Terms and conditions for patients

These terms explain how Vínculo works when you use it as a patient: what we do, what your psychologist does and what you can expect at each step. You accept them when you create your account or book a session. If anything is unclear, write to us at ayuda@vinculo.app before going ahead.

Are you in crisis? Vínculo is not an emergency service. If your life or someone else’s is in danger, call 112. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call 024, a free and confidential line that answers 24 hours a day. You will find more resources under Urgent help.

1. Who we are

1.1 Company details

Vínculo is a service of Vínculo Salud Digital, S.L. (being incorporated) (“Vínculo” or “we”), with tax ID (NIF) [pending: NIF], registered office at [pending: registered office], Madrid (Spain), and registered at [pending: Madrid Companies Registry details]. Website: vinculo.app.

• General enquiries: hola@vinculo.app
• Help for patients: ayuda@vinculo.app
• Illegal content reports: legal@vinculo.app
• Data protection: privacidad@vinculo.app

The rest of the legal information is in the Legal notice.

1.2 What Vínculo is

Vínculo is an online platform for finding verified health psychologists, messaging them before you decide, booking and paying for sessions and joining online sessions in a secure video room. We are an information society service provider (Spanish Law 34/2002, “LSSI”) and an online platform under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Digital Services Act.

For you, Vínculo is free: we do not charge booking, handling or service fees. Our income comes from the fees paid by professionals.

1.3 What Vínculo is not

• It is not a healthcare centre and does not provide healthcare. We do not diagnose or treat. Care is provided, under their own responsibility, by the psychologist you choose.
• We do not assign psychologists. You choose who to book with; our suggestions are only suggestions.
• Psychologists do not work for Vínculo. They are independent professionals who practise from their authorised practice and set their own price, approach, hours and cancellation policy.
• It is not an emergency service (section 13).

1.4 Applicable documents

In addition to these terms, the Privacy policy and the Cookie policy apply. Your therapeutic relationship is also governed by whatever you agree with your psychologist, including informed consent. The specific terms of each booking (service, price, length, format and cancellation policy) are those you see before paying.

2. Your account

2.1 Who can use Vínculo

You must be over 18 and legally able to enter into contracts. For now Vínculo does not offer care for minors: sessions cannot be booked for anyone under 18, including as a parent or guardian.

The account is personal: individual sessions must be booked, with their real details, by the person who will receive the care. If you will be joining from outside Spain, tell your psychologist first, who will decide whether they can see you. [pending: confirm with a lawyer — online care for patients who live or are located outside Spain]

2.2 Access and security

You can sign in with a code we email you or with a password. Keep your credentials secret and let us know at ayuda@vinculo.app if you think someone has accessed your account. Your account details must be true and up to date.

2.3 Closing your account

You can close your account whenever you like from your settings or by writing to us, after cancelling or completing any pending bookings. Closing your account does not delete the clinical record your psychologist must keep (at least five years from the discharge of each episode of care, under Spanish Law 41/2002 on patient autonomy). You can ask them for access or a copy. The Privacy policy explains what data we keep and for how long.

3. Searching and choosing

3.1 How we order results

You can search by reason for consultation and filter by format (online or in person), location, language, price and availability. We order profiles by two groups of criteria, in this order of importance:

1. Match with your search: reason for consultation, format, location and distance (for in-person sessions), language, price and availability.
2. Reliability signals: availability published for the coming days, response time to messages, few cancellations or no-shows by the professional and a complete profile.

We never rank by payment. Nobody can pay to appear higher, and those on the Pro plan appear exactly the same as those on the free plan. We tell you this in accordance with article 97 bis of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act (“TRLGDCU”).

3.2 The “Help me choose” assistant

The assistant asks you a few optional questions (what is worrying you, which format you prefer, your budget) and suggests profiles using the same criteria as in section 3.1. It only suggests: the decision is always yours, and you can search without using it. As your answers may reveal information about your health, we only process them with your explicit consent, which you can withdraw whenever you like (Privacy policy). If the assistant ever uses artificial intelligence, we will tell you clearly before you use it.

