Terms of Service for Therapists

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“Therapist,” “you,” or “your”) and Aligned Therapy Ltd, trading as Aligned / Aligned Therapy (“Aligned,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They govern your participation on Aligned’s platform (the “Platform”) as a registered therapist. By registering, activating, or continuing to participate on the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and accepted these Terms in full and agree to comply with them. If you do not agree with any provision, you must not register or must immediately cease using the Platform.

1. Definitions

1.1. “Client” means an individual seeking therapeutic services who is referred to you via the Platform.

1.2. “Match” means a referral in which a Client is introduced to you through the Platform for the purpose of commencing a therapeutic relationship.

1.3. “Session” means any therapeutic meeting between you and a Client, whether in-person, by telephone, or via video, which takes place entirely outside the Platform.

1.4. “Aligned Fees” means the fees payable by you to Aligned as set out in section 7, comprising the first Session fee and the ongoing percentage fee on subsequent Sessions.

1.5. “Leakage” (or “Client Leakage”) means any attempt by you to circumvent the Platform by procuring, engaging with, or continuing to engage with a Client outside Aligned’s referral and fee structure, including by encouraging a Client to re-engage directly rather than through Aligned.

2. What Aligned Is

2.1. Aligned operates as a referral and matching service. We connect individuals seeking therapy with qualified, independent therapists. We do not provide therapy ourselves, nor do we supervise, direct, or control the provision of any therapeutic services.

2.2. All Sessions take place entirely outside the Platform. Aligned’s role is limited to facilitating the initial introduction and managing the ongoing referral relationship.

2.3. Once a Client’s contact details have been transferred to you, you assume full legal responsibility, liability, and duty of care for that Client under UK law. Aligned disclaims any liability for the provision of therapy, clinical outcomes, or any acts or omissions by you.

2.4. Aligned does not guarantee any minimum volume of Matches, any particular level of income, or any specific client engagement. Matches are provided on a reasonable-efforts basis only.

3. Eligibility

3.1. You must hold active membership or registration with at least one UK-recognised professional body, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP), or the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), or an equivalent recognised body.

3.2. You must maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance appropriate to your practice, and in any event no less than £100,000 per claim. Proof of insurance must be provided upon request. Failure to maintain adequate insurance constitutes a material breach of these Terms.

3.3. You must maintain all qualifications and licensures required to provide therapy lawfully in the United Kingdom.

3.4. You must immediately notify Aligned if your professional registration is suspended, revoked, or otherwise restricted, or if you become the subject of any complaint, investigation, or disciplinary process by a professional body, regulator, or relevant authority that concerns your fitness to practise.

3.5. You must continue to meet the conditions of your professional body’s membership at all times, including its code of ethics or conduct, supervision requirements, continuing professional development (CPD), and standards for keeping clinical records.

4. Onboarding

4.1. All therapists must begin Aligned’s onboarding process before receiving matches. This may include an onboarding call, submission of documentation, and completion of your therapist profile.

4.2. During onboarding and upon request thereafter, you must provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information, including: (a) your full legal and trading names, professional registration number, and business address; (b) details of professional accreditations and memberships; (c) proof of Professional Indemnity Insurance; and (d) your contact email and telephone number.

4.3. Activation of your profile and continued participation on the Platform are entirely at Aligned’s discretion.

4.4. Aligned may pause or suspend referrals to you at any time and at its discretion. A pause or suspension of this kind is not a breach of these Terms by either party and does not, by itself, terminate this agreement.

4.5. If any of the information you have provided changes, you must notify Aligned without undue delay.

5. Referral and Handover Process

5.1. When a Match is made, Aligned will introduce you to the Client (for example, by email). It is your responsibility to send the first message to the Client following the introduction.

5.2. Aligned will provide you with a Match Summary for each referral. You must read the Match Summary in full before contacting the Client. The Match Summary contains important context about the Client’s presenting concerns and preferences.

5.3. If you are unable to take on a referred Client for any reason, you must notify Aligned promptly so the Client can be re-matched.

5.4. You must tell Aligned promptly if a referred Client behaves in a way that means we should not re-refer them to another therapist, for example behaving abusively, aggressively, or threateningly toward you. Share only the brief facts we need to make safe rematching decisions, and never clinical detail about the Client’s care.

6. Responsiveness

6.1. You agree to respond to new Client introductions by the next working day at the latest, and ideally the same working day. Timely contact significantly improves client engagement and outcomes.

