Disclaimer

CONSENT TO BIBLICAL COUNSELING

Our goal in providing biblical counseling is to help you meet the challenges of life in a way that will please and honor the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:31) and will bring you the greatest joy and satisfaction (John 15:11)

As Christians, we believe that the Bible provides thorough guidance and instruction for faith and life. (II Peter 1:3 and Romans 15:4) Therefore, our counseling is based only on scriptural principles rather than those of secular psychology or psychiatry. Heart Talk counselors are not trained or licensed as psychotherapists or mental health professionals, nor should they be expected to follow the methods of such specialists.

If you have significant legal, financial, medical, or other technical questions, you should seek advice from another independent professional. I will be happy to cooperate with such advisors and help you to consider their counsel in the light of relevant scriptural principles.

Confidentiality is an important aspect of the counseling process, and I will carefully guard the information you entrust to me. There are situations when it would be wise or biblically mandated for me to share certain information with others:

(1) When uncertain of how to address a particular problem and needing to seek advice from another pastor, elder, or counselor;
(2) When there is a clear indication that someone may be harmed unless we otherwise intervene;
(3) When abuse or another crime must be reported to authorities;
(4) When the counselee’s pastor, staff, and/or church leadership is needed to provide pastoral assistance;
(5) When a person persistently refuses to renounce a particular sin and it becomes necessary to seek the assistance of others in the church to encourage repentance and reconciliation (see Proverbs 15:22; 24:11; Matthew 18:15-20).

Please be assured that our counselors strongly prefer not to disclose personal information to others, and they will make every effort to help you find ways to resolve a problem as privately as possible.

Counseling fees can be found here. In addition, you may be required to purchase materials associated with the counseling process. Those materials are yours to keep.

On rare occasions, a conflict may arise between a counselor and counselee. In order to make sure that any such conflicts will be resolved in a biblically faithful manner, we require all of our counselees to agree that any dispute that arises with the counselor or with Heart Talk Biblical Counseling as a result of counseling will be settled with mediation within the church according to the principles of scripture and the authority of the local church. It is expressly understood that by agreeing in advance to arbitrate that the counselee is giving up his right to a trial in the civil courts.

Having clarified the principles and policies of our counseling ministry, we welcome the opportunity to minister to you in the name of Christ and to be used by Him as He helps you to grow in spiritual maturity and prepares you for usefulness in His body. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please don’t hesitate to ask.

By scheduling an appointment with Heart Talk Biblical Counseling and its counselors, you agree to the above conditions and terms.

In Plain English

Heart Talk Counseling provides biblical counseling services. Our counselors are not licensed by the state and make no claim to be experts in psychotherapy. Biblical counseling uses scriptural principles to solve problems and our counseling services are more akin to one-on-one discipleship than traditional secular counseling services.

Below, there’s a whole bunch of lawyer-speak, which is designed to cover ourselves in every possible way, in case someone attempts to sue us.

Heart Talk Biblical Counseling makes no representations, warranties, or assurances as to the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content contain on this website or any sites linked to this site.

E-mail Policy

We are committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential. We do not sell, rent, or lease our subscription lists to third parties, and we will not provide your personal information to any third party individual, government agency, or company at any time unless compelled to do so by law.

We will use your e-mail address solely to provide timely information about Heart Talk Biblical Counseling.

Heart Talk Biblical Counseling will maintain the information you send via e-mail in accordance with applicable federal law.

CAN-SPAM Compliance

In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, all e-mail sent from our organization will clearly state who the e-mail is from and provide clear information on how to contact the sender. In addition, all e-mail messages will also contain concise information on how to remove yourself from our mailing list so that you receive no further e-mail communication from us.

Choice/Opt-Out

Our site provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us and our partners by reading the unsubscribe instructions located at the bottom of any e-mail they receive from us at anytime.

Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or promotional materials may opt-out of receiving these communications by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail

Anti-spam Policy

Heart Talk Biblical Counseling prohibits the use of their website and/or services in any manner associated with the transmission, distribution or delivery of any unsolicited bulk or unsolicited commercial e-mail (“Spam”). You may not use any Heart Talk Biblical Counseling services to send Spam. You also may not deliver Spam or cause Spam to be delivered to any customers of Heart Talk Biblical Counseling.

In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701, et seq., Public Law No. 108-187, was S.877 of the 108th United States Congress), e-mail sent, or caused to be sent, to or through the Heart Talk Biblical Counseling website or service may not:

use or contain invalid or forged headers;
use or contain invalid or non-existent domain names;
employ any technique to otherwise misrepresent, hide or obscure any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path;
use other means of deceptive addressing;
use a third party’s internet domain name, or be relayed from or through a third party’s equipment, without permission of the third party;
contain false or misleading information in the subject line or otherwise contain false or misleading content;
fail to comply with additional technical standards described below;
otherwise violate our Terms of Use.
Heart Talk Biblical Counseling does not authorize the harvesting, mining or collection of e-mail addresses or other information from or through the website or its services. Heart Talk Biblical Counseling does not permit or authorize others to use the Heart Talk Biblical Counseling services to collect, compile or obtain any information about its customers or subscribers, including but not limited to subscriber e-mail addresses.

