Terms and Conditions

Article 1 – Definitions and scope

1.1 Definitions

Offer: any quotation, proposal, price quotation or booking confirmation issued by Existo in writing, electronically, by email or via the website.

Service: the services offered and provided by Existo, including relational counselling, communication guidance, coaching around life choices, individual coaching, intake consultations, couple sessions, online sessions, Packages and Intensives. Under this Agreement, the Services are not offered as medical, psychological or psychotherapeutic treatment.

Service Recipient: the natural person or persons who actually receive the Service, irrespective of who pays for it.

Contracting Customer: the natural or legal person entering into the Agreement with Existo.

Consumer: a natural person acting for purposes outside their trade, business, craft or professional activity.

Professional Customer / Enterprise: a natural or legal person entering into the Agreement exclusively or mainly for purposes relating to its trade, business, craft or professional activity, insofar as applicable law permits this classification.

Payer / Invoice Recipient: a natural or legal person undertaking to pay all or part of the price. A Payer does not become a Service Recipient merely by paying and thereby acquires no right of access to confidential substantive information concerning the Service Recipient.

Agreement: the legal relationship between Existo and the Contracting Customer concerning one or more Services.

Counselling: short-term or process-based, goal-oriented guidance aimed at insight, communication, relational patterns and decision-making, individually or as a couple. No diagnoses are made and no medical or psychological disorders are treated under the Agreement.

Coaching: guidance focused on life choices, personal development, communication and relational skills within a non-medical framework.

Session: a scheduled intake, coaching, counselling or guidance session, whether or not part of a Package or Intensive, with a duration agreed between the parties.

Package: a pre-agreed set of Sessions or other Services at the package price stated in the Offer.

Intensive: a multi-day or highly concentrated guidance period organised by Existo, individually, as a couple or exceptionally in a group, online or at an agreed location.

1.2 Scope

These Terms and Conditions apply to all present and future Offers and Agreements relating to Existo Services. Any general purchasing or other terms of the Customer are rejected unless expressly accepted by Existo in writing.

For Consumers, these Terms and Conditions apply only insofar as they are compatible with mandatory consumer law applicable to the Agreement concerned.

1.3 International services

1.3.1 Sessions outside Belgium

Existo is a Belgian non-profit association. If a Session or part of a Package or Intensive takes place outside Belgium, these Terms and Conditions and the agreed choice of law continue to apply, without prejudice to mandatory rules that cannot be contractually excluded under applicable private international law.

Existo practitioners perform their activities for the association as volunteers. Any volunteer allowance or internal expense arrangements do not alter Existo’s identity as the contracting service provider towards the Customer.

1.3.2 Separation between guidance and accommodation

Services provided by Existo are legally separate from accommodation, catering, transport or other services provided by another supplier. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Existo does not invoice accommodation or catering and the Customer enters into a separate agreement with the relevant provider for those services.

The mere fact that different services are supplied at the same location or during the same period does not create a package travel arrangement, linked travel arrangement or single agreement where the services are legally and economically offered and contracted separately, subject to mandatory law to the contrary.

1.3.3 Titles, care framework and emergencies

Under this Agreement, Existo and its practitioners do not act as physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists or other healthcare providers and do not provide medical diagnosis, healthcare or psychotherapeutic treatment.

In the event of an acute medical or psychological emergency, the Service Recipient must immediately contact a competent emergency service or healthcare professional. General European emergency number: 112. Suicide-prevention numbers include Belgium 1813, the Netherlands 113 or 0800-0113, France 3114, Germany 0800-1110-111 or 0800-1110-222, United Kingdom 116 123, and United States and Canada 988, where available.

1.4 Online Sessions

Online Sessions are generally delivered from Belgium. The Service Recipient is responsible for a sufficiently stable internet connection, suitable equipment and an adequately private environment. Access links and Session content are personal and may not be shared without permission.

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Article 2 – Offer, acceptance and withdrawal rights

2.1 Offer

Existo issues Offers in writing, electronically, by email or via the website. The Offer states at least the essence of the proposed Service, the fee or method of calculation, and any special conditions applicable to the assignment concerned.

Existo may amend or withdraw an Offer that has not yet been accepted. Confirmed Services remain subject to the agreed fee unless expressly agreed otherwise later.

2.2 Acceptance

An Agreement is concluded when the Contracting Customer expressly accepts an Offer or booking in a manner accepted by Existo, including written or electronic confirmation, confirmation by email or an online acceptance procedure.

Before the Customer is bound, Existo makes the applicable version of these Terms and Conditions available in a manner that gives the Customer a reasonable opportunity to read and save them.

Where acceptance takes place online, Existo may record, among other things: the identity or account used, the date and time of acceptance, the language and version number of the Terms and Conditions, the wording of the acceptance declaration, the relevant Offer and other reasonable technical evidence. Existo may also confirm the accepted version by email or another durable medium.

The mere commencement of a Session, Package or Intensive is not used as the sole method of acceptance where mandatory pre-contractual information or consumer law requires prior express acceptance.

2.3 Consumer right of withdrawal

2.3.1 General rule

Where a Consumer concludes a distance or off-premises contract and applicable mandatory consumer law grants a right of withdrawal, the Consumer may exercise that right within the statutory period, normally fourteen calendar days from conclusion of the service contract, without giving reasons and subject to the statutory conditions and exceptions.

Where legally required, Existo provides the prescribed information on the right of withdrawal and the applicable model withdrawal form. The Consumer may also exercise the right of withdrawal by sending another unambiguous statement before the end of the withdrawal period where the law permits this.

2.3.2 Performance during the withdrawal period

Where the Consumer wishes the Service to begin before expiry of the statutory withdrawal period, Existo requests a separate express request to begin performance during that period, together with any acknowledgement required by applicable law.

