Terms of Service

1. Agreement

These terms govern your use of CARTC (Centre for Addiction Research Therapy and Counselling) — the website, the member app, counselling sessions, the peer forum, the recovery library, and clinic booking. By creating an account or using the service, you agree to them. If you use the service for someone you care about, these terms apply to you too.

2. Eligibility and accounts

You must meet the minimum age for digital consent in your region to create an account. You are responsible for keeping your credentials private and for activity under your account. You choose your username; impersonating another person is not allowed.

3. What the service is — and is not

The platform offers counselling with trained professionals, moderated peer support, and educational material. It is not an emergency service, and using it does not create a provider–patient relationship until care actually begins through the centre's own intake. The library and forum are educational and peer support, not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

4. Crisis and safety

If you or someone near you is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number before using this service. We moderate the community for safety and may contact emergency services under our duty-of-care procedures if we believe there is an imminent risk to life.

5. Community rules

The forum exists so people can speak openly and safely. You agree not to:

• harass, threaten, or shame other members, or pressure anyone about their recovery choices;
• post graphic detail intended to shock, or content encouraging substance use;
• solicit, sell, or advertise — including treatments, substances, or 'coaching';
• impersonate counsellors, staff, or other members;
• scrape, mine, or republish other members' content outside the platform.

6. Content you share

You keep ownership of what you write. To make the service work, you grant us a limited licence to store and display your content within the platform (for example, showing your forum post to members). If you delete content, it is removed from the service within the window described in the Privacy Policy.

7. Sessions and bookings

Booking creates an appointment request; it becomes a confirmed session when the centre confirms. Missed sessions and cancellations follow the policy shown at booking time. You may end counselling at any time — voluntarily, and always at your pace.

8. Acceptable use of the system

Do not attempt to access other accounts, probe or disrupt the service, bypass limits, or use automated tools to scrape content. We may suspend accounts that put the service or its members at risk, with notice where lawful and practical.

9. Intellectual property

The platform's name, interface, worksheets, and library materials are owned by the centre or licensed to it. Library materials are for your personal recovery use; redistribution or resale is not permitted. Quotes and statistics in our materials cite their sources and must not be presented as our own claims.

10. Disclaimers

The service is provided 'as is'. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim warranties we cannot lawfully exclude. We do not guarantee any particular recovery outcome — progress is personal, and no publication, session, or community can promise it.

11. Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the centre is not liable for indirect or consequential losses. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

12. Changes, governing law, and contact

We may update these terms and will note the date above and, for significant changes, notify members. The terms are governed by the laws of the centre's place of establishment, without affecting mandatory consumer rights where you live. Questions: use the contact page. These terms were last updated in October 2026.