3.3 What we verify

Before publishing a profile, our team checks by hand that the professional:

• is a general health psychologist, a clinical psychology specialist (through PIR) or is otherwise qualified for healthcare practice;
• is a member of their professional association and is not shown as suspended, according to their association’s register or the national Register of Healthcare Professionals (REPS);
• has their practice authorised and entered in their region’s healthcare register;
• has current professional liability insurance.

We repeat these checks regularly, and a profile’s services are hidden automatically if its insurance expires. Each profile shows the professional association, membership number, degree and healthcare registration number of the practice, so you can check them too. Verification confirms legal requirements, not each professional’s clinical quality, which we cannot assess. If you think a profile does not meet them, let us know (section 12.3).

4. Messages before booking

You can write to a psychologist before booking to see whether you are a good fit: how they work, their experience, hours or format. Bear in mind that:

• The chat is not therapy. It is for getting to know each other and organising sessions.
• The chat is not an emergency channel. Your psychologist is not on call and may take a while to read your message. If you are in crisis, follow section 13.
• Contact details are hidden until the first paid session. An automatic system hides phone numbers, emails and links, to protect your privacy and prevent fraud and unwanted contact. After that session you can share them if you both want to.
• Only share what is needed. The most sensitive things can wait until the first session.

5. Bookings

5.1 Instant booking

Most professionals let you book straight away. You choose the service, format and time slot, answer a short initial questionnaire (shared only with your psychologist), read the notice about crisis situations and pay. The booking is confirmed when payment is complete, and we let you know by email and in your personal area.

5.2 Booking on request

Some professionals review each request before accepting it. You send the request with the payment and the professional has [pending: response time, e.g. 48 hours] to accept or decline it. If they decline it or do not reply in time, it is cancelled and we refund 100% of the amount. [pending: confirm whether the amount is charged or only pre-authorised when the request is sent]

5.3 Who you contract with

When the booking is confirmed, you enter into a services contract directly with the psychologist, who acts as an independent professional. Vínculo is not a party to that contract: it acts as an intermediary and provides you with the platform service free of charge. In your relationship with the professional you are protected by consumer law, with the particular rule on withdrawal set out in section 8.

5.4 Couples, groups and workshops

In couples therapy, both people must be adults and take part voluntarily. The person booking undertakes to make sure the other person knows these terms and the Privacy policy before the first session.

In groups and workshops, respect confidentiality: do not reveal the identity of other participants or what they share. If a group or workshop is cancelled (for example, because it does not reach the minimum number of places), we refund 100%.

6. Prices and payments

6.1 You only pay the professional’s price

Each psychologist freely sets their prices, and the first consultation may be free or paid. The price you see before paying is the final price: it includes any applicable taxes and we add no fees of any kind.

6.2 VAT

Healthcare psychology provided by a health psychologist is exempt from VAT (article 20.One.3 of Spanish Law 37/1992). Workshops and other activities that are not healthcare are subject to 21% VAT, already included in the price. Each service shows whether it is exempt or includes VAT.

6.3 How payment works

You pay when you book, by card or other methods we show you. Payment is processed by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd., an authorised payment institution, which pays the amount into the psychologist’s payments account and deducts the fee they pay to Vínculo; we never charge you anything. Once payment is complete, you have met your payment obligation to the professional for that booking. Your card details are handled only by Stripe.

6.4 Session packs

Some professionals offer packs of several sessions at a combined price. With a pack:

• you book each session against the pack, without paying again;
• you can pause it if you need a break, for whatever reason;
• unused sessions are not lost while the pack is active [pending: pack validity period];
• if you cancel a session within the free cancellation period, it goes back into your pack;
• if the professional stops seeing patients on Vínculo or cancels the pack, we refund the value of the unused sessions.

