Your Rights as a Client

At Gestalt Wellness Institute, every service we provide — whether it’s an initial consultation, a psychological assessment, or ongoing treatment — is guided by your right to understand what’s happening, ask questions, and make informed choices about your own care. This page explains what you can expect from us, and what rights you hold as a client, from your very first conversation with GWI onward.

Your Rights

As a client of GWI, you have the right to:

Respect and Dignity — Services free from discrimination, stigma, or judgment, regardless of your age, gender, civil status, religion, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, or presenting concern.
Informed Consent — To be fully informed before any service begins, and to give consent that is entirely voluntary — you may withdraw it at any time.
Confidentiality and Privacy — Your information is not shared with family, employers, schools, or other providers without your written authorization, except where the law requires it (explained below).
Access to Your Information — You may request a review of your own records in writing; we process these requests within 30 days.
Participation in Your Care — You are an active partner in setting goals and planning your treatment, not a passive recipient of it.
Refusal and Withdrawal — You may decline or discontinue any service at any time.
Safety — A safe, professionally maintained, emotionally secure environment for every session.
Feedback and Complaints — You may voice concerns or file a formal complaint at any time, without fear of reprisal or any reduction in the quality of your care.

Your Responsibilities

Just as we’re committed to your rights, we ask a few things of you in return:

Honest Participation — Participate actively and honestly in your therapeutic or assessment process; withholding significant information can affect the quality of care your Practitioner is able to provide.
Courtesy and Respect — Treat all GWI staff, practitioners, and fellow clients (in group settings) with courtesy and respect.
Respect for Group Privacy — In group therapy or psychoeducation settings, what’s shared by others stays within the group.
Schedule Compliance — Observe agreed schedules, cancellation notice requirements, and GWI clinic policies.
Accurate Information — Provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information relevant to your care, including prior diagnoses, medications, and relevant history.
Proper Channels for Concerns — Raise concerns first with your Client Management Specialist, rather than through external public channels.

Confidentiality and Its Limits

What you share with your practitioner is treated with the utmost confidentiality, protected under the PAP Code of Ethics, RA 10029, and RA 10173 (the Data Privacy Act). We will never share your information with anyone outside your care team without your written permission — with a small number of exceptions where Philippine law requires us to act to keep people safe.

These situations are:

Known or suspected child abuse or neglect
Known or suspected violence against women or children
Imminent danger to yourself or someone else
Disclosure of sexual assault where you are the victim
A valid court order

These are legal obligations we cannot set aside, even at a client’s request. Wherever it’s clinically appropriate to do so, your practitioner will let you know before or as any such report is made, unless doing so would itself create risk to you or someone else.

Data Privacy

Your records are stored securely and are only accessible to your care team and authorized staff, for legitimate clinical or billing purposes. Your information is never used for research, marketing, or anything outside your direct clinical care without your separate, specific written consent. For the full details of your rights under the Data Privacy Act, see our Privacy Policy.

What to Expect

Before any service begins, you’ll be informed of its nature, purpose, expected benefits, and any foreseeable risks — and you’re welcome to ask questions at any point.

A consultation is exploratory. It doesn’t commit you, or GWI, to any ongoing treatment.
An assessment may involve declining any single test without losing access to other services.
Treatment may involve discussing difficult emotions — progress isn’t always linear, and you always retain the right to decline any specific technique your practitioner proposes.

Crisis Protocol

If you’re experiencing a mental health emergency outside of session hours, please don’t wait for a response from GWI — reach out immediately:

Tawag Paglaum (Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center) — 0939 936 5433 — free, 24/7

or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. Your practitioner will also review crisis and safety planning with you as part of your care, whenever it’s clinically appropriate.

How to Raise a Concern

If something about your care doesn’t feel right, start by raising it with our Client Management Specialist, who will look into it directly — often by clarifying the situation with your practitioner — and resolve it there whenever possible. If it can’t be resolved at that level, it’s referred onward: to our Chief of Business Administration for administrative or financial concerns, or our Chief of Professional Services for concerns about ethics or clinical practice. If a resolution still isn’t reached, the GWI Council makes the final decision. Raising a concern will never affect the quality of care you receive.