Where the Consumer validly withdraws after performance has begun but before the Service has been fully performed, only the amount permitted by mandatory law is payable. Where the law requires a proportional calculation by reference to the total agreed contract price, the actual agreed price is used, including any applicable package discount.

The right of withdrawal ends after full performance only where all statutory conditions for such loss have been fulfilled, including any required prior express request and acknowledgement.

2.3.3 Fixed-date Services

The mere fact that a counselling, coaching or guidance service is scheduled for a fixed date or period does not automatically exclude a statutory right of withdrawal.

Accommodation, catering, transport, leisure services or other performances booked separately by the Customer with another provider are governed by the withdrawal rules applicable to that separate agreement and provider.

2.3.4 Professional Customers

A Customer acting exclusively for purposes relating to its trade, business, craft or professional activity has no consumer right of withdrawal unless mandatory law provides otherwise or Existo expressly grants such a right in writing.

2.3.5 Model withdrawal form

If a statutory right of withdrawal applies, the Consumer may use the following model. Use of this form is not mandatory; any other unambiguous statement sent in time may also be sufficient where the law permits.

To: Existentiële Welzijnszorg vzw (Existo), using the contact details stated on this website.

I hereby give notice that I withdraw from our contract concerning the following Service:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Date on which the contract was concluded / booking was confirmed:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Name of Consumer:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Address or other identifying details, insofar as necessary to identify the Agreement:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Date:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Signature only if this form is submitted on paper:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2.3.6 Separate request for early performance

Where a Consumer asks for the Service to begin during the statutory withdrawal period, Existo may ask the Consumer, outside these Terms and Conditions, to confirm a separate unticked statement such as:

I expressly request that Existo begin performing the agreed Service before the end of my statutory withdrawal period. I acknowledge that my right of withdrawal will end once the Service has been fully performed, where the law so provides, and that if I validly withdraw after performance has begun, a proportionate amount permitted by law may become payable.

2.4 Amendment of these Terms and Conditions

Existo may amend these Terms and Conditions for future Services. For Agreements already concluded, the version accepted by the Customer normally continues to apply.

For material amendments that substantially alter already agreed rights or obligations of the Customer, such as significant changes to cancellation rules, liability, pricing structure, confidentiality or dispute resolution, Existo requests renewed express acceptance where necessary before the amended terms are applied to new or renewed Services.

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Article 3 – Performance, intake, cancellation and force majeure

3.1 Intake

Before a Package or Intensive begins, an intake may take place. The intake may be a separate paid Service and may be used to explore the request, goals, practical feasibility, suitability and safety considerations.

3.1bis Intake procedure and questionnaires

1. Advance payment and start condition. After receipt of the agreed payment, Existo may send one or more intake questionnaires. If Existo has informed the Customer in advance that completion is necessary for a responsible start decision, timely and sufficient completion is a condition for the relevant intake or first Session to take place.
2. Data minimisation. Existo requests only information reasonably relevant to organisation, suitability, safety and performance of the process. Not every sensitive item of information is mandatory for every Customer.
3. Special-category data. Health information, psychological history, information concerning sexuality or sex life and other special categories of personal data are processed only in accordance with the Privacy Statement and, where Article 9 GDPR requires this, on the basis of a separate valid legal ground such as explicit consent.
4. Healthcare professionals and emergency contact. Contact details of a GP, psychiatrist, other healthcare professional or emergency contact are not routinely used. Existo may request such details where reasonably relevant to safety or suitability in the specific circumstances. Any use or contact is limited to what has a valid legal basis and is necessary and proportionate.
5. Incomplete information. Where essential information previously identified as necessary is missing, Existo may postpone the start. If a reserved Session can therefore not responsibly proceed, the cancellation or rescheduling rules may apply insofar as this is reasonable and lawful under mandatory law.

3.2 Performance and location

Existo performs the Agreement after confirmation and receipt of the amounts due unless otherwise agreed in writing. Location, dates and times are agreed between the parties. Existo may adjust practical details where reasonably necessary, provided the essential performance remains intact.

3.3 Obligation of means

Existo undertakes an obligation of means and not an obligation to achieve a particular result. Outcomes depend partly on circumstances outside Existo’s control and on the active participation of the Service Recipient.

Within reasonable limits and insofar as relevant to the Service, the Customer provides timely and accurate information. Damage arising solely or mainly from materially incorrect or deliberately withheld information is not attributable to Existo insofar as applicable law permits.

3.4 Nature of the Service: no healthcare or legal services

Under this Agreement, Existo does not provide medical or psychological diagnosis, healthcare treatment, psychotherapeutic treatment, legal services or legal representation.

Where a request or situation exceeds the reasonable limits of the agreed coaching or counselling framework, Existo may advise the Service Recipient to consult a competent healthcare professional or other specialist and may pause, adjust or terminate the Service in accordance with Article 5.

3.4bis Contractual classification, no admission and mandatory-law fallback

The parties enter into the Agreement for the non-medical counselling and coaching Services described in these Terms and Conditions. The Services are not offered or contracted as medical diagnosis, healthcare treatment or psychotherapeutic treatment and Existo does not undertake to provide such treatment under this Agreement.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions constitutes an admission that Existo, a Service or a Service Recipient is subject to a healthcare, psychotherapy or patient-rights regime merely because relational, experiential or other methods are used which are also known in therapeutic environments.

The contractual description chosen by the parties cannot displace mandatory law. If a competent court, regulator or other legally competent authority finally determines that, notwithstanding the intended contractual classification, a mandatory healthcare, psychotherapy, patient-rights or professional rule applies to a specific act or specific part of the Service, that mandatory rule applies only to the extent legally required. No mandatory statutory right is waived by these Terms and Conditions.

Such a determination does not by itself constitute an admission or contractual agreement that other Services, other parts of the Agreement or Services provided at another time constitute healthcare or psychotherapy.

