1. What information do I collect?

In order to provide you with the best service possible, I collect relevant personal data so that I can provide you with a professional therapeutic service and meet legal requirements.

Specifically, I keep a record of your name, email and phone number(s); a record of our attendance at sessions, a record of your invoices and receipts of your payments. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. I also adhere to the ethical guidelines regarding protecting client privacy and confidentiality set by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

2. Who can see this information?

I make every effort to keep this information confidential. All my records are held electronically and the protective security is multi-layered, monitored and updated frequently. To ensure good professional practice, I consult with my supervisor and senior colleagues about my work. Any written notes for supervision purposes are shredded. I take care to protect your confidentiality by disguising personal details and making sure that presentations are anonymised.

3. How I use your information

No personal information is passed on except in the very rare situation where you might be at risk to yourself or others or there are any safeguarding concerns.

I am required by my registration body to have two professional colleagues who can take over my practice if I suddenly become incapacitated. These colleagues would have your contact details and you would have the opportunity to speak or meet with them if this was necessary.

I will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the therapy service that I am providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments. I will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary. This is in line with guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

4. While you are accessing therapy

I am an Accredited Member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and I abide by their professional code of ethics. Confidentiality will only be broken if there are legal or ethical obligations to disclose or there are any safeguarding concerns. Counsellors are required to have regular supervision support so I may discuss our work with my supervisor. This would be done without identifying you and my supervisor is a counsellor who also abides by the BACP’s code of ethics regarding confidentiality. I keep brief notes of our therapy sessions for the purpose of assisting our work together. The notes help me to keep track of the issues that we are working on and they are for my use only. The notes do not include any personal details that could be used to identify you and they are stored securely in a way that only I have access to. Your therapy notes are stored separately from your personal details form.

5. After therapy has ended

I will keep relevant information for tax purposes for the time required by HMRC (currently seven years). There are reasons why psychotherapists & counsellors are required to keep records after therapy has ended. Retaining your therapy notes ensures that I can continue to offer you an efficient service if you make contact after therapy has ended. Your therapy notes do not include any personal details that could be used to identify you and continue to be stored securely after therapy has ended. This time frame adheres to current industry guidelines.

6. Data security

I take the security of the data that I hold about you very seriously. My email account is password protected and mobile phones and laptops used to respond to your emails are password protected and have anti-virus software.

7. Your Rights

Under GDPR, 2018 guidelines you have the following rights: The right to request access to the personal information that I store and process about you.

8. Changes to the privacy policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time, so please check occasionally for any updates.

Last Updated 21st September 2021