Terms and Conditions

1. Who we are

Friendly Counseling is a service of Valley Life Improvement Center ("we", "us"), 17415 Mayerling St., Granada Hills, California. Contact: info@friendlycounseling.org or (310) 359-3033.

2. What this service is, and what it is not

We connect you with a counselor for one-on-one personal development and life-improvement sessions by video, and for written messages inside the platform.

FriendlyCounseling.org is a non-profit platform used by highly skilled pastoral counselors who are not employees of FriendlyCounseling.org or Valley Life Improvement Center. They may or may not be licensed therapists in your state. This is not medical advice or psychiatry. If you are in danger of self-destructive actions or suicide, in the USA call 988.

In their sessions with you, counselors do not act as licensed mental health professionals, psychologists, therapists, social workers or medical providers. Sessions are not psychotherapy, mental health treatment, medical care or diagnosis, and they do not replace them. If you have, or think you may have, a mental health or medical condition, please see a licensed professional. Our services are not covered by insurance.

Friendly Counseling is not an emergency or crisis service. If you are thinking about harming yourself or someone else, or you are in danger, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911 right away.

3. Who can use it

You must be at least 18 years old and able to agree to these terms. The service is for people in the United States and Canada. You agree to give true information, to keep your password private, and to use the service only for yourself.

4. Booking, prices and payment

Sessions are 60 minutes. The price of each session is shown before you book (the usual price is $125 per hour; some counselors have a different rate, always shown first).

Payments are processed by Square and appear on your statement under the name Valley Life Improvement Center. We never see or keep your full card number.

Your first session: when you book, your card is only approved for the price of the session (an authorization, not a charge). At the end of the session your counselor asks you if you are satisfied. If you are, the amount is charged. If you are not, the approval is released and you pay nothing. If your first session is more than 6 days away, your card is saved now and approved in the 6 days before the session, under the same rule. This applies to your first session only.

From your second session on, sessions are paid when you book, either one at a time or with hours from a package.

5. Packages of hours

You can buy a package of hours at a discount. The hours stay on your account and do not expire. Each session you book uses one hour.

If you cancel in time, the hour goes back to your account. You can ask for a refund of unused hours at any time by writing to info@friendlycounseling.org: we refund them at the price per hour you paid for that package, to the same card, within 10 business days.

6. Moving or cancelling a session

You can move or cancel a session at no cost up to 12 hours before it starts, from your page. Inside those 12 hours it counts as a late change.

If you do not come to a session and did not cancel, it counts as a missed session and $125 may be charged, or the hour is used if you paid with a package.

If your counselor needs to cancel, you are not charged and your hour goes back to your account.

7. Messages and sessions

Messages are read by your counselor, usually within one business day. They are not monitored around the clock: never use them for an emergency.

Sessions are not recorded. Neither you nor your counselor may record a session without the other person's written consent.

8. Respect and safety

We may end a session, pause or close an account if someone is abusive, threatening, or uses the service against these terms. If we close your account, we refund any unused hours.

9. No guarantee of results

People's experiences differ. We do not promise any particular result. Stories and testimonials on our sites are from real people and their results are not a promise of yours.

10. Limits of our responsibility

The service is provided as it is. To the extent the law allows, we are not responsible for indirect or consequential damages, and our total responsibility to you for any claim is limited to what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Nothing in these terms limits a right that the law does not allow to be limited.

11. If there is a problem

Please write to us first at info@friendlycounseling.org: most problems are solved that way within 30 days. These terms are governed by the laws of California. Any dispute that is not solved informally goes to the courts of Los Angeles County, California, or to small claims court.

12. Changes

If we change these terms in a way that matters, we tell you inside the platform and ask you to accept the new version before your next booking.