Any provision that cannot lawfully operate because of such mandatory classification is disapplied or adjusted only to the minimum extent necessary. The remaining provisions continue to apply insofar as they can lawfully remain in force.

3.5 Cancellation and rescheduling by the Customer

3.5.1 Rationale: reservation of scarce professional capacity

Existo deliberately maintains limited professional capacity. Sessions and especially multi-day Intensives reserve specific professional time and may cause Existo to refuse, postpone or cease offering the relevant period to other prospective clients. Some prospective clients wait several weeks or months for availability.

If a confirmed reservation is later cancelled, a replacement client may therefore no longer be available even where cancellation occurs well before the reserved date. The arrangements below take into account this reservation of scarce capacity, preparation, administration and reasonably foreseeable loss of other opportunities and are not intended to create double recovery.

3.5.2 Cancellation of Sessions

Subject to statutory withdrawal rights and other mandatory law, the Customer may terminate a confirmed Session before performance by written notice.

The agreed termination and cancellation fee is 100% of the price reserved for that Session.

Where Existo actually resells substantially the same reserved professional capacity to another paying customer, the net amount actually received for that same capacity will be credited against the cancellation fee, after deduction of directly attributable non-recoverable external costs and reasonable additional costs caused by the cancellation and replacement.

No refund arises merely because the capacity could theoretically have been resold.

3.5.3 Rescheduling of Sessions

Instead of cancelling, the Customer may request one rescheduling. Unless more favourable terms are stated in the Offer:

• more than 7 calendar days in advance: one rescheduling free of charge;
• less than 7 calendar days in advance: 25% of the relevant fee;
• less than 48 hours in advance: 50%;
• no-show: 100%, without a right to reschedule.

The replacement date normally falls within two months after the original date. A further change or failure to agree a replacement date in time may be treated as cancellation.

Changes must be communicated in writing by email, SMS or WhatsApp and are final only once receipt or the change has been confirmed by Existo. Public or social-media messages do not constitute formal cancellation or amendment.

3.5.4 Cancellation of Intensives and exclusively reserved multi-day capacity

Subject to statutory withdrawal rights and other mandatory law, the Customer may terminate a confirmed Intensive or other exclusively reserved multi-day period by written notice.

The agreed termination and cancellation fee is 100% of the price of the Existo Service reserved for that Intensive or period.

This fee reflects in particular the exclusive reservation of substantial professional capacity and the foreseeable difficulty of replacing a cancelled Intensive with another suitable client after that capacity has been withdrawn from availability.

Where Existo actually resells substantially the same reserved capacity, the net amount actually received is credited in accordance with Article 3.5.2.

3.5.5 Rescheduling of Intensives

An Intensive may be rescheduled once if Existo agrees in writing. Unless more favourable terms are stated in the Offer, Existo may charge the following rescheduling fee:

• less than 2 weeks before the original start date: 25%;
• less than 1 week in advance: 50%;
• less than 48 hours in advance: 75%;
• on the day itself or no-show: 100%, without a right to reschedule.

The highest applicable fee applies; fees for the same change are not accumulated. The replacement Intensive normally takes place within two months after the original start date.

3.5.6 Consumer protection and judicial review

For Consumers, this Article applies only to the extent permitted by mandatory consumer law. Nothing excludes the statutory power of a court or competent authority to disregard or reduce a fee or term that is legally excessive, disproportionate or unfair in the circumstances.

3.5.7 Reciprocity where Existo voluntarily cancels

Where Existo, without Force Majeure, without material breach by the Customer, without a genuine safety or professional-suitability reason and for a reason exclusively attributable to Existo, voluntarily cancels a confirmed Session or Intensive and does not offer substantially equivalent performance, Existo refunds the price paid for the unperformed Service.

To the extent required by mandatory consumer law to ensure reciprocity, a Consumer is additionally entitled to compensation corresponding to the cancellation fee that would have applied to the Consumer in materially equivalent circumstances, subject to a maximum of 25%.

This provision does not apply where performance becomes impossible or inappropriate because of Force Majeure, serious safety concerns, a professional or ethical incompatibility that could not reasonably have been identified earlier, or circumstances attributable to the Customer.

3.6 Force Majeure

In the event of Force Majeure or other circumstances beyond Existo’s reasonable control, Existo may reschedule, interrupt or, where necessary, cancel Sessions and Intensives. Amounts already paid for performances that will definitively not be delivered are refunded proportionately, subject to statutory or expressly agreed exceptions.

Further liability arising from Force Majeure is excluded insofar as applicable law permits.

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Article 4 – Fees, payment and third-party payers

4.0 Advance payment

Existo Services are generally prepaid. Full payment of the relevant Session, Package or Intensive must be received before it begins unless otherwise agreed in writing.

If a required advance payment is not received, Existo may suspend or cancel the reservation. Where specific professional capacity has already been definitively reserved, the cancellation rules of Article 3.5 may apply insofar as lawful and proportionate.

4.1 Fees and VAT

Fees are stated in the Offer, on the website or in the booking confirmation. Existo currently applies the Belgian VAT exemption scheme for small enterprises and, for as long as that scheme remains applicable, does not charge VAT. If this tax position changes and VAT becomes payable, this will be stated for the relevant future Service in the quotation or invoice.

The medical or healthcare VAT exemption is not relied upon under this Agreement because the contractual Services are offered as non-medical coaching and counselling Services. Any later tax or legal reclassification by a competent authority remains subject to mandatory tax law.

4.2 Changes to fees

Existo may adjust fees for future Services that have not yet been confirmed. Confirmed assignments remain subject to the agreed fees unless the parties expressly agree otherwise later.

4.3 Payment term

Invoices are payable within eight days from the invoice date unless the invoice, quotation or Agreement states another term.

4.4 Late payment and recovery

4.4.1 Consumer debt

Where the debtor is a Consumer, recovery is carried out exclusively in accordance with the mandatory consumer-debt legislation applicable to the debt.