6.2. Persistent failure to respond to introductions by the next working day may result in your profile being paused or deactivated.

6.3. You may pause receiving new Matches at any time by setting your availability to “off” or by informing Aligned. We will not send you new Matches while you are paused.

7. Fees

7.1. Fee Structure

7.1.1. For each Client who commences therapy with you following a Match, you agree to pay Aligned: (a) a referral fee equal to the full amount charged to the Client for their first paid Session; and (b) a fee of 10% of the amount charged to the Client for each subsequent Session thereafter, for as long as the Client continues therapy with you.

7.1.2. If the Client cancels or fails to attend their first Session and no payment is received, no referral fee shall be due.

7.1.3. No fee shall be due on any unpaid initial consultations.

7.1.4. If a referred Client pauses therapy and later resumes Sessions with you within 24 months of their most recent Session, the ongoing 10% fee resumes for the continued Sessions.

7.2. Variable Pricing, Concessions, and Block Bookings

7.2.1. Pricing that changes over time. Most therapists change their Session fees over time, whether for new Clients only, for existing Clients, or for specific individuals. Aligned always bases its Fees on the actual price paid by the Client at the time the Session takes place. A Client referred at £60 per Session is charged on £60; if that Client’s rate later rises to £65, the ongoing Fee is calculated on £65. Ongoing Clients continue to be invoiced on their own agreed rate, even if your standard fee changes later.

7.2.2. Variable and concessionary rates. If you offer a Client a reduced or concessionary rate, the Aligned Fees are calculated on the amount actually charged to that Client, not your standard rate.

7.2.3. Reduced-rate first Sessions. If you offer a reduced-rate first Session (for example, a £30 first Session against a £60 standard rate): (a) if the Client attends only that one Session, Aligned invoices the reduced-rate amount actually charged; (b) if the Client continues beyond the reduced-rate first Session, the referral fee is calculated on the first full-rate Session, and the reduced-rate first Session is then treated as a subsequent Session, charged at the ongoing 10%. For example, a £30 first Session followed by a £60 Session is invoiced as £60 plus £3, totalling £63.

7.2.4. Block bookings and packages. If you offer block bookings or discounted packages, the Aligned Fees are calculated on the effective per-Session rate actually paid by the Client within that package.

7.3. Reporting and Invoicing

7.3.1. Each month, Aligned will request a report from you, and you must provide it within 7 days of the request, confirming for each referred Client: (a) whether they have started, are continuing, or have not engaged in therapy with you; (b) the number of Sessions conducted since the previous report; and (c) the fee charged per Session.

7.3.2. Aligned will issue an invoice based on your monthly report. Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date.

7.3.3. Outstanding fees left unpaid after 14 days may incur interest at the statutory rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and may result in account suspension.

7.4. VAT

7.4.1. Aligned is not VAT-registered at present. If Aligned becomes VAT-registered, we will give at least 30 days’ notice and begin charging VAT at the prevailing UK rate on all Aligned Fees.

7.5. Changes to Fees

7.5.1. You must notify Aligned in advance of any changes to your Session fees.

7.5.2. Aligned reserves the right to amend the fee structure with at least 30 days’ advance written notice. Continued use of the Platform after such notice constitutes acceptance of the revised fee structure.

8. Integrity and Leakage Monitoring

8.1. Aligned’s fee model relies on honest reporting by therapists. Client Leakage undermines this model and is treated as a serious breach of these Terms.

8.2. If Aligned suspects Leakage, the following staged process will apply:

Stage 1: Aligned will pause new Matches to your profile and initiate a review. You will be notified and given the opportunity to provide an explanation within 7 days.

Stage 2: If the review concludes that Leakage has occurred, Aligned may recover all unpaid Aligned Fees, permanently remove you from the Platform, and recover a further sum of £500 in recognition of the damage that under-reporting does to Aligned’s referral model. The parties agree this sum is a reasonable protection of Aligned’s legitimate interest in honest reporting and is not a penalty. Where Sessions have taken place that you have not reported, Aligned may reasonably estimate the Aligned Fees due from the information available, and that estimate will apply unless you provide accurate records.

8.3. Aligned reserves the right to contact Clients directly to verify reporting accuracy.

9. Confidentiality, Privacy, and Communications

9.1. You must comply with all applicable data protection legislation, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

9.2. You are solely responsible for collecting, storing, and processing any Client data obtained through your therapeutic relationship.

9.3. You agree that Aligned may contact you about operational matters by reasonable means, including email, telephone, and messaging applications such as WhatsApp.