If you decide to stop therapy or change professional with sessions left: [pending: confirm with a lawyer — refund policy for sessions left unused at the patient’s decision; proposal: refund of the amount paid minus the sessions used, valued at the single-session price].

6.5 Weekly subscription

If the professional offers it, you can subscribe to a weekly session, in four-week cycles:

• the four sessions of each cycle are charged when it begins;
• the cycle renews automatically and we will remind you before each renewal [pending: how far in advance];
• you can pause it, or cancel it at no cost before the next cycle begins, without affecting the sessions already paid for in the current cycle;
• if you cancel one week within the free cancellation period, you keep that session to use later.

6.6 Invoices

You will receive an invoice for each payment. It is issued by Vínculo in the name and on behalf of your psychologist, who is the one providing the service (article 5 of Spanish Royal Decree 1619/2012, the Invoicing Regulation), and you can download it in your personal area. If you add your tax ID and address, it will be a full invoice, useful for example for your insurer. The description is always neutral (“Individual psychotherapy session, 50 minutes”) and never includes diagnoses or clinical data. Invoices are not changed: corrections are made with a corrective invoice.

7. Cancellations and changes

7.1 Cancellation policies

Each psychologist chooses one of these policies. The one for your booking appears before you pay and in the booking details, with the exact date and time when the free period ends.

7.2 If you cancel

• Within the free period: we refund 100% or, if you paid with a pack or subscription, the session goes back to your balance.
• Outside the period: the session is charged, because the professional set that time aside for you.
• If you do not turn up: the same applies as for a late cancellation.

If a serious and unforeseeable reason stops you from letting them know in time, tell your psychologist: they may offer you a change or a voluntary refund. [pending: confirm with a lawyer — that losing the full amount for late cancellation is not an unfair term (articles 85 and 87 TRLGDCU)]

7.3 Changing the date

Within the free period you can move the session yourself to another slot with the same professional, at no cost. Outside that period, the change needs their approval; if they do not approve it, the original booking stands.

7.4 If your psychologist cancels or does not turn up

If your psychologist cancels, does not turn up or is more than 15 minutes late, you always get 100% back (or the session goes back to your pack or subscription). If they cancel, the refund is automatic. If they do not turn up or are late, tell us from the booking or at ayuda@vinculo.app within 72 hours of the start time: we will review the case, ask the professional for their account and, if it is confirmed, process the refund.

7.5 Cancellations by Vínculo

If we have to cancel a booking (for example, because the professional’s profile is suspended or because a platform fault means the session cannot take place), we refund 100%.

7.6 How you receive refunds

We start refunds as soon as they are decided, to the same payment method you used. Depending on your bank, they may take 5 to 10 working days to appear in your account.

8. Right of withdrawal

8.1 Healthcare: no right of withdrawal

Therapy sessions, the first consultation and, in general, care provided by a health psychologist to assess, maintain or restore your health do not carry the 14-day right of withdrawal for distance contracts: the law excludes healthcare services provided by healthcare professionals from that regime (article 93.b of the TRLGDCU). Even so, you can cancel free of charge within the period of the cancellation policy (section 7) and stop therapy whenever you like.

8.2 Non-healthcare workshops: 14 days

If you sign up for a workshop or another service that is not healthcare (we show this on each service), you can withdraw within 14 calendar days of signing up, without giving reasons and at no cost.

If the workshop starts before those 14 days are up, you can only book it if you expressly ask for it to start earlier and acknowledge that you will lose the right of withdrawal once it has been fully provided (article 103.a of the TRLGDCU). If you withdraw after it has started, you will pay only for the part already provided.

To withdraw, use the cancel option on your booking or send a clear statement to ayuda@vinculo.app, which will process it on the professional’s behalf. You can use this template, although it is not compulsory:

For the attention of [professional’s name], through Vínculo, ayuda@vinculo.app. I hereby give notice that I withdraw from my contract for the following service: [name of the service], booked on [date]. Name: [your name]. Account email: [your email]. Date: [date].