For a Belgian consumer debt, Existo first sends the legally required free payment reminder and observes the applicable statutory waiting period before any contractual default interest or lump-sum compensation can become payable.

Thereafter, Existo may not claim more than the maximum default interest and lump-sum compensation permitted by Book XIX of the Belgian Code of Economic Law, as amended from time to time. No additional amicable recovery indemnity is charged where the law prohibits this.

Where mandatory consumer-debt legislation of another country applies, the amounts, waiting periods and formalities prescribed by that legislation prevail.

Existo may suspend future Services because of an overdue and unpaid debt insofar as the law permits and after complying with any applicable notice requirements.

4.4.2 Enterprise or professional debtor

Where the debtor acts exclusively in the course of its trade, business, craft or professional activity, overdue amounts bear, automatically and without prior notice where legally permitted, the interest applicable under the Belgian Act of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment in commercial transactions or, where another mandatory commercial-payment regime governs the transaction, the interest permitted under that regime.

In addition, Existo is entitled to the statutory fixed recovery-cost indemnity, including the statutory EUR 40 amount where that regime applies, and to reasonable additional recovery costs exceeding that amount insofar as recoverable and substantiated under applicable law.

Existo may suspend further performance while undisputed overdue amounts remain unpaid, provided such suspension is proportionate and lawful.

4.5 Travel, accommodation and external costs

Travel, accommodation, venue and other external costs are not included unless stated otherwise. Sessions and Intensives outside the regular online or practice context may involve additional costs communicated in advance or separately specified.

4.6 Service Recipient, Contracting Customer and Payer

Where an enterprise pays for a Service received by one or more natural persons, the Offer states where relevant whether the enterprise itself is the Contracting Customer commissioning a genuinely professional Service or acts solely as a third-party Payer.

Payment by an enterprise does not in itself alter the legal nature of the relationship between Existo and the Service Recipient and does not deprive the Service Recipient of mandatory rights available to that person under applicable law.

Existo describes Services on quotations and invoices in a manner that reasonably reflects the Service actually agreed. Existo does not warrant that any expenditure is tax-deductible, recoverable or eligible for reimbursement in the hands of the Payer. The Payer remains responsible for establishing the professional purpose and for the accounting and tax treatment of the expenditure.

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Article 5 – Duration, termination and financial settlement

5.1 Duration

The duration of a Package, Intensive or other assignment is as stated in the Offer, booking confirmation or agreement between the parties.

5.2 Early termination by the Customer

Subject to Articles 2.3 and 3.5 and mandatory law, the Customer may terminate an ongoing Package or Intensive by written notice.

The financial consequences are governed by Articles 3.5 and 5.3.2. For a Consumer, termination does not retrospectively create a payment obligation exceeding the amount already prepaid solely because of recalculation of package discounts.

5.3 Termination by Existo

5.3.1 Grounds

Existo may suspend or terminate the Agreement in whole or in part where continued performance cannot reasonably be required, including in the event of:

• a material or repeated contractual breach by the Customer;
• serious threats, intimidation, violence, harassment or other conduct creating an unsafe working environment;
• fraud, deliberate material deception or deliberate withholding of information materially affecting suitability, safety or the contractual basis of the Service;
• a serious and persistent breach of previously agreed participation or safety conditions making continued performance unreasonable;
• a genuine conflict of interest, serious professional or ethical incompatibility, or circumstances showing that the request falls outside the reasonable scope of the agreed counselling and coaching framework;
• a serious safety concern;
• Force Majeure or another circumstance making further performance legally or practically impossible.

Where reasonably possible and compatible with safety and the nature of the ground, Existo first informs the Customer of the concern and gives a reasonable opportunity to remedy a remediable breach.

A professional or ethical decision not to continue a Service does not in itself imply wrongdoing or contractual breach by the Customer.

5.3.2 Financial settlement

A. First Package – Customer termination or serious Customer breach

Where the first Package agreed between the parties ends prematurely at the Customer’s initiative, or Existo terminates it because of a demonstrable serious breach attributable to the Customer, Services already provided may be recalculated at the standard non-package rates disclosed or applicable when that Package was purchased.

The recalculation may reduce or eliminate a refund but may never, for a Consumer, create an additional debt solely because the package discount is removed. The recalculated amount is therefore capped at the amount already prepaid by the Consumer for that Package.

Any remaining prepaid balance is treated in accordance with the lawful cancellation or termination compensation provided by these Terms and Conditions. For a Consumer, retention of any unused balance remains subject to mandatory consumer law, including judicial review of disproportionate or unfair compensation.

B. Second and subsequent Packages

From the second Package onwards, package discounts previously obtained remain acquired.

Upon early termination, Services already provided under the current Package are valued proportionately by reference to the actual agreed package price. Any unused prepaid balance is refunded after deduction of any lawful cancellation or termination compensation and non-recoverable external costs.

No recalculation under this provision creates an additional debt for a Consumer.

C. Termination by Existo without serious Customer breach

Where Existo terminates because of professional suitability, ethical considerations, operational impossibility or another legitimate reason that does not constitute a serious breach attributable to the Customer, package discounts already granted are not retrospectively withdrawn.

The unused prepaid portion of the affected Package is refunded proportionately, reduced only by amounts that may lawfully be retained under mandatory law and these Terms and Conditions.

D. Serious Customer breach

Where continued performance becomes unreasonable because of a demonstrable serious contractual breach attributable to the Customer, Existo may apply the cancellation and termination compensation provided by these Terms and Conditions.

For an Enterprise, the parties may, insofar as lawfully permitted, agree that an unused prepaid balance may be retained wholly or partly as termination compensation where justified by the seriousness and consequences of the breach.

For a Consumer, an unused balance may be retained only to the extent permitted by mandatory consumer law. This may result in no refund where the lawful compensation equals or exceeds that balance. This provision does not exclude statutory review of disproportionate or unfair compensation.

