Data Protection and Privacy Policy

Any personal data that you provide to me via any means (verbal, written, on the phone, or in electronic format) will be held by me and processed in accordance with principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the purposes for which you have given consent, in order to establish and maintain a contract between us, or to meet my legitimate interests. When you request counselling with me or otherwise provide any personal details to me, you are consenting to my processing of your data under the terms of this policy.

What information do I collect?

Contact Details: You can contact me directly by email. The process of requesting counselling initially involves providing me with your name, telephone number, and email address, as well as your preferred method of contact.

Other details about you: I may ask about your current circumstances and medical history, as well as about the issues that have brought you to counselling. This will help us to decide whether counselling is appropriate for you and whether we wish to work together. I may ask you to provide me with additional information, such as your address, date of birth, the name of your GP / surgery, and current medication. In some cases, I may ask you for an emergency contact.

Correspondence: I may keep records of significant correspondence, e.g. copies of emails that relate to our work.

Case Notes: These are brief notes on the main themes of the work we do during our sessions. I may also note session number and attendance. These notes will be held separately from any information that could identify you, such as your name and address.

Session Material: Where we produce artwork, drawings, or other physical material together, I may ask you if I can keep a record, e.g. by taking a picture of what we’ve produced.

Email my email: account is powered by an external provider, and the collection and use of data is subject to their own Privacy Policies. My account is password protected. Any emails which hold sensitive or personal information may be sent securely through my fully encrypted email service provided by protonmail.

What do I use your information for?

To respond to your counselling inquiry, to provide information about my service, arrange an initial session, and offer suitable counselling appointments

To contact you in the event of changes to appointments or my services (e.g. due to illness, planned absences, or a personal emergency)

To administer my service, including the arrangement of appointments and the handling of payments

To fulfill my administrative, legal, and contractual obligations

To enable the best use of supervision by keeping track of and effectively thinking about the material we discuss

To optimally support the therapy, e.g. by facilitating the use of a therapeutic will and being able to protect you or others from serious harm where necessary (see below)

When and how do I share your data?

I will not share any identifiable information about you with other organisations or people, except in the following situations.

Professional supervision - All counsellors are required to have professional supervision to maintain the efficacy of their practice and to safeguard the interests of their clients. My supervisor is also bound by a similar duty of confidentiality.

Consent - With your consent, I may share your information with your GP, professional services, your emergency contact, or others whom you have agreed I should contact.

Serious Harm - I may share your information with the relevant authorities (including your GP) if I have reason to believe that this may prevent serious harm from being caused to you or another person. Where possible, I will always seek your consent first. If this is not possible, my duty is to act to prevent harm from occurring if possible.

Compliance with law - I may share your information where I am required to by law or by regulations and other rules to which I am subject.

Therapeutic will - In the event of my incapacitation or death, a nominated colleague will gain access to your data, in order to inform you of my circumstances and will confidentially destroy my records of our work together.

How do I keep your information safe?

All information you provide to me is stored as securely as possible. All paper forms and notes are kept in locked filing systems at my home. Any electronic records are kept are stored in a password-protected computer and require password-protected authentication. Your contact details are kept apart from case notes and other details about you in order to minimise the likelihood of identification in the event of loss or damage outside of my control. Although I will always endeavour to protect your personal information, the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure – please be mindful of this when considering the content of emails that you may send me.

How long will I store your data and how will it be disposed of?

I will delete any identifiable data such as contact details, communications, and other records including identifiers when no longer required or within 7 years of no contact or updates from you – this is in accordance with current HMRC guidelines for retention of business records. Session notes and recordings, as well as any other information about our work together, will normally be deleted after 3 years.

Your rights under GDPR

I may edit this policy from time to time. If I do, and if we are still working together, I will notify you and provide you with an updated copy. You have the right to ask me to provide a copy of the information held by me. You also have the right to require me to correct any inaccuracies in your information. If you would like to do this, please contact me by email and make any request in writing. You may withdraw your consent for me to hold and process your data at any time, by informing me by email. Doing so will mean that we will no longer be able to work together.