Service Policy

Service policy and client protection

This policy sets out the scope of our service and the rights and duties of both our clients and insideaway (insideaway.com). Using the site, booking a session or taking a membership means you have read and accepted it.

What this service covers

insideaway provides mental health counseling and psychotherapy led by psychologists, working in the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach. Our service is not medical treatment.

What we provide

• Individual counseling and psychotherapy, for ages 13–19 and ages 20–50.
• Family counseling.
• Self-guided tools, articles, and members’ content.

What we do not provide

• We do not diagnose psychiatric conditions, and we do not issue medical certificates or medical records.
• We do not prescribe, adjust or stop medication. If you are taking any, speak to the doctor who prescribed it before changing anything.
• This is not an emergency service and not an instant-response service (see the crisis section).
• We do not guarantee the outcome of therapy, because that depends on many factors particular to you.

If your psychologist judges that you should be seen by a doctor — for a diagnosis, or for medication — we will tell you, help you find a psychiatrist or a clinic, and can work alongside them with your consent.

Who provides the service, and their qualifications

The provider

insideaway’s counseling and psychotherapy is delivered in online sessions by counseling and psychotherapy psychologists, each competent in their own field, whose qualifications and training history are exactly as shown on this site. Every practitioner works to the code of professional ethics of the Thai Association of Counseling Psychology.

Founder and practising psychologist

Benjawan Taokuen (Boom), counseling psychologist and psychotherapist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in human development (children, adolescents, families and older adults), and has 13 years and more than 2,000 hours of in-depth counseling and psychotherapy experience with children, adolescents and parents in international schools, with university students in Thailand and abroad, and with working adults. Her specialist training:

• Internal Family Systems (IFS℠ Informed), IFS Institute, United States.
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Medical University of South Carolina, United States.

Honesty about credentials

Counseling psychologists in Thailand are not yet licensed by statute, unlike clinical psychologists, who must hold a licence to practise the art of healing. Our practitioners therefore do not use the title “clinical psychologist”, and do not carry out clinical psychological testing or diagnosis.

Our practitioners work to the code of professional ethics of the Thai Association of Counseling Psychology.

The standard we hold practitioners to

Every psychologist who works with us, now and in future, must meet all of this:

• At least a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related field.
• IFS training to at least IFS℠ Informed level.
• No fewer than 2,000 hours of counseling experience.
• Passed an interview, reference checks and a background check.
• Regular supervision or case consultation with a senior practitioner, without identifying any client.

You may ask to see proof of a psychologist’s qualifications and training before you begin.

Confidentiality, and its exceptions

Everything you say in a session is confidential. We will not disclose it to anyone — including your family, your employer or your school — without your written consent.

There are only these exceptions, where we may have to disclose as much as is necessary:

1. There is a serious and imminent risk that you will harm yourself or another person.
2. We find that a child or young person under 18 is being abused or neglected, or is in a state requiring welfare protection — which a psychologist has a duty to report to the authorities under section 29 of the Child Protection Act B.E. 2546.
3. A court order or the law requires disclosure.
4. It is necessary for public safety.

In those cases we disclose only what safety requires, and we will try to tell you first — unless telling you would increase the risk to you or someone else.

Family counseling — What one family member tells the psychologist privately is not passed to another member without consent, except under the exceptions above.

Protection of children and young people

We hold the best interests of the child at the centre of every decision, in line with the Child Protection Act B.E. 2546 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Thailand is a party.

Client age

• We provide individual sessions from age 13 upward. We do not take individual clients under 13.
• Anyone under 20 years of age is a minor under the Civil and Commercial Code, so a parent or legal guardian must consent before we begin.
• We ask for consent from the guardian and from the young person themselves, because therapy works when the young person is a willing participant.
• We may reasonably ask for documents confirming guardianship.

A young person’s confidentiality

A young person’s safe space has to be private, so we agree this with the guardian and the young person in the first session:

• Guardians are told: that sessions are happening, how the work is progressing in general, and what would help them support their child better.
• Guardians are not told: the detail of what the young person said, unless the young person agrees.
• In anything concerning safety, the guardian or the authorities will be informed — and we tell the young person first, as far as we can.
• If there is reason to believe a guardian is the person harming the child, we report directly to the competent officials as the law requires.

Safe practice

• We contact young people only through insideaway’s official channels — never a personal social media account — and never arrange to meet outside service hours or premises.
• For online sessions with a young person, a guardian should be at home or nearby, but not in the room during the session unless agreed otherwise.
• We do not record video or audio of a young person’s session.
• We do not publish a child’s name, image, story or any identifying detail in any medium, including testimonials and case studies — a stricter line than section 27 of the Child Protection Act requires.
• Every practitioner working with young people has passed a background check.

Reporting

Where a child is found to be abused, neglected or at risk, a psychologist has a legal duty to report to the competent officials under section 29 of the Child Protection Act without delay — through the Social Assistance Centre on 1300, or the police on 191.

Crisis and emergencies

insideaway is not an emergency service. Messages sent through the site, chat or email may not be answered immediately.

