MindHope Terms & Conditions for Online Counselling (India)

1. About MindHope Counselling Platform

MindHope is an online counselling and mentorship platform in India that connects users with experienced mentors for emotional support, structured conversations, and guidance.

2. Account Registration & Explicit Consent

To access our services, users must create a "My Space" account. Account creation requires your explicit, affirmative consent to these Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy.

• Verification: Registration requires email verification via a One-Time Password (OTP). Your account will not be fully activated until this step is completed.
• Identity Constraints: You must book sessions using your own verified identity. Booking on behalf of another individual is strictly prohibited.

3. Not a Substitute for Medical or Psychological Treatment

MindHope counselling services are not a replacement for licensed therapy, psychiatry, or medical treatment. We do not accept emergency, crisis, or suicidal clinical cases.

Users are required to provide an emergency contact during their profile setup. MindHope is not liable or responsible if the emergency details provided by the client are incorrect, outdated, or unresponsive. For severe mental health conditions or crisis situations, users must seek immediate help from licensed professionals or emergency services in India.

4. Eligibility for Counselling Services

• You must be at least 14 years old to use MindHope services.
• If you are under 18 years of age, by agreeing to these terms, you explicitly confirm that you have consulted with and obtained consent from your parent or legal guardian to utilize our platform.
• You are voluntarily using online counselling services, and all information provided must be accurate.

5. Booking, Scheduling & Platform Usage

• Scheduling: A session slot is bookable only when at least 15 minutes remain until the scheduled start time.
• Session Limits: A client may hold a maximum of two (2) open (pending or confirmed) sessions at any given time.
• Slot Hold at Checkout: When you open the payment window, your chosen slot is held for you for 5 minutes. If you close the payment window, or 5 minutes pass, the slot is released to other clients. If your payment completes but the slot has been taken in the meantime, you will not be charged twice: the session credit is added to your My Space account and we will email you to choose another time.
• Session Mode: Sessions are booked in the mode you paid for (Chat, Audio or Video). You may choose a lower mode, but a higher mode requires a paid upgrade, where you pay only the difference shown in My Space.
• Your Mentor: Each session belongs to the mentor it was booked with. If you change mentor, past and already-started sessions stay with the original mentor. Moving from a regular mentor to a Senior Mentor with unused sessions may require a one-time Priority / Senior Premium, shown to you before you pay.
• Conduct: We strictly prohibit abusive behavior, harassment of counsellors/mentors, and misuse of the platform. MindHope reserves the right to restrict or terminate access if these guidelines are violated.

6. Payments, Refunds & Discounts

Payments for counselling sessions and plans are securely processed via gateways such as Razorpay and Cashfree. Refunds are strictly governed by our official Refund & Cancellation Policy .

• Prices: All prices shown at checkout are inclusive of GST. The final amount, including any add-ons, is always shown before you pay.
• Add-ons: Depending on your choices, checkout may include a Priority / Senior Premium (for Senior Mentors) or an International Gateway Fee (for payments from outside India). These are shown as separate lines before payment.
• Payment Links: Payment links sent by the MindHope team are valid for 12 hours. Only links generated by MindHope can take payment. If a link has expired, please contact support for a new one.
• Refunds: Approved refunds may be full or partial, depending on the sessions already used and our Refund & Cancellation Policy.

7. Plan Validity, Inactivity & Account Deletion

Clients enrolled in structured counselling plans such as the Understanding Plan or Transformation Plan must complete all sessions within a maximum of 60 days from the date of purchase.

• Validity Extension: If your plan is still active and you have sessions left, you may buy one extension per plan from My Space: +15 days for ₹199 or +30 days for ₹249. An extension cannot be bought after the plan has ended and is not refundable once applied.
• More Than One Plan: A new plan cannot be bought from the booking page while sessions remain on your current plan. If the MindHope team adds a second plan for you, it waits in a queue and starts automatically, in its own mode, once the current plan is used up.
• Inactivity: If no response or engagement is received from the client for a continuous period of 30 days, MindHope reserves the right to mark the remaining sessions as completed.
• Account Deletion: If a client chooses to delete their account from the My Space dashboard, any remaining plan credits and reward points will be immediately demolished. Refunds will not be processed for deleted accounts, and future open sessions will be cancelled.

