The Between-Appointments Contact Policy: Setting Boundaries Clients Respect

11 October 2026·5 min read

Quick answer: A written between-session contact policy tells clients plainly what to expect if they email, message or call outside their appointment — what you'll respond to, your typical turnaround, and what to do if something's urgent — so nobody's left guessing and nobody's inbox becomes a second, unpaid session. Below is a copy-paste policy for your intake pack and website, three ways practices apply it, and the one thing this can't substitute for. ✨

Every psychology practice eventually gets the 11pm email, or the client who messages between sessions expecting a same-day reply. Most practices handle this reactively — one awkward conversation at a time — instead of just writing the policy down once and telling every client upfront. It's one of the lowest-effort, highest-value pieces of communication a practice can put in place, and it protects practitioners and clients equally. 💖

What most practices get wrong

Never stating it at all — clients fill the silence with their own assumptions, which are usually "they'll get back to me quickly."
Burying it in a long intake form — if it's paragraph fourteen of a form nobody reads twice, it isn't actually communicated.
Making it sound punitive — a boundary policy written like a warning puts clients offside before they've even started.
Not saying what IS okay — a policy that only lists restrictions, with no guidance on rescheduling or genuinely urgent situations, leaves a gap right when someone needs it.

The between-session contact policy template

Between our sessions: You're welcome to email or message about scheduling, admin, or anything you'd like to flag for next time. I check messages [frequency, e.g. "once a day, Monday to Friday"] and aim to reply within [timeframe, e.g. "one business day"]. Messages aren't a substitute for session time, so I may suggest we bring something up at our next appointment rather than respond in detail by message.

If you're in crisis or need urgent support, please don't wait for a reply here — contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, your GP, or the nearest emergency department.

Put this in your intake pack, your website FAQ, and your email signature footer — the more places it quietly appears, the fewer awkward conversations you'll have explaining it live.

Three practices, three versions

A solo psychology practice: With no reception team to filter messages, the policy sets a clear once-daily check window and an auto-reply confirming the message was received, which alone resolves most of the "did they get my email" anxiety.

A group practice with 5 psychologists: Each practitioner sets their own turnaround time in their bio and intake pack (some check messages daily, others twice a week), so clients aren't comparing their psychologist against a practice-wide standard that doesn't actually apply to the person they see.

A practice seeing a mix of private and NDIS-funded clients: The policy adds one line clarifying that support coordination or plan-related admin queries go to a separate email address, so clinical inboxes aren't doing double duty as plan management.

Where and how to actually roll this out

Three touchpoints do most of the work: the intake form (so it's agreed before session one), a line in the automatic email-received reply, and a short mention verbally in the first session — people retain spoken boundaries better when they've also seen them written down. Review the policy yearly, and whenever a practitioner's availability changes (parental leave, reduced days) update the stated turnaround time rather than letting it quietly drift out of date.

Please note: general information, not medical advice — this is a communication and business-practice guide, not guidance on managing any individual's care. Check current official guidance and your professional body's requirements before relying on it.

💡 Heads up: Always name a genuine urgent-support pathway (Lifeline, a GP, emergency services) in the policy itself — a boundary policy that doesn't tell people where to go in a crisis is incomplete, no matter how well-worded the rest of it is.

Mistakes to avoid

Setting a turnaround time you can't actually meet — an unrealistic promise causes more frustration than a longer, honest one.
Applying the policy inconsistently — if some clients get fast replies and others don't, the written policy stops meaning anything.
Forgetting to mention it covers social media and personal contact too — if clients can find a practitioner on Instagram, the policy needs to say that's not a contact channel.

Frequently asked questions

Isn't this just a clinical boundary-setting decision, not a marketing one?

It's both — how and when a practitioner is available is a genuine wellbeing and practice-management decision for the practitioner to make, but communicating it clearly, warmly and consistently is a comms job, which is what this template covers. This content doesn't tell you what the boundary should be; it helps you say it well once you've decided.

Should the policy be the same for every client?

The wording and distribution should be consistent, but a practitioner may reasonably flex response expectations for a particular client's situation — that's a clinical judgement call, not something a generic policy should try to pre-decide.

What if a client pushes back on the policy?

Most pushback softens once you explain the "why" — that session time is protected so it can be used properly, and messages aren't a lesser version of a session, they're a different thing entirely. Occasionally a client's expectations genuinely won't fit the practice's model, and that's a conversation about fit, not a failure of the policy.

Does having this policy reduce after-hours messages?

Generally yes, but not to zero — some clients will always reach out between sessions regardless of what's written, and a policy's job is to set expectations and reduce ambiguity, not eliminate contact altogether. It's a management tool, not a guarantee.

Keep reading 🤍

Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

Work with me ✦