If you or someone close to you is thinking of self-harm, is in danger, or is unsafe, contact one of these straight away, or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

If your psychologist judges during a session that you are at serious risk, we will make a safety plan with you, and may contact the emergency contact you gave at registration, or one of the services above, under the exceptions in the confidentiality section.

Your personal data

We collect, use and disclose personal data under the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (PDPA). The full account is in our privacy policy; this section covers what matters most for the counseling service.

• Mental health information is sensitive data under section 26 of the PDPA. We collect it only with your explicit consent, unless the law permits otherwise.
• Minors: anyone under 20 also needs the consent of the person holding parental authority, under section 20 of the PDPA.
• We use it for: scheduling, delivering the service, emergency contact, issuing receipts, and meeting legal obligations. We do not sell or pass on your data for marketing.
• Session records are kept in an encrypted system, accessible only to the psychologist responsible for your care, held for 5 years after the service ends, then destroyed.
• Your rights: to access, obtain a copy, correct, delete, restrict use, object, and withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect what was done beforehand, and we may have to keep some records where the law requires it.
• For data matters, contact benjawan.tao@insideaway.com. You may also complain directly to the Office of the Personal Data Protection Committee.

Online sessions and recording

• We do not record video or audio of a session unless we have your written consent for a stated purpose — and you can withdraw that consent at any time.
• Clients should not record a session without telling the psychologist, particularly a family session where other people are present.
• Please join from a private place on a device you trust. Public Wi-Fi, or a device shared with others, raises the risk of your information leaking.
• We use an encrypted platform, Google Meet — though online communication carries risk that cannot be removed entirely.
• If the connection drops mid-session, your psychologist will reach you on our LINE Channel within 5 minutes.
• At the first session we ask for your current address and an emergency contact, used only in an emergency.

Self-guided tools, and astrology

The self-guided tools, the articles and the lifegraph are there for learning and for looking after yourself day to day. They are not an assessment, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for talking to a professional. If using them leaves you feeling worse, stop, and contact a psychologist or one of the crisis numbers above.

Astrology is a supplementary tool, there to prompt reflection and self-understanding.

• It is not scientific evidence, not a psychological assessment, and not a prediction of the future.
• It is not a basis for decisions about health, treatment, money or legal matters.
• It is used in a session only if the client chooses it, and can be declined with no effect on the service.
• It is not used with clients under 18, unless the young person and their guardian ask for it.

Appointments, fees, cancellation and membership

• The first session is free — a chance to get acquainted and see whether this approach suits you, with no obligation.
• Fees: the rate is stated clearly before the appointment, with no hidden charges, and a booking is confirmed once it is paid.
• Unpaid bookings: we remind you once at around the 20-hour mark, and release the slot when 24 hours have passed.
• You may hold at most 2 unpaid bookings at a time.
• Rescheduling: a booking can be moved up to 3 times. After that, changing the time means cancelling and booking afresh.
• Cancelling: you can cancel right up to the session start. Cancel at least 24 hours beforehand and the fee returns to your Coins straight away — not to your card — to spend on a future booking.
• Cancel inside the last 24 hours, or miss the session, and the fee is not returned: that is time your psychologist held for you and cannot refill.
• Cancellation by insideaway: if we have to cancel, you choose between rescheduling and a full refund.
• Premium membership: at present it is granted at no charge. It does not renew automatically and nothing is charged when it ends. We tell you 3 days before it does; sessions you have already booked are unaffected, and you can claim the offer again. While it is running you can cancel — and undo that cancellation — from your account at any time.
• Ending the service: you may stop at any time. A psychologist may end or refer on where the service is no longer of benefit to you, or where your needs fall outside what we can provide — always with the reason explained and other options suggested. Payment and membership for anyone under 20 must be made by, or with the consent of, a guardian.

Professional ethics and boundaries

Your relationship with your psychologist is a professional one and nothing else. That is there to protect you.

• No romantic, sexual, business or financial relationship with a client, during the work or after it.
• No friending clients on personal social media.
• No gifts beyond a token value.
• Where a prior relationship exists — a relative, a colleague — the client is referred to a different psychologist.
• Respect for difference in gender, sexuality, religion, belief, ethnicity and disability, without discrimination.

You have the right to ask questions, to be told about the approach being used, to refuse any technique, and to ask for a different psychologist at any time.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the service or with a practitioner’s conduct, you can complain without it affecting your right to be seen.

• Send it to benjawan.tao@insideaway.com or through our contact page, saying that it is a complaint.
• We acknowledge within 3–5 working days and give you our findings within 30 days.
• A complaint is reviewed by someone other than the person complained about, and is kept confidential.

Limits of liability

We deliver this service with the care its professional standards require, within the limits the law allows.

• Content on this site is general information. It is not advice for your particular situation, and it is not medical, legal or financial advice.
• We are not liable for decisions made on the basis of general site content, or of astrology, without consulting an appropriate professional.
• We are not liable for loss arising from force majeure, or from failures of external systems outside our control.
• None of these limits exclude our liability for fraud, gross negligence, or death or personal injury caused by our acts — and none of them removes any right you hold as a consumer under the law.

Last updated 26 September 2026