8. Confidentiality & Session Records

All counselling conversations are treated as strictly confidential, within legal and safety limits. In compliance with the IT Act 2000 and MHCA 2017:

• No Recordings: MindHope does not record sessions in any audio or video format.
• Transcripts: Chat sessions are transcripted for continuity and become read-only for both clients and mentors after the designated window.
• MindHope Case Map: After your first completed session, your mentor records a Case Map. It is an internal record of basic session details (such as your goals, key themes and progress) used only to keep your care consistent. It is visible only to your currently assigned mentor. It is not shown to other mentors, and the MindHope team can see only whether it has been completed, not what it says. If a new mentor is assigned to you, the Case Map moves to them so you do not have to repeat your story.
• Summary & Homework: After a session, your mentor may share a short summary and homework with you in My Space under Notes.
• MindHope Counselling Report (MHCR): You may request a written counselling report from My Space for a fee shown at the time of request. It is written and digitally signed by your mentor (typed full name, in line with Section 10A of the IT Act 2000) and emailed to you as a letterhead document. Once sent, a report cannot be edited. A report is a summary of non-clinical counselling and is not a medical certificate, diagnosis or fitness certificate.

9. Rewards, Referrals & Gift a Session

Where available in your My Space account, you can earn reward points and gift sessions. These terms apply to those features:

• Points: 1 point is worth ₹1 off MindHope sessions booked in My Space. Points have no cash value, cannot be transferred, sold or exchanged for money, and can pay for at most 20% of a session's price.
• Expiry: Points expire 30 days after you earn them (company referral points: 365 days; welcome back points: 14 days). The points that expire soonest are used first. Points returned after a refund keep their original expiry.
• Reviews & Video Stories: Points for a review or video story are added only after our team checks it. It must be your own honest experience. By sending a video, you allow MindHope to share it.
• Referring a Friend: Your friend gets a discount on their first session booked in My Space, and you earn points once they complete a paid session. Referral codes are only for people who have never paid for a MindHope session. You cannot refer yourself or use your own code on another account.
• Hope Circle: Referrers may receive one-time bonus points and a badge on reaching set numbers of friends who completed their first session.
• Plan Bonuses: Bonus points for buying a larger plan are removed if that plan is fully or partly refunded, even if the points were already used. In that case your points balance may go below zero and is repaid from points you earn later.
• Refer Your Company: You may share the details of your HR or manager only if they are happy to be contacted by MindHope. Points are added only if the company signs up with MindHope.
• Welcome Back Points: Clients who have not booked for a while may occasionally receive time-limited points by email.
• Gift a Session: Gifts are charged at full price; coupons and points do not apply. The person you gift must open the gift within 90 days. You cannot open your own gift. The person you gift receives your first name and message, and their sessions remain private and are never shown to you. The gift bonus for the giver is added only after the person you gifted completes their first session, and is removed if the gift is refunded.
• Fair Use: MindHope may withhold, remove or cancel points, discounts, gifts or referral rewards obtained through misuse, duplicate or fake accounts, refunds made to gain rewards, or any other abuse, and may restrict access to these features.
• Changes: MindHope may change point values, limits or rules, or end these features, at any time. Points already earned remain usable until they expire unless they were obtained through misuse.

10. Limitation of Liability

MindHope is not responsible for personal decisions, actions, or outcomes resulting from counselling or mentorship sessions. Our mentors offer guidance and emotional support, but ultimate responsibility for personal choices rests solely with the client.

11. Intellectual Property

All platform content, proprietary technology, branding, and materials belong exclusively to MindHope.

12. Updates to Terms

These terms may be updated periodically to reflect changes in our CRM operations or legal compliance. Continued usage of the platform implies acceptance of the most current terms.

13. Contact

Email: support@mindhope.in

For common questions related to bookings, sessions, and platform usage, please refer to our FAQ page.