E. No double recovery

Where several contractual compensation mechanisms could apply to the same loss, they are not accumulated insofar as this would result in double recovery.

5.3.3 Consequences of termination

Termination causes future appointments to lapse unless otherwise agreed in writing. Provisions which by their nature survive termination, including confidentiality, data protection, intellectual property, dispute resolution and payment obligations already accrued, remain in force.

5.3.4 Resumption

Any later resumption takes place only by mutual agreement and under the conditions and fees expressly agreed at that time. Existo is not required to restart a terminated process.

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Article 6 – Confidentiality, safety and relational working agreements

6.1 Contractual confidentiality

Existo treats information shared within the guidance process as confidential in principle and limits internal access to what is necessary for the Service, organisation, safety or legal obligations.

Under this Agreement, Existo does not rely on the medical professional secrecy of a healthcare provider. Contractual confidentiality applies within the limits of applicable law and the exceptions described below.

6.1.1 Where a third party pays

Where a person or enterprise other than the Service Recipient pays for the Service, payment does not entitle that Payer to receive substantive information about Sessions, intake, questionnaires, relationship circumstances, personal history or other confidential content.

Unless the Service Recipient provides separate valid authorisation or disclosure is legally required, Existo limits information supplied to a third-party Payer to what is reasonably necessary for quotation, contracting, invoicing, payment, accounting and confirmation that an administratively described Service has been or will be supplied.

A third-party Payer acquires no authority to direct the substantive content of the Service or to demand substantive disclosure merely because it bears the cost.

6.2 Minimal functional notes

Existo aims to keep only minimal functional notes for continuity, planning, quality monitoring, safety, administration and, where necessary, the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. Retention periods are stated in the Privacy Statement.

6.3 Audio and video recordings

Sessions are recorded only where separate explicit consent has been obtained in advance. Zoom does not permit recordings without the Customer’s consent. Recordings are not required in order to participate in the Service.

Where consent has been given, recordings may be used within the agreed purpose for reflection, quality monitoring and, where separately and appropriately explained, supervision or peer consultation with persons subject to suitable confidentiality obligations.

Use of identifiable recordings for training, publication, promotion or other new purposes requires separate specific consent where applicable law requires this.

6.4 Preparation, homework and progress

Existo may suggest preparatory work or homework where relevant to the quality, safety or efficiency of the process.

Where preparation previously identified as essential has not been completed and Existo reasonably considers that the reserved Session therefore cannot usefully or responsibly proceed, Existo may first propose a reasonable alternative such as an adapted Session or rescheduling. If rescheduling or cancellation becomes necessary, Article 3.5 applies insofar as reasonable and lawful in the circumstances.

6.5 Safety, crisis situations and serious danger

6.5.1 No crisis service

Existo provides counselling and coaching in a non-medical framework and is not a crisis service. Existo does not provide permanent availability or acute care.

In the event of imminent suicide risk, serious self-harm, violence or another acute crisis, the Service Recipient must immediately contact an appropriate emergency service or healthcare professional.

6.5.2 Increased risk

Where Existo receives signals reasonably indicating increased safety risk, Existo may pause, adapt or terminate the Service where the situation exceeds the limits of the agreed framework. Existo may advise or require that specialised support be engaged before guidance continues.

6.5.3 Contact with emergency services, healthcare professionals or an emergency contact

Contact details of an emergency contact or healthcare professional are used only where a valid legal basis exists.

In an acute life-threatening situation or in the presence of a concrete and serious danger, Existo may, insofar as legally permitted, disclose the minimum necessary information to emergency services, police, a nominated emergency contact or an appropriate healthcare professional where necessary and proportionate to reduce serious danger.

Where the law requires consent and the situation reasonably permits prior consent, that consent is sought first.

6.5.4 No guarantee

Existo cannot guarantee that every risk will be identified in time or that harm can be prevented.

6.5.5 Ground for suspension or termination

A serious acute safety risk, ongoing lack of safety or a situation requiring specialised care outside Existo’s framework may constitute a ground to suspend or terminate the Service under Article 5.3.

6.6 Limited Secrets Policy in couple work

Within relationship and couple work, one or both partners may have individual Sessions. The joint process requires a clear prior agreement on information disclosed to Existo during such individual Sessions.

For major relationship-relevant secrets that materially affect the joint work, Existo applies a Limited Secrets Policy. This may include, among other things, an ongoing or recent parallel relationship or affair, serious hidden financial fraud or debt, undisclosed relapse into addiction, a serious undisclosed health or safety risk, an undisclosed child, or comparable information that materially changes the basis of the joint process.

For this working agreement, Existo may request a separate explicit confirmation at the start of couple work, particularly where application of the policy may involve special-category personal data.

• Existo does not continue long-term joint repair work while such an essential secret remains active and undisclosed and materially obstructs the joint process.
• The partner concerned is normally given a reasonable and limited period to prepare an appropriate disclosure with support.
• Existo does not normally disclose the precise content of the secret itself in place of the partner concerned.
• If the situation remains professionally untenable, Existo may terminate the process because of a serious conflict of interest or professional incompatibility.
• Within the framework of this specifically agreed Limited Secrets Policy, Existo may inform the other partner only that essential relationship-relevant information exists which makes continuation of the joint work impossible, without disclosing the precise content or unnecessary identifiable details.
• Any communication is limited to what is necessary, proportionate and legally permitted.

The financial consequences of termination are governed by Article 5.3.2.

6.7 Private investigators and external information

Existo does not itself engage private investigators and does not provide operational instructions for investigations by private investigators. Engaging a private investigator is a personal and legal decision of the person concerned.