9.4. Where any informal or unencrypted messaging channel (such as WhatsApp) is used, communication must be limited to scheduling and logistics. Clinical or sensitive Client information must not be shared over it.

9.5. You shall keep strictly confidential all confidential information of Aligned, including fee structures, internal processes, and referral data.

9.6. If either party becomes aware of a personal data breach, that party must notify the other promptly and cooperate to comply with all regulatory notification requirements. Failure to notify within 72 hours constitutes a material breach.

10. Recordings and Data Use

10.1. Aligned may record onboarding and feedback calls (including video), and may transcribe and analyse them, solely to build and maintain your matching profile and to improve our service. We will obtain your consent before recording.

11. Safeguarding

11.1. You must have appropriate safeguarding policies in place and operate in accordance with the safeguarding requirements of your professional body.

11.2. If at any point during your work with a referred Client you identify a safeguarding concern (including risk of harm to self or others), you must follow your professional body’s safeguarding procedures and, where appropriate, notify the relevant authorities.

12. Relationship of the Parties

12.1. The parties are independent. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment relationship, partnership, joint venture, or agency between you and Aligned. You provide therapy to Clients as principal, in your own name and on your own account, and not on Aligned’s behalf.

12.2. You are free to provide therapeutic services to clients obtained independently of Aligned.

13. Suspension and Termination

13.1. These Terms commence on the date you first accept them and continue until terminated.

13.2. You may terminate at any time by providing at least 14 days’ written notice via admin@aligned.co.uk.

13.3. Aligned may suspend or deactivate your account for cause at any time, including for breach of these Terms, suspected Leakage, failure to respond to Matches, misrepresentation, professional misconduct, or failure to comply with reporting or audit requests. Termination for cause may take effect immediately.

13.4. Aligned may also end your participation without cause by giving you reasonable written notice (for example, 14 days). This reflects that continued participation on the Platform is at Aligned’s discretion (section 4.3).

13.5. Termination ends your eligibility for new Matches but does not extinguish your obligations in respect of Clients already referred to you through the Platform. The obligation to report (section 7.3) and to pay the ongoing 10% fee (section 7.1.1(b)) on each such Client continues for as long as that Client remains in, or later resumes (section 7.1.4), therapy with you. Aligned’s audit right (section 8.3) survives termination for this purpose. Any Aligned Fees already accrued and unpaid at termination are payable within 14 days.

13.6. Upon termination or suspension, you must immediately stop representing yourself as active on the Platform. Provisions regarding confidentiality, intellectual property, limitation of liability, and privacy shall survive termination.

14. Intellectual Property and Profile Materials

14.1. All Platform intellectual property, including but not limited to the website, branding, software, and content created by Aligned, is the exclusive property of Aligned or its licensors.

14.2. You retain ownership of any materials you provide (such as your profile biography, photographs, and qualifications) but grant Aligned a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, display, and reproduce those materials for the purposes of operating the Platform and promoting your profile to prospective Clients.

14.3. You must not use Aligned’s name, logo, or branding without prior written consent.

15. Liability

15.1. Aligned’s aggregate liability under or in connection with these Terms shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the total Aligned Fees paid by you in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or (b) £2,500. This cap does not apply to death or personal injury resulting from negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded under UK law.

15.2. Aligned shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, including loss of earnings, loss of clients, or reputational harm.

15.3. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Aligned from any third-party claims arising from your breach of these Terms, your negligence, or your violation of applicable laws.

15.4. Aligned does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or completely secure. The Platform is provided on an “as-is” basis.

16. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. In the event of any dispute, the parties shall first attempt in good faith to resolve the matter through mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful within 30 days, either party may initiate legal proceedings.

17. Contact

For any questions or concerns regarding these Terms, please contact Aligned at:

General enquiries: admin@aligned.co.uk

Therapist enquiries: sarah@aligned.co.uk

General Provisions

Entire Agreement — These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Aligned regarding your participation on the Platform.

Severability — If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

Waiver — No failure or delay in exercising any right under these Terms shall operate as a waiver of that right.

Assignment — You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without Aligned’s prior written consent.

Force Majeure — Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations if such delay or failure results from events beyond reasonable control.

Notices — All notices shall be in writing and sent to the contact details provided by each party.

BY REGISTERING FOR, ACTIVATING, OR CONTINUING TO USE THE PLATFORM, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND ARE BOUND BY THESE TERMS.