pt.

In the context of remote delivery of psychological interventions:

1. The client allows the psychologist to intervene in circumstances that are not considered the ideal communication methods for psychological intervention processes;
2. Remote delivery intervention results are recognised as positive, with a significant body of scientific evidence attesting to its efficacy. Still, results may differ from those that would be achieved in face-to-face interventions;
3. The psychologist’s responsibilities are the same as those applicable to face-to-face interventions, being bound to the same Professional Practice Deontological Guidelines;
4. Remote interventions should be delivered only in justified circumstances, either related to the problem at hand or due to situations that make face-to-face interventions impossible;
5. The means of communication for the delivery of remote psychological interventions is chosen by both the psychologist and the client, with a discussion of the reasons for that choice and its potential limitations;
6. The client is aware of specific difficulties related to privacy. The psychologist does not have the conditions to ensure absolute privacy in this type of communication;
7. For any further questions, the client may contact outCOme through email: info.geral@outcome.pt.

Please complete all the following fields before submitting the form.