Privacy Notice
I am committed to protecting your privacy in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (Data Protection Act 2018). I am registered with the ICO, Information Commissioner’s Office UK which oversees compliance with privacy law.
Information I collect about you and how I use it
At the start of therapy, basic personal information will be collected for contact and identification reasons. During our therapy sessions, an assessment of your psychological health will be completed, and notes will be made during and after sessions. These will include personal and sensitive details about your life. The assessment and notes are used solely for the delivery of a therapy service to you.
As a Registered and Accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) working within their Ethical Framework for Good Practice, I am required to have regular supervision for my work. I receive this either in a small group or one-to-one. During these supervisions I will share anonymised information about you to ensure I am providing you with the best service.
If at any time I believe you might be in danger of harming yourself or others I will discuss this with you. I may then need to share relevant information about your situation with another professional such as your GP. Wherever possible I will do this with your full knowledge.
In the unlikely event of my sudden illness, accident or death, I have arrangements in place for a named colleague to access your personal data (your name and telephone number) in order to make contact with you.
I do not share or sell or disclose to a third party any information collected through my website.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask me for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask me to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask me to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask me to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask me to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that I transfer the information you gave me to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
If you make a request, I have one month to respond to you.
How long I keep your information for - data retention
Your information is kept for the time necessary to provide the therapy service. Outside of this I will hold your details and session notes for a period of 7 years following the end of treatment. After this date all data will be securely destroyed or deleted.
Security of your data
Paper information is kept securely in a locked filing cabinet. If we are in contact via my website contact form, email or mobile-phone those details will be stored electronically on password protected systems. It is important to note that the transmission of information via the internet is not always completely secure. While I will take all reasonable steps to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy, I cannot guarantee the security of data sent electronically and therefore information sent this way is entirely at your own risk. By submitting your personal data and providing any personal/sensitive information, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.
Links to third party sites
Links to third party sites are included in my website. I do not control information provided on these websites and cannot be held responsible for their privacy policies and practices. If you link to any of these websites, please review their privacy policies to ensure you are familiar with how they handle data.
Lawful basis for processing your information
The lawful basis for my holding and using your information is in relation to the delivery of a contract to you as a health care professional.