Where a Service Recipient wishes to share lawfully obtained information from a licensed private investigator in an ongoing process, Existo may decide whether and to what limited extent that information can responsibly and lawfully be considered. Existo may refuse information where its origin, legality, proportionality, neutrality or safety are insufficiently clear.

6.8 Right of access and rights of third parties

Requests for access to personal data are handled in accordance with applicable data-protection law. Rights and freedoms of others, including a partner or another third party, are protected in accordance with, among other provisions, Article 15(4) GDPR.

The right of access is a right to personal data and, where legally required, to a copy of those personal data. It is not necessarily an unrestricted right to every internal document as a document. Where internal notes, reflection material or recordings contain personal data of the requester that fall within the right of access, Existo assesses what information must legally be provided and what parts must or may lawfully be withheld to protect third parties or other valid interests.

6.9 Jurisdictions without GDPR or equivalent regime

Where the GDPR does not directly apply, Existo contractually applies the core principles of purpose limitation, proportionality, data minimisation, security, limited retention and confidentiality, without prejudice to mandatory local law.

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Article 7 – Liability

7.1 Nature of the obligation and personal decisions

Existo performs the agreed Service with the diligence reasonably required under the Agreement and applicable law. Counselling and coaching constitute obligations of means and do not guarantee any particular personal, relational, professional, emotional or financial outcome.

The Service Recipient remains responsible for their own decisions and actions. The mere fact that a decision is discussed during a Session does not make Existo legally responsible for the consequences of that decision.

Nothing in this Article excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

7.2 Physical or experiential exercises

Where voluntary movement, body-oriented, breathing, relaxation or other experiential exercises are suggested as part of a Service, the Service Recipient informs Existo in time of relevant limitations, pain, injury or other circumstances insofar as necessary for safe participation.

The existence of an inherent risk in a voluntary exercise does not exempt Existo from liability for a legally attributable fault. Conversely, Existo is not liable for a normal and reasonably foreseeable risk or for damage not legally attributable to Existo.

7.3 Consumers

Where mandatory consumer law applies, Existo’s liability is determined by that law. No provision of these Terms and Conditions excludes or reduces a Consumer’s right to compensation where such exclusion or reduction is prohibited by law.

A person claiming compensation must, insofar as required by applicable law, establish the legally attributable breach or other basis of liability, the damage and the legally sufficient causal relationship.

The ordinary legal rules concerning causation, foreseeability, certainty of damage, mitigation, contributory conduct and remoteness remain applicable.

Existo is not responsible for a failure, interruption or conduct of an independent third party such as a video platform, telecommunications provider, accommodation provider or other external service provider, except to the extent that applicable law attributes that failure to Existo.

7.4 Enterprises and Professional Customers

Where the Contracting Customer acts exclusively for purposes relating to its trade, business, craft or professional activity, the following limitations apply to that Customer’s commercial claims to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Existo is not liable for indirect or consequential business loss, loss of profit, turnover, production, business opportunity, goodwill, reputation, anticipated savings or commercial data, except insofar as such exclusion is prohibited by mandatory law.

Existo’s aggregate contractual and non-contractual liability arising from the same event or series of connected events is limited to the greater of:

• twice the fees actually paid to Existo under the Package, Intensive or other Agreement principally affected by the event; or
• EUR 5,000.

Where Existo’s applicable liability insurer actually accepts and pays a higher covered amount in respect of that liability, this limitation does not prevent the claimant from receiving that higher insured amount.

These exclusions and limitations do not apply to intentional wrongdoing, liability for death or personal injury, or any other liability that applicable law prohibits Existo from excluding or limiting. They also do not apply where their application would deprive an essential contractual obligation of its substance.

Where an Enterprise acts solely as a third-party Payer for Services supplied personally to one or more natural-person Service Recipients, this B2B limitation governs the Enterprise’s own commercial claims but does not transform or eliminate any mandatory personal rights of the Service Recipient.

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Article 8 – Applicable law, jurisdiction and consumer mediation

8.1 Procedures, certificates and legal purposes

Under this Agreement, Existo does not prepare forensic or medical reports, does not perform expert assessments for judicial proceedings and does not issue medical certificates.

A valid and enforceable order from a competent court or authority is dealt with within the limits of applicable law and, where possible, limited to the information whose disclosure is legally required and which is still lawfully retained at that time.

8.2 Applicable law

The Agreement is governed by Belgian law.

Where the Customer is a Consumer and mandatory rules of private international law protect the Consumer through provisions of another national law from which the parties cannot contractually derogate, this choice of Belgian law does not deprive the Consumer of that mandatory protection.

8.3 Enterprises – jurisdiction

For Agreements concluded with a Contracting Customer acting exclusively in the course of its trade, business, craft or professional activity, the courts having territorial jurisdiction in the judicial district of Antwerp, Turnhout division, Belgium, have exclusive jurisdiction, insofar as such jurisdiction agreement is valid under applicable law.

After a particular dispute has arisen, Existo and the Professional Customer remain free to agree expressly in writing to submit that specific dispute to another competent court, including, where appropriate, a competent court in Carcassonne, France.

8.4 Consumers – jurisdiction

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions restricts a Consumer’s right to bring or defend proceedings before any court made available to the Consumer by mandatory national or European jurisdiction rules.

Existo favours amicable resolution and, where convenient to both parties, invites the parties to consider resolution in Belgium. After a dispute has arisen, a Consumer may voluntarily agree to jurisdiction in Turnhout insofar as applicable law permits. No advance provision of these Terms and Conditions obliges a Consumer to surrender a mandatory statutory forum.

8.5 Consumer mediation

A Consumer is requested to give Existo a reasonable opportunity to resolve a complaint directly first.

Where no satisfactory solution is reached and no sector-specific qualified dispute-resolution body has exclusive competence, an eligible consumer dispute with Existo, as an enterprise established in Belgium, may be submitted free of charge to the Belgian Consumer Mediation Service / Consumentenombudsdienst / Service de Médiation pour le Consommateur.

