Client Agreement: One-on-One Coaching with Michael Norman

This Agreement sets clear expectations so we can work together smoothly. It protects both your experience and my ability to serve you at the highest level.

Binding Agreement; Parties.

This Client Agreement applies to coaching services booked via MichaelNorman.com, PanicFree.TV, or any affiliated website operated by Michael Norman.

By booking a session, checking any required agreement box, or proceeding with payment, you (the “Client”) enter a binding contract governed by Japanese law with Michael Norman, a Japan-based sole proprietor (the “Coach”), who operates under multiple brands and websites. All coaching services are provided by Michael Norman regardless of the brand, website, or domain through which the services are accessed.

1. Nature of Services (Not Medical/Psychological Treatment)

You understand that this is a coaching service designed to support emotional and mindset shifts. Techniques may include conversational tools and change methods (e.g., NLP, conversational hypnosis).

These services are not medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment, and are not a substitute for licensed professional care. Michael Norman does not diagnose or treat mental health disorders, and coaching is not therapy, counseling, medical, or legal advice. This service is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any illness or psychological disorder. You are encouraged to seek licensed care as needed.

If you are under the care of a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other licensed healthcare professional, or taking prescribed psychiatric medication, your treating provider remains responsible for your clinical care and medical decisions. Coaching here is a complementary, non-clinical process focused on mindset, learning, and behavioral flexibility. You agree to keep your treating provider informed of any significant emotional changes arising from coaching when relevant to your ongoing care. Michael will not advise on medication, medical treatment, or medical decisions, though coordination with your provider may be encouraged for your safety.

2. Responsibility for Your Well-being; Remote Safety

You agree that you are fully responsible for your emotional and physical well-being before, during, and after sessions. You participate voluntarily and accept full responsibility for any decisions or actions you take as a result of coaching.

Remote Services & Safety. Coaching is delivered exclusively online. The Coach does not provide medical, psychological, fitness, or safety instructions. You agree not to participate while driving, operating machinery, or in any environment where loss of attention could cause harm, and to create a safe, private setting for sessions.

Client Compliance. You agree to follow reasonable safety instructions given during sessions, to use a quiet/private setting, and not to apply any techniques in contexts that could foreseeably create risk to yourself or others.

3. Crisis, Self-Harm & Safety (No Clinical Duty; No Monitoring)

Coaching is not an emergency or crisis service and does not include monitoring for suicide or self-harm. If you experience suicidal thoughts, intentions, or urges to harm yourself or others, you must immediately contact local emergency services or a licensed mental-health professional. Do not rely on coaching sessions, emails, messages, or platform communications for urgent help.

No Duty to Monitor or Protect. The Coach provides non-clinical coaching only and assumes no duty of care to prevent self-harm or suicide. The Coach does not monitor your well-being between sessions, review messages in real time, initiate welfare checks, or undertake protective actions.

Client Responsibility. You remain solely responsible for your safety and for seeking timely professional and emergency assistance. If acute risk arises, you agree to stop using coaching and obtain local professional help.

Right to Pause/Terminate. Nothing in this Agreement requires the Coach to take protective actions or to continue services when the Coach believes clinical care is indicated; the Coach may pause or terminate coaching and recommend referral to licensed services.

Remote Safety. You agree not to attend sessions while driving or in hazardous environments, and not to implement techniques discussed in coaching in contexts that could foreseeably create risk to yourself or others.

Self-Inflicted Harm. Except to the extent prohibited by Japanese law, the Coach has no liability for self-inflicted harm, including suicide or attempted suicide, and assumes no duty to monitor, prevent, or protect against such harm. Nothing in this Agreement creates any duty to do so.

Legal Note. Nothing in this Section excludes liability that cannot legally be excluded under Japanese law, including liability for intentional or gross negligence and, for consumers, certain claims relating to death or bodily injury.

4. Results & Refund Policy

Results vary and cannot be guaranteed. However, if you are a new client and you’ve purchased a two- or three-session package:

If, within seven (7) days after your second or third session (as applicable), you honestly feel you haven’t experienced any positive automatic changes—or our time together hasn’t significantly improved your life—email support@panicfree.tv or support@michaelnorman.com to ask for a full refund, and you’ll receive a full refund.

Please note:

  • Applies to new clients only (one guarantee per person).
  • No partial refunds for unused package sessions.
  • Refund requests must be made within three (3) months of the first session in the package; after that, no refunds.
  • Refunds are processed under Japanese law and represent the full extent of what is offered.

