Terms & Conditions

Last updated: 20 July 2025

Please take time to read this page carefully before booking.

By booking a session with Olive Tree Therapies, you agree to these Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy. You also agree to attend the appointment you have scheduled.

Olive Tree Therapies is owned and operated by André.

1. Booking Appointments

Appointments must be booked via the website. I don’t take bookings via text, email or phone as managing appointments this way creates extra admin.

If you have difficulty accessing the internet or booking online, I’m happy to assist you.

Once you’ve booked, you’ll receive an email confirmation and a reminder 24 hours before your session. If you don’t see this, please check your spam folder and add my email to your contacts.

If you selected the SMS option at checkout, you’ll also get a text reminder 24 hours before your appointment.

2. Consultation Forms

First-time clients must complete a consultation form before treatment. If this isn’t done in advance, you’ll need to complete it during your booked session time.

A new form is required every 6 months to keep your medical details up to date.

3. Cancellations & Late Arrivals

If you need to cancel, please contact me as soon as possible—preferably by WhatsApp text or email, as I often can’t answer phone calls and don’t regularly monitor my Instagram’s direct messages.

Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice and no-shows will be charged the full session fee
If you have a fluctuating medical condition that makes attending unpredictable, let me know—we can agree on a more flexible arrangement
An invoice will be sent for any missed appointment and is due within 24 hours of receipt

Please arrive 5–7 minutes early so your session can begin on time. If you arrive late, I may not be able to extend your appointment. Chaperones may wait at Leith Library as I have no waiting room.

New clients who cancel their first appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice and do not pay the fee in full will be required to pre-pay for future appointments.

4. Refunds

If you’ve prepaid for a session and cancel with more than 24 hours’ notice, you’re entitled to a full refund
No refunds are available for cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice

5. Packages & Gift Cards

Must be used within 365 days of purchase
Non-transferable and non-refundable
Appointments are first come, first served—please plan ahead to secure regular sessions

6. Complaints

As a member of the Scottish Massage Therapists Organisation (SMTO), you can make a complaint through their formal process. Find their policy and complaint form here.

7. Confidentiality & Safeguarding

All records and client information are kept strictly confidential and handled in line with GDPR.

Information is only shared with your written consent or where legally required (e.g., if your safety or someone else’s is at serious risk)
For somatic trauma therapy clients, I discuss sessions anonymously with a clinical supervisor to maintain high standards of care
Records are securely stored and kept for 7 years after your final appointment

See the full Privacy Policy for details.

8. Health & Safety

I hold up-to-date First Aid certification and professional/public liability insurance
I maintain high personal hygiene standards, and clients are asked to do the same
If either of us is unwell or has a contagious condition, the session should be rescheduled

If you’re unwell, please contact me as early as possible. Note: cancellation fees may still apply, depending on notice given.

I cannot accept responsibility for lost or damaged personal belongings while on the premises.

9. Disclaimer

My treatments—including massage, somatic trauma therapy, Ayurveda, Reiki and Yoga—are complementary and not a substitute for medical advice. I do not diagnose or prescribe.

You are responsible for sharing accurate health and medication information, and for updating me on any changes to your condition.

I reserve the right to refuse or stop treatment if:

You are unfit for treatment
It would be unsafe to continue
You are physically or verbally abusive or behave inappropriately

Unacceptable behaviour may lead to a permanent ban and, in serious cases, legal action.

10. Professional Boundaries Statement (for all clients)

This professional boundaries statement provides you and me with guidance and rules for the duration of our work together. It applies for both bodywork and/or somatic trauma therapy. Boundaries are not barriers; they are meant to help you and me maintain a professional, confidential, and ethical relationship. They also allow for safe and authentic therapeutic work towards your therapeutic goals.

If you know of any shared social spaces between you and me (physical or virtual), please raise them during our sessions. The sheer fact of inhabiting overlapping social spaces (shared communities, shared volunteering or community participation, shared personal relationships) does not necessarily prevent us from having a therapeutic relationship. There are many ways in which therapists maintain professional boundaries while having multiple relationships with clients, as long as those are within the boundaries of the code of ethical conduct of the governing body for my therapy work (Scottish Massage Therapists Organisation and the Federation of Holistic Therapies). However, not disclosing knowledge about shared social spaces may become a challenge to our relationship and inadvertently negatively affect our work together. I commit to addressing any potential overlaps in our social spaces if I become aware of them. I also commit to openly addressing any conflict of interest I might identify during our therapy process. Please address any potential shared places you might be aware of during our therapy session.

The dynamic, complex, and changeable use of social media means that a finite set of rules cannot meet professional safety in social media. What is required is a therapeutic approach, a way of thinking and reflecting on the impact of social media. In my practice, I will not knowingly connect with my clients outside of our agreed communication channels (i.e. typically e-mail, Instagram direct message, telephone or text message, as you prefer). If I am providing you with additional information relating to digital spaces (e.g. websites, apps, social media accounts), I commit to providing you with professional content relating to our therapeutic work only. I will not knowingly connect with you outside of these boundaries (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, recreational networking apps, dating apps such as Tindr/Grindr, etc.). In return, I expect that you do not attempt to connect with me outside of our agreed communication channels unless we have explicitly discussed this in our sessions and have worked through our shared understanding of the impact and indication for any exemptions. Should either of us unknowingly and unintentionally realise that these rules were not followed, it is of utmost importance that we discuss and find ways of resolving any such situation (e.g. unknowingly connecting with each other on Grindr/Tindr).

Please bring any questions or thoughts you might have about this professional boundaries statement to our next session. Additional boundary agreements can be put in place to ensure boundaries are maintained in more specific settings but this would be discussed together as and when the need for it arises.

Professional Boundaries Statement (additional for somatic trauma therapy clients only)

Sometimes you and I might have social connections other than through our therapy work, often referred to as ‘multiple relationships. Those multiple relationships are a common reality for practitioners working with the LGBTQI+ community as well as more widely in other smaller communities and can involve social and digital spaces. If the potential for multiple relationships exists between you and me, it is important that we openly address those as part of the therapeutic process. It also provides you with a choice and allows you to reflect critically on whether you feel comfortable working with me or not. At the same time, it also allows me to openly discuss with you if I have any concerns that might limit our ability to work together. In such a situation, we would discuss alternative ways of interacting with each other that would make therapy more permissible, or we could consider alternative treatment options, and I would signpost you to alternative services, where possible.

If we see each other out and about or while going about our lives, I would not acknowledge you should I see you in order to respect the confidential nature of our work. Still, you are welcome to acknowledge me (a nod, a smile, a hello) if you wish, and I will respond in kind. Of course, you can choose not to acknowledge me, which is fine. And if we are still in therapy together, as part of my commitment to the boundary of our therapeutic relationship, I would like to invite a reflection of the sighting of each other after the event (next session) so that we can process anything that may have come up for you. Should we no longer be in therapy together, obviously I can’t check in with you, but we can review this at the end of our treatment together.

In the interest of maintaining best practice in terms of our therapeutic relationship, I will not be able to enter into a social relationship with clients with whom I am doing somatic trauma therapy work. However, as stated above, this does not mean we may not come across each other in the course of daily life. If we do so, the above boundaries statement still applies.