We will refund all payments received within 14 calendar days of you telling us your decision, using the same payment method.

9. Your therapeutic relationship

• Your psychologist decides the approach. Using their professional judgement, and in agreement with you, they decide the approach, frequency and length of treatment. Vínculo plays no part in those decisions or in the content of sessions.
• Informed consent. Before the first session they will ask for your written informed consent, which you can sign electronically on Vínculo.
• Clinical record. Your psychologist keeps it and is responsible for safeguarding it (Law 41/2002). Vínculo hosts it encrypted on their behalf, and our staff do not access its content except in the cases set out in the Data processing agreement. To access it or ask for a copy, contact your psychologist; if you need help, write to us.
• Professional secrecy. Your psychologist is bound by professional secrecy and by the Code of Ethics of the General Council of Psychology.
• Freedom to change. You can change psychologist or stop therapy whenever you like, without giving reasons. Your psychologist can also end the relationship for professional reasons, giving you guidance on how to continue.
• No guaranteed results. No professional can guarantee results.

10. Online sessions

Online sessions take place in Vínculo’s video room, which is encrypted. Vínculo never records sessions.

• Find a private place, quiet, where nobody can overhear you, with a good connection and, if possible, headphones.
• Identity and location. At the start, your psychologist may ask you to confirm your identity and where you are joining from, so they can help you if an emergency arises, as recommended by the General Council of Psychology’s telepsychology guide.
• No recording. Neither you nor your psychologist may record the session, in whole or in part, by any means.
• No third parties without notice. Nobody else should be present or listening without your psychologist knowing and agreeing.
• Technical problems. If the connection fails, agree how to continue or reschedule. If the session cannot take place because of a platform fault, section 7.5 applies.

11. Reviews

11.1 How they work

After each session you can, if you wish, answer five closed questions:

• Did you feel listened to?
• Did they explain clearly how they would work?
• Did you feel comfortable and able to trust them?
• Did the session start on time?
• Do you feel the therapy is helping you?

Each is answered with Completely, Quite a lot, A little or Not at all. You can also leave a private comment, which only your psychologist will read. Reviewing is voluntary and does not affect your therapeutic relationship.

11.2 What is published

On the public profile we only show aggregate percentages (for example, “97% felt listened to”), calculated from the “Completely” and “Quite a lot” answers, and only when the professional has at least three responses. We never publish your name, your individual answers or free text. This protects your privacy and professional secrecy, and respects the rules on health advertising, which limit the use of patient testimonials.

11.3 How we make sure they are genuine

In accordance with article 20.4 of the TRLGDCU, as amended by Law 10/2025:

• Only people with a verified booking on Vínculo with that professional can review, and each response is linked to a specific session.
• Reviews can only be left within 30 days of the session.
• We do not edit responses or hide negative ones. We only exclude those showing signs of fraud or manipulation, for example if they do not correspond to a session that took place.
• Professionals may not offer anything in exchange for reviews or ask only for positive ones, nor reply publicly, as that would reveal you are their patient and breach professional secrecy. They can ask us, providing evidence, to review a response they believe is fraudulent.
• You can ask us at any time to delete your responses.

12. Rules of use

12.1 What is not allowed

You agree not to:

• give false information, impersonate anyone else or have more than one account;
• harass, insult, threaten or discriminate against anyone;
• use the chat for commercial or advertising purposes;
• record sessions or share information about other participants;
• book with no intention of attending or abuse refunds;
• access other people’s accounts or data, interfere with the platform or extract data by automated means;
• publish or send illegal content.

12.2 Moderation and measures

We review professional profiles by hand before publishing them. In the chat, an automatic system hides contact details until the first paid session (section 4). We do not use automated systems to make decisions about your account, and our staff do not read your conversations except in response to a specific report, at your request to resolve an issue or where the law requires it.