Heart Talk Biblical Counseling does not permit or authorize any attempt to use its services in a manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair any aspect of any of the services, or that could interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of any Heart Talk Biblical Counseling service.

If Heart Talk Biblical Counseling believes that unauthorized or improper use is being made of any service, it may, without notice, take such action as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, including blocking messages from a particular internet domain, mail server or IP address. Heart Talk Biblical Counseling may immediately terminate any account on any service which it determines, in its sole discretion, is transmitting or is otherwise connected with any e-mail that violates this policy.

Nothing in this policy is intended to grant any right to transmit or send e-mail to, or through, the Heart Talk Biblical Counseling website and/or services. Failure to enforce this policy in every instance does not amount to a waiver of Heart Talk Biblical Counseling's rights.

Unauthorized use of any Heart Talk Biblical Counseling services in connection with the transmission of unsolicited e-mail, including the transmission of e-mail in violation of this policy, may result in civil, criminal, or administrative penalties against the sender and those assisting the sender.

Violators of the CAN SPAM Act may be subject to “cease and desist” orders or penalties from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) of up to $11,000 per violation. Criminal prosecution is also possible in the case of egregious offenders, which can result in penalties such as fines, forfeiture of proceeds and equipment. The worst offenders can also be subject to prison time.

Terms Of Use

By accessing this web site, you are agreeing to be bound by these web site Terms and Conditions of Use, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site. The materials contained in this web site are protected by applicable copyright and trade mark law.

Intellectual Property Rights

All copyrights, trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights in and on our website and all content and software located on the site shall remain the sole property of Heart Talk Biblical Counseling or its licensors. The use of our trademarks, content and intellectual property is forbidden without the express written consent from Heart Talk Biblical Counseling.

You must not:

Republish material from our website without prior written consent.
Sell or rent material from our website.
Reproduce, duplicate, create derivative, copy or otherwise exploit material on our website for any purpose.
Redistribute any content from our website, including onto another website.

Acceptable Use

You agree to use our website only for lawful purposes, and in a way that does not infringe the rights of, restrict or inhibit anyone else’s use and enjoyment of the website. Prohibited behavior includes harassing or causing distress or inconvenience to any other user, transmitting obscene or offensive content or disrupting the normal flow of dialogue within our website.

You must not use our website to send unsolicited commercial communications. You must not use the content on our website for any marketing related purpose without our express written consent.

Restricted Access

We may in the future need to restrict access to parts (or all) of our website and reserve full rights to do so. If, at any point, we provide you with a username and password for you to access restricted areas of our website, you must ensure that both your username and password are kept confidential.

Revisions

Heart Talk Biblical Counseling may change these terms from time to time and so you should check these terms regularly. Your continued use of our website will be deemed acceptance of the updated or amended terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you should cease using our website immediately.

If any of these terms are determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, it shall be severed and deleted from these terms and the remaining terms shall survive and continue to be binding and enforceable.

Limitation of Liability

THE MATERIALS AT THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF ANY KIND INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL Heart Talk Biblical Counseling OR ITS AGENTS OR OFFICERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF INFORMATION, INJURY OR DEATH) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE MATERIALS, EVEN IF Heart Talk Biblical Counseling HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES.

Testimonial Disclaimer

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FTC GUIDE LINES CONCERNING USE OF ENDORSEMENTS AND TESTIMONIALS IN ADVERTISING, PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING:

TESTIMONIALS APPEARING ON THIS SITE ARE ACTUALLY RECEIVED VIA TEXT, AUDIO OR VIDEO SUBMISSION. THEY ARE INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES, REFLECTING REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES OF THOSE WHO HAVE USED OUR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. HOWEVER, THEY ARE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS AND RESULTS DO VARY. WE DO NOT CLAIM THAT THEY ARE TYPICAL RESULTS THAT CONSUMERS WILL GENERALLY ACHIEVE. THE TESTIMONIALS ARE NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL OF THOSE WHO WILL USE OUR PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES.

THE TESTIMONIALS DISPLAYED (TEXT, AUDIO AND/OR VIDEO) ARE GIVEN VERBATIM EXCEPT FOR CORRECTION OF GRAMMATICAL OR TYPING ERRORS. SOME HAVE BEEN SHORTENED. IN OTHER WORDS, NOT THE WHOLE MESSAGE RECEIVED BY THE TESTIMONIAL WRITER IS DISPLAYED, WHEN IT SEEMED LENGTHY OR NOT THE WHOLE TESTIMONIAL SEEMED RELEVANT FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

Heart Talk Biblical Counseling IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF THE OPINIONS OR COMMENTS POSTED TO OUR SITE. Heart Talk Biblical Counseling IS NOT A FORUM FOR TESTIMONIALS, HOWEVER PROVIDES TESTIMONIALS AS A MEANS FOR CUSTOMERS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH ONE ANOTHER. TO PREVENT AGAINST ABUSE, ALL TESTIMONIALS APPEAR AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY MANAGEMENT OF Heart Talk Biblical Counseling. Heart Talk Biblical Counseling DOES NOT SHARE THE OPINIONS, VIEWS OR COMMENTARY OF ANY TESTIMONIALS ON THIS SITE, AND ARE STRICTLY THE VIEWS OF THE REVIEWER.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this disclaimer, please contact us.