Eligibility conditions (new-client guarantee). To qualify for the refund described above, you agree that:

  • You completed all sessions included in the package on their scheduled dates/times, or properly rescheduled them with at least 48 hours’ notice.
  • You attended each session in full (no late-cancel counted as used and no no-show).
  • You participated in a safe, distraction-free setting and co-operated reasonably with in-session instructions (no post-session homework is required for eligibility).
  • If any session in the package is treated as used due to less than 48 hours’ cancellation or a no-show, the new-client guarantee does not apply.
  • You did not attend any session while driving, operating machinery, or in non-private/unsafe settings.

Medical & Medication Exclusions

The Results & Refund Policy does not apply where the client’s difficulties are wholly or partially driven by, or materially affected by, medical, physiological, or pharmacological factors outside the scope of coaching, where those factors materially interfere with the coaching process or outcomes, including but not limited to:

  • Side-effects of prescription or non-prescription medication, including recent changes in medication type or dosage
  • Hormonal, neurological, metabolic, gastrointestinal, or other medical conditions
  • Acute medical issues, untreated medical conditions, or conditions requiring medical diagnosis or treatment
  • Substance use that materially affects mood, cognition, or nervous-system regulation

Coaching services do not replace medical care. Coaching is non-medical and does not diagnose, treat, or attempt to remediate medical or physiological conditions. Where medical, medication-related, or physiological factors materially limit, distort, or override the effects of coaching, the guarantee does not apply—even where anxiety or psychological distress is also present.

You are responsible for disclosing any relevant medical conditions, diagnoses, or medication changes prior to, or during, the coaching process.

Whether such factors materially interfere with coaching outcomes is assessed in good faith by the Coach, acting reasonably.

5. Legal Jurisdiction; Governing Law; Venue; Language

You acknowledge that Michael Norman operates solely from Japan and provides coaching as a Japan-based sole proprietor. This Agreement is governed exclusively by the laws of Japan.

Exclusive Forum. Any dispute or claim shall be brought only in the Kobe District Court, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. You waive any objection based on inconvenient forum.

Covenant Not to Sue Elsewhere. You agree not to commence or participate in any action relating to this Agreement outside Japan. Enforcement of any judgment is limited to Japan unless recognized by a Japanese court under Japanese law.

Language. Proceedings may be conducted in Japanese or English. English controls in the event of any inconsistency with translations.

6. Fees, Payment & Chargebacks

  • Currency & Taxes. Fees are quoted and payable in USD unless stated otherwise. Any bank/FX/platform fees and applicable taxes are your responsibility.
  • Due Date. Payment is due upon booking unless otherwise agreed in writing. Sessions may be declined or paused for unpaid amounts.
  • Chargebacks. You agree not to initiate a chargeback without first contacting support@panicfree.tv or support@michaelnorman.com and allowing reasonable time to resolve. If a chargeback is initiated and reversed, you are responsible for any third-party fees reasonably incurred.
  • Packages & Expiry. Package sessions must be used within six (6) months of the first session unless we agree otherwise in writing. Packages are non-transferable.

7. No Guarantees of Specific Outcomes

Except for the specific refund policy in Section 4, no guarantees, representations, or warranties—express or implied—are made about specific results, outcomes, or changes that may occur.

8. Confidentiality & Recordings

Confidentiality. Sessions are treated as confidential and not disclosed without your consent, except where disclosure is required by law (e.g., suspected abuse, criminal activity, or lawful orders) or where, during a session, a serious and imminent risk of harm appears. Use of third-party platforms (e.g., Zoom, email) has inherent security limits.

Session Recordings. Sessions may be recorded only with your explicit consent, for your personal review or quality assurance. Recordings are stored securely, never shared publicly, and can be deleted at your request (unless retention is required by law).

Educational Excerpts & Case Studies (Always Anonymous). Brief anonymized excerpts or generalized case studies may be shared for educational purposes. Your name or reasonably identifying details will never be included without your prior written consent. You may opt out at any time.

9. Data Protection (APPI – Japan)

You consent to the collection and use of your personal information for scheduling, service delivery, billing, client support, and legal compliance.

  • Third Parties / Cross-Border. Personal data may be shared with service providers (e.g., scheduling, video, billing) under confidentiality; otherwise only with your consent or where required by law. If cross-border transfer is needed (e.g., cloud/email), it is limited to what is necessary and handled consistently with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI).
  • Retention. Records are retained only as long as reasonably necessary for these purposes or legal requirements, then securely deleted.
  • Your Rights & Contact. To access, correct, or delete your data, contact support@panicfree.tv or support@michaelnorman.com.

10. Intellectual Property

All tools, techniques, frameworks, and content provided are the intellectual property of Michael Norman. You receive a personal, non-transferable license for your own development. No copying, recording, distribution, public sharing, or commercial use without prior written permission.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by Japanese law, the total aggregate liability of Michael Norman arising out of or in connection with the services under this Agreement—whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise—shall not exceed the fees you actually paid for the services giving rise to the claim (or, if the claim spans multiple sessions, the fees paid in the three (3) months preceding your first written notice of the claim).

Exclusions of Certain Damages. To the maximum extent permitted by law, no liability shall arise for indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive, or lost-profits damages.

Mandatory Carve-Outs. This limitation does not apply where exclusion/limitation is prohibited by law, including liability for intentional misconduct or gross negligence and, for consumers, certain claims relating to death or bodily injury.

No Duty Created. Nothing in this Section creates any duty to monitor or protect; see Section 3.

Clarification. References to “death or bodily injury” do not create or expand any duty to monitor or prevent self-inflicted harm (including suicide or attempted suicide); see Section 3.

12. Scheduling, Cancellations, and No-Shows

Provide at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule. Sessions canceled with less than 48 hours’ notice may be treated as used (and the Section 4 new-client guarantee will not apply). No-shows are not refunded or rescheduled (and the Section 4 new-client guarantee will not apply). Late arrival does not extend the scheduled end time. If widespread outages prevent the session, we’ll reschedule without penalty.

13. Force Majeure

The Coach is not liable for delay or failure to perform due to causes beyond reasonable control (e.g., natural disasters, illness, government actions, pandemics, utility/Internet outages). We will reschedule as feasible.

14. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

15. Dispute Resolution & Optional Arbitration

First, try to resolve any issue informally by emailing support@panicfree.tv or support@michaelnorman.com. If unresolved within approximately 30 days, disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Kobe District Court, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan (see Section 5). Proceedings may be conducted in Japanese or English.

Optional Arbitration. By mutual written agreement, disputes may be finally resolved by binding arbitration under the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) rules, seat Kobe, Japan, in Japanese or English. Each party bears its own costs unless the arbitrator decides otherwise.

No Class/Collective Actions. To the extent permitted by law, disputes must be brought only in your individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative action.

16. Informed Consent & Entire Agreement

You confirm that you understand the nature, scope, and limitations of coaching; you have had the opportunity to ask questions; and this Agreement constitutes the entire understanding, superseding prior communications or representations.

17. Non-Reliance; Written Changes Only. 

You acknowledge you are not relying on any statements or representations about results or outcomes outside this written Agreement. Any changes or waivers must be in writing and expressly refer to this Agreement.

18. Consent to Proceed

By continuing to book your session, you confirm that you:

  • have read and understood this Agreement;
  • accept all terms and disclaimers above;
  • are 18 years or older and participating of your own free will; and
  • understand this is a coaching service, not therapy or medical treatment.

19. Notices; Assignment; Survival; No Waiver; Electronic Acceptance; English Controls

Notices. Email to/from support@panicfree.tv or support@michaelnorman.com constitutes written notice and is deemed received upon sending (or within 24 hours if no bounce). You agree to keep your email address current and to notify us of any change.
Assignment. You may not assign this Agreement without the Coach’s written consent; the Coach may assign to a successor or affiliate or in connection with a reorganization.
Survival. Sections concerning confidentiality, intellectual property, payments, limitation of liability, governing law/jurisdiction/venue (including the covenant not to sue elsewhere), dispute resolution/arbitration and the class/collective action waiver, data protection (APPI), notices/service of process, and non-reliance / written changes only survive termination.
No Waiver. Failure to enforce any term is not a waiver.
Electronic Acceptance. Click-wrap/checkbox acceptance and electronic communications form a valid, enforceable agreement.
Language. This Agreement may be translated; the English version controls.

Service of Process. You consent that formal legal notices and service of process related to this Agreement may be effected by email to support@panicfree.tv or support@michaelnorman.com and by courier to an address you provide, to the extent permitted by applicable law.