The Belgian Consumer Mediation Service also handles qualifying disputes between a foreign Consumer and an enterprise established in Belgium.

For cross-border consumer information, the Consumer may also consult the European Consumer Centres Network via ECC-Net.

Mediation does not remove any mandatory right of either party to bring proceedings before a competent court.

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Privacy Statement – confidentiality and data protection

This Privacy Statement forms an integral part of the Terms and Conditions and explains how Existo processes personal data in connection with contact, intake, counselling, coaching, administration, safety and dispute handling.

1. Controller

Existentiële Welzijnszorg vzw (Existo), with the registered details stated above, is the data controller for personal data it processes for its own purposes.

2. Applicable data-protection law

Existo applies the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Belgian implementing legislation and, where applicable, mandatory rules of other relevant jurisdictions.

No medical record within the meaning of healthcare legislation is created under the Agreement. This does not prevent information supplied by the Service Recipient from legally qualifying under the GDPR as health data or another special category of personal data.

3. What data may we process?

Depending on the specific Service, Existo may process, among other things:

• identification and contact details;
• country of residence and practically relevant location information;
• contractual, booking and acceptance data;
• invoicing, payment and accounting data;
• information from intake forms, questionnaires and Sessions relevant to the request, objectives, suitability, safety or progress;
• minimal functional Session or process notes;
• with separate consent: audio or video recordings;
• where relevant and lawful: limited publicly available information as further described under Publicly available information and social media.

3.1 Special categories of personal data

Information concerning physical or mental health, psychological history, medication, sexuality or sex life and other information may constitute a special category of personal data under Article 9 GDPR, even where Existo does not collect that information for medical diagnosis or treatment.

Existo seeks to limit such information to what is reasonably relevant to suitability, safety and performance of the agreed Service.

4. Purposes and legal bases

Ordinary personal data may, depending on the specific purpose, be processed for:

• pre-contractual measures and entering into and performing the Agreement;
• planning, organisation, invoicing and accounting;
• assessment of suitability and practical safety;
• quality monitoring, professional reflection and business continuity;
• compliance with legal obligations;
• fraud prevention, security and protection of legitimate interests, insofar as the interests and fundamental rights of the data subject do not override those interests;
• the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
• purposes for which valid consent has been given.

The relevant legal basis under Article 6 GDPR may include performance of the Agreement, legal obligation, legitimate interests or consent, depending on the specific purpose.

4.1 Legal basis for special-category personal data

Where processing falls within Article 9 GDPR, Existo additionally relies on an applicable exception under Article 9, including where appropriate:

• explicit consent of the data subject for one or more clearly specified purposes;
• processing necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
• in exceptional circumstances: protection of vital interests where the statutory conditions are genuinely met.

Existo does not rely on the healthcare exception as a general legal basis for the non-medical Services offered under this Agreement.

4.2 Separate consent for sensitive intake data

Where explicit consent is the appropriate legal basis, it is requested separately from acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.

The data subject may withdraw consent prospectively. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. Where withdrawal makes it reasonably impossible to continue the Service safely, responsibly or lawfully, Existo may adapt, suspend or terminate the affected Service without treating the withdrawal itself as a contractual breach or penalty event.

5. Retention periods

5.1 Contractual and administrative data

Quotations, invoices, payment information and other administrative or accounting documents are retained for the applicable statutory retention periods.

Evidence of contract acceptance, the applicable version of the Terms and Conditions, essential contract documents and relevant evidentiary data may be retained for the applicable statutory limitation and evidentiary periods and, where lawful and necessary, for up to ten years after the end of the relevant contractual relationship or longer while an existing dispute or legal proceeding requires this.

5.2 Substantive notes

Existo seeks to keep substantive notes as limited as possible. Working notes that are no longer necessary may be deleted shortly after use.

As a practical standard, ordinary substantive working notes may be deleted or anonymised from two months after the last Session. Certain strictly necessary data may be retained longer where justified for continuity, safety, complaint handling or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. In that case, retention is limited to the relevant data and necessary period.

5.3 Audio and video recordings

Recordings are made only on the basis of separate consent. Unless another valid retention period has been communicated for a specific purpose, operational recordings may be deleted from two months after the last Session.

Longer retention for supervision, training, publication or other purposes takes place only where an appropriate separate legal basis exists. In the event of a concrete dispute, strictly relevant recordings or extracts may be retained longer for legal claims for as long as necessary and lawful.

6. Recipients, processors and transfers

Existo shares personal data only where necessary and lawful, for example:

• with IT, cloud, communication, video-conferencing and administrative service providers acting as processors or independent controllers according to their role;
• with professional supervisors or peer consultants where appropriate, limited to what is necessary and, where possible, using pseudonymisation or anonymisation;
• with a third party where the data subject gives valid consent or instructions;
• where disclosure is legally required;
• where strictly necessary data must lawfully be used for safety or legal claims.

Where a supplier processes personal data outside the European Economic Area, Existo applies the safeguards required by the GDPR for international transfers insofar as those transfer rules apply.

7. Security

Existo takes appropriate technical and organisational measures proportionate to the nature and sensitivity of the data. These may include: restricted need-to-know access, strong authentication and, where available, two-factor authentication, secured devices and accounts, encrypted connections, appropriate cloud and sharing configurations, logging where available, backup and recovery procedures, and periodic review of access rights.

No digital system can guarantee absolute security.

8. Rights of data subjects

Within the limits of applicable law, a data subject may have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection, data portability and withdrawal of consent.

These rights are not applied absolutely where a legal exception exists or where the rights and freedoms of others, including a partner or third party, must be protected.

When an access request is made, Existo assesses which personal data must be provided. Where those personal data appear in internal notes, recordings, supervision material or other documents, Existo may provide the relevant personal data in an appropriate form and redact parts that must or may lawfully be protected. Existo does not rely solely on the label “internal note” to categorically withhold personal data from access.

