Your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office, reference number ZA523342

 

Below I explain what I do with your personal information, from initial point of contact to after your counselling has ended. I am happy to talk through any questions you might have regarding my data protection policy.

 

What information do I collect?

• Counselling requests:

  • name, contact details and availability

  • brief therapeutic issues

  • any other details which I deem to be relevant to processing your request

  • If you do not proceed I will delete your data within one week. If you would like it deleted sooner, please let me know

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• Initial assessment appointments:

  • address, age or date of birth

  • current personal, social and medical circumstances, your background and family history

  • whether you have received previous counselling

• Counselling sessions:

  • word-processed notes of each session

 

What do I use your information for?

• To help provide the counselling service requested.

• To offer appropriate counselling appointments and to notify you of any changes to counselling appointments or to my service.

• To seek feedback from you on your experience of counselling with me.

   

What information will I share?

Information will be shared only in the following circumstances:

• Consent – I may share your information with professional carers or others whom you have agreed I may contact.

• Serious harm – I may share your information with the relevant authorities if I have reason to believe that this may prevent serious harm being caused to you or another person.

• Compliance with the law – I will share your information where I am required to by law or by other rules and regulations to which we are subject.

• Supervision - all counsellors are required to undergo supervision. I will take relevant issues from our counselling sessions to supervision but I will take care to preserve your anonymity.

• Therapeutic will – your name and contact details will be shared with my therapeutic executor. In the event of my death or serious illness you will be contacted by my executor to advise you.

 

My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information

• If you are currently having therapy with me or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will use your data for the performance of our contract.

• If your therapy with me has ended I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.

• I am required by the GDPR to make sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me. This type of information is called 'special category personal information'. The lawful basis for me processing this type of information is to provide counselling and is necessary for a contract with me.

   

How do I keep your information safe?

• All records will be kept electronically and stored securely on a password protected computer. In addition, each file containing personal information is password protected.

• First name and telephone number will be kept on a mobile phone, protected by a PIN.

• Any information sent electronically cannot be guaranteed to be secure so information transmitted this way is at your own risk. Any emails or texts I do receive, where the information does not need to be kept, will be deleted within two days. Any information from you by email or text that I deem to be important will keep in a password protected file and the original email or text will be deleted.

• Your information is kept for a period of seven years. After this time it will be destroyed in accordance with guidelines on the destruction of sensitive information.

 

Your rights

• You have a right to ask me:

• to delete your personal information

• to limit how I use your personal information

• to stop processing your personal information

• to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you

• for a copy of any information that I hold about you. Please email me at counsellingds@gmail.com

• You have a right to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. Please see ico.org.uk/your-data-matters for more information.

   

Complaints

If you have any complaint about the way I handle any of your personal data please email me with the details of the complaint. If you wish to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information you can contact the ICO, which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For information visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

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