Privacy Policy

I am