If you break these terms, we may remove content, restrict features or suspend or close your account, proportionately. We will explain why and how to ask for a review (article 17 of the Digital Services Act), unless the law prevents it. These measures do not affect any refunds you are owed.

12.3 Reporting illegal content

If you find a profile or content you believe is illegal (for example, someone presenting themselves as a health psychologist who is not one), write to legal@vinculo.app with the exact link, why you believe it is illegal, your name and email and a statement that you are acting in good faith and the information is accurate. We will confirm receipt, review it diligently and tell you our decision (article 16 of the Digital Services Act).

13. Crisis situations

Vínculo is not an emergency or crisis service. We do not triage or review your messages or answers to detect risk, and your psychologist is not permanently available. If your life or someone else’s is in danger, or you are thinking about harming yourself:

• call 112 (emergencies);
• call 024, the suicide prevention line, free, confidential and available 24 hours a day;
• or go to your nearest A&E.

Outside Spain, call the local emergency number. More resources under Urgent help.

14. Liability

14.1 What we are responsible for

Vínculo is responsible for providing the platform service with due diligence: search, chat, bookings, payments and the video room working properly, the verification described in section 3.3, the information given before payment and the lawful handling of your data. There may be interruptions for maintenance or for technical or external reasons; we will announce planned ones, and if one prevents a session, section 7.5 applies.

14.2 What your psychologist is responsible for

Psychological care is the sole responsibility of the professional providing it, who must have professional liability insurance (article 46 of Spanish Law 44/2003 on the healthcare professions). Vínculo is not liable for their professional acts, diagnoses, treatments or opinions, or for the content of their profiles, unless we have actual knowledge that it is illegal and fail to act diligently to remove it (articles 16 and 17 of the LSSI).

14.3 Your rights are not limited

Nothing above limits Vínculo’s liability where the law does not allow it, in particular for wilful misconduct or gross negligence or for harm to your life, health or physical integrity caused by our act or omission, nor the rights consumer law gives you.

15. Data protection

We handle your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and Spanish Organic Law 3/2018. In short:

• Vínculo is the controller of the platform data: your account, your searches, your bookings and payments, messages before your first paid session and your reviews. As booking with a psychologist can reveal information about your health, we protect them with enhanced measures and, where needed, with your explicit consent.
• Your psychologist is the controller of clinical data: clinical record, notes, consent forms, questionnaires and care-related communications after the first paid session. Vínculo handles them only on their behalf.
• No advertising or tracking where it is sensitive. We do not sell your data or use advertising pixels or cookies on the booking or session pages or in your personal area. Our notifications and emails do not include health information.

All the information, and how to exercise your rights, is in the Privacy policy. You can also write to privacidad@vinculo.app.

16. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms because of legal, service or security changes. If the change is significant, we will tell you by email and on the platform at least 15 days in advance, unless a law or a security risk requires it to apply sooner. If you do not agree, you can close your account before it takes effect. Bookings already confirmed are governed by the terms in force when you made them.

17. Complaints

If something has not gone well, write to us at ayuda@vinculo.app. We will reply as soon as possible and at the latest within [pending: confirm with a lawyer — maximum response time required by Law 10/2025 on customer service, and whether it applies to Vínculo given its size]. If your complaint concerns the psychological care, you can also contact your psychologist’s professional association, which has an ethics committee.

In addition:

• Official complaint forms: [pending: confirm the obligation and format of official complaint forms for services provided online from the Community of Madrid].
• Consumer arbitration: [pending: decide on joining the Consumer Arbitration System through the Community of Madrid’s Consumer Arbitration Board].
• Consumer authorities: you can go to your local consumer information office or to your region’s consumer authority.

18. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms are governed by Spanish law. As a consumer, you can bring legal proceedings before the courts of your place of residence. If you normally live in another European Union country, you also keep the protection of its mandatory rules.