9. Data-protection complaints

Anyone who believes that personal data are being processed unlawfully is invited to contact Existo first so that the question or complaint can be investigated directly.

A data subject may also lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. In Belgium this is the Belgian Data Protection Authority.

10. Contact for privacy questions

Privacy questions and requests may be addressed to Existo using the current contact details on the contact page. Existo may request reasonable information to verify the identity of the requester where necessary to protect personal data against unauthorised access.

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Publicly available information and social media

These provisions form part of the Privacy Statement and explain how Existo may make limited use of publicly available information where reasonably relevant to assess whether a process can safely, appropriately, ethically and practically be started or continued.

1. When may public information be consulted?

Where relevant, necessary and proportionate, Existo may consult information provided directly by the person concerned or information that is publicly accessible, such as public professional profiles, company information, public websites, publicly visible social-media posts, public comments, reviews or media information.

Possible purposes include identity consistency, suitability, safety, conflicts of interest, protection of professional boundaries, fraud prevention and practical organisation of the process.

2. No covert monitoring

Existo does not use fake accounts, hacking, deception, automated scraping of closed spaces or pressure to gain access to non-public profiles. A social-media connection does not mean that Existo actively or continuously monitors the Service Recipient’s profile.

3. Public information remains personal data

The fact that information is publicly accessible does not mean that it may be collected, stored or reused without limitation. Existo limits processing to what is relevant and proportionate.

Existo does not routinely search for special-category personal data in public sources. If such information becomes incidentally visible, it is normally not further processed or stored unless there is a valid legal basis under both Article 6 and, where applicable, Article 9 GDPR in the specific circumstances.

4. Closed profiles and information

Existo does not request access to closed profiles or groups merely to screen a Customer. Where information is not publicly available and its use requires consent, appropriate consent is obtained first.

5. Possible consequences for a process

Where lawfully obtained information raises reasonable questions concerning safety, conflicts of interest, suitability, serious boundary issues, fraud, intimidation or the limits of the agreed framework, Existo may ask the person concerned for clarification.

Existo may refuse, adapt, pause or terminate a process where an objectively relevant circumstance makes continued performance reasonably unsafe, incompatible or unworkable, in accordance with Article 5 and without discriminatory or solely automated decision-making.

6. Social-media contact and communication channels

A Facebook friendship, LinkedIn connection, follow relationship or other social-media connection does not create any additional guidance, emergency or crisis relationship.

Social media are not an appropriate channel for urgent help, crises, formal cancellations, legal notices, complaints or sensitive substantive exchanges unless Existo expressly confirms that a specific message sent through that channel has been received and accepted.

7. Public comments, reviews and testimonials

Service Recipients are asked not to post sensitive information concerning their own process or another person’s process publicly in comments, tags, reviews or social-media posts.

Existo may moderate, hide or remove public comments where reasonably necessary to protect privacy, safety, confidentiality, third-party rights or legitimate legal interests.

Existo does not publish identifiable client testimonials, case details, images or recordings without the prior consent required for that purpose.

8. Information about partners or third parties

In relationship work, information about one person may simultaneously contain personal data about another person. Existo may therefore refuse to retain or use screenshots, private messages, files or other information concerning a partner or third party where this would be disproportionate, legally unclear, unsafe or incompatible with the integrity of the process.

9. Retention of public information

Existo does not systematically retain copies or screenshots of public social-media content. Where information is demonstrably relevant to a decision concerning safety, suitability, fraud prevention, complaint handling or legal claims, a short internal note or limited evidentiary item may be retained for as long as necessary and lawful.

10. Rights

The ordinary privacy rights described in the Privacy Statement also apply to personal data originating from publicly available sources.

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Cookies, external content and similar technologies

The website may use technically necessary cookies, local storage or similar technologies required for security, essential functionality, forms, language selection or functions expressly requested by the visitor.

Some pages may contain external services or content such as video platforms, maps, fonts, security services or social-media functions. Such external services may themselves process technical data or use storage mechanisms.

For non-essential analytics, advertising, cross-site tracking or other technologies for which applicable law requires prior consent, that consent must be obtained before the relevant technology is activated.

Existo keeps this provision aligned with the web technologies actually in use. If the technical configuration changes and new consent-requiring technology is introduced, the consent mechanism and this notice are updated where required.

A cookie or tracking policy cannot replace the underlying technical legal obligation: where consent is required, the website must be configured so that the relevant non-essential technology is not activated until valid consent has been obtained.

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Final provision and version control

This text was coordinated and updated on 28 August 2026 and carries version number EN-2026-08-28.

For an Agreement already concluded, the version accepted by the Customer at the time the Agreement was formed normally continues to apply. A later publication on the website does not automatically amend an already concluded Agreement to the detriment of the Customer.

If any provision is wholly or partly invalid, unenforceable or contrary to mandatory law, this does not affect the remaining provisions insofar as they can meaningfully and lawfully continue without that provision. The invalid provision is disapplied or adjusted only to the minimum extent necessary.

By expressly accepting an Offer or booking through the method provided for that purpose, the Customer confirms having had the opportunity to read and retain the applicable version of these Terms and Conditions and accepts them, without prejudice to rights that cannot be waived under mandatory law.

Language clause: the original Dutch-language version of these Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement is the governing text. This English translation is provided for convenience. In the event of contradiction, discrepancy, ambiguity or difference in interpretation between the Dutch and English versions, the Dutch version prevails, except where mandatory law requires otherwise.

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Official and practical links

• Contact Existo
• Algemene Voorwaarden – original Dutch version
• Terms and Conditions – English version
• Belgian Consumer Mediation Service / Consumentenombudsdienst / Service de Médiation pour le Consommateur
• European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net)
• Belgian Data Protection Authority – lodge a complaint

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