Terms and Conditions

By using this website you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. The purpose of these terms and conditions is to ensure that best practices and ethical standards are adhered to and respect is shown to other community members.

"HIGAP" refers to the Have I Got A Problem website and online emotional support service. Limitations of Service.

Please note, HIGAP do not constitute a professional service and should never be used to obtain a clinical or medical diagnosis; you should always consult your medical or clinical professional. HIGAP is not a diagnosis website nor does it represent itself as a preventative resource. If any website visitor is feeling suicidal or may harm themselves, i.e. and are therefore in an 'emergency situation', they should contact emergency services immediately on 999.

Furthermore, HIGAP is directed towards persons 18 years of age or over. We recommend that young people under 18 years of age seeking online mental health support and information instead contact an appropriate website for minors, e.g. Barnardos or Childline.

The instant messaging service at HIGAP is intended to be available for emotional support between 10:00-22:00, UK time, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. No guarantee is offered regarding the consistent provision of said support and HIGAP reserves the right to reschedule or cancel any service without notice, though the effort to provide same service will be made by us.

The HIGAP constitutes a self-help service; professional input is provided by qualified counsellors and overseen by a Clinical Governance framework. Communications by professional staff at HIGAP are not to be understood as a substitute for ongoing, professional mental health services or support elsewhere.

Intervention, Safety, and Privacy at HIGAP

HIGAP is non-interventionist save where a website visitor is apparently suicidal and at risk of endangering themselves, where serious criminal activity is expressed, and/or especially in instances where the safety of a minor appears to be at risk; in these instances HIGAP may escalate to a relevant police service. This is in everyone's safety interests. Any/all information collected by HIGAP at/after the point of use may be used for this purpose. HIGAP is not an emergency service and we shall accept no responsibility for failure to escalate in time or at all. Furthermore, in the event of an escalation, HIGAP shall accept no responsibility for any loss or damage, including damage to reputation caused.

HIGAP's Online Counselling service may require us to collect detailed information regarding a person's actual identity, address, and further details concerning that person's healthcare provider(s) and relevant information concerning the latter. We advise that any perceived serious risk to a member or another person's safety (especially that of a minor) may be escalated to a relevant authority such as a police service. We will attempt to do this in a manner taking into account what seems best, i.e. safest, for those involved but reserve the right to escalate in any such instances. This is quite similar to the confidentiality and obligatory reporting procedures commonly found in face-to-face counselling/therapy services.

Content Policy

Keep all commentary civil, and be courteous at all times. Insults directed towards counsellors will not be tolerated. Coarse/insulting language will not be tolerated.

We reserve the right at our absolute discretion to refuse you access to the site and/or cancel/terminate your user privileges without prior notice for any reason and you shall not be entitled to any compensation in respect of cancellation/termination of your privileges.

These terms of use, including our proprietary rights, disclaimer of warranties, indemnities, limitations of liability, choice of law and choice of forum, and miscellaneous provisions shall survive any termination of your user privileges.

By posting any material on or through HIGAP you grant us a limited license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, and distribute such material.

Legal Disclaimer (Information Provided)

Whilst every effort is made to check the information and files on these pages, HIGAP assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of the information in these documents or any others referenced or linked to them and users are urged to contact other, reliable, sources of such information to check its validity.

In no event shall HIGAP be liable for any incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, lack of response to posts, lost data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability in connection with the use of information, files, articles or anything else obtained from this site. HIGAP shall not be liable for any injury, personal or otherwise from any website user. HIGAP can accept no responsibility whatsoever for links to other sites.

HIGAP disclaims any or all communication(s) that may occasion outside of this website, including but not limited to personal email, telephone or any social networking platform. Any website user who shares their personal information does so at their own risk, HIGAP shall accept no responsibility for this.

You agree to indemnify, defend (at our request), and hold harmless HIGAP, our investors, successors, subsidiaries, affiliates, co-branders, contractors, employees, third-party advertisers, technology partners, and each of their respective officers, directors, agents, shareholders, employees and representatives, from and against any third party claim, loss, damage, cost or liability including reasonable legal expenses, made or brought by any third party due to or arising out of your use of HIGAP or any part thereof. Users should make sure to evaluate the relevance, accuracy and completeness of the information given here before relying on this information regarding any important issues. Users should also get appropriate professional advice to help in their own particular situation. HIGAP does not offer personalised, professional advice and any such information displayed on the website is disclaimed. The information and comments on this site may include opinions or recommendations of third parties that may not reflect the views of HIGAP or mean a commitment from the organisation to any opinion or action.

Acceptance

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck out and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.

By accessing information on this website or linked to this website the user legally waives and releases HIGAP from any and all claims related to the usage of content available through the website. HIGAP cannot be held liable in any event for incident or consequential damages due to use of the content.

Applicable law shall be the laws of the United Kingdom.