Introduction
I must collect and hold information of a personal nature about you and I am committed to ensuring that I do this in a way that protects your privacy.
If you have any concerns or questions about this policy or anything contained within it, please contact me so to discuss further.
The Law
As a private counsellor, in accordance to GDPR (2018) and the Data Protection Act (1998), all information that I hold must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully.
Information must be obtained for specific lawful purposes.
Information must be adequate, relevant and not excessive.
Information must be accurate and kept up to date.
Information should not be held for longer than is necessary and should be processed according to an individual’s rights under law and be protected in appropriate ways.
How information is used
The information you share during therapy and on this website is confidential. Information will not be shared with anybody connected to you, and I will not inform anybody that you are seeing me except from the referring organisation (if applicable).
The information I document can be shared with you at any time. You can request to see all data I have and I can go through it with you if required.
Information may be shared with other organisations if I decide that not sharing that information may place you, or anybody else at risk of harm. For example, if you advise that you are a risk to yourself or others, you disclose a child or adult safeguarding concern, or a serious crime. Information may also be shared if it is demanded by a court of law.
Anonymised information will be shared routinely when discussing my caseloads in Clinical Supervision. No client-identifiable information will ever be shared as part of this process.
Information received via my website contact form will be collected, stored securely and used to contact you in response to your enquiry. The website may collect your IP address, email address, computer and connection information. The website may use software tools to measure and collect session information, including page response times and length of visits to certain pages.
Email addresses may be used to send relevant updates, information or news.
How information will be obtained
Information will be sought and obtained through you and (if applicable) the organisation that referred you to see me. I will not actively attempt to gain information by any other means unless that information is needed to protect you or anybody else from harm.
Information may be obtained through audio recordings, but only with your explicit consent that this may happen. I will always discuss this with you before using a recording device and obtain signed consent from you. Audio recordings will be held with the same security as detailed for written records and are subject to the same rules and restrictions.
How will information be stored?
Information from our sessions will be stored electronically on a secure computer. Any paper records will be locked in a filing cabinet in a locked room. The information will be backed up electronically on an encrypted memory stick in case of fire damage.
My website is hosted on the wix.com platform. Wix.com allows me to advertise the service that my business offers. Any information you submit via the website’s contact form may be stored through wix.com’s data storage, databases, and the general wix.com applications. They store your data on secure servers behind a firewall.
Why is it necessary to keep information about you?
It is required by law that information obtained in a healthcare setting is kept and stored for a period of time even after you leave that healthcare setting, so that evidence exists about what happened whilst you were under my care. My insurance terms require me to keep all information for a period of 5 years.
Prior to therapy commencing, you will be asked to sign a Therapy Agreement, which seeks your consent to contact you by post, email, and telephone. It also seeks consent to send out emails both during and after therapy with CBT related information, updates or news. I will also need to contact you throughout therapy to arrange appointments, reschedule appointments, and seek updates on progress.
How long will information be kept?
I will keep all information and records for 5 years from the date of the last record made.
You have the right to request to view your records, to request amendments to information you deem inaccurate, and to request that your information be erased.
Complaints
If you wish to complain about the way your privacy or data has been handled, then you can do so by emailing me or by contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) directly at https://ico.org.uk/ or contacting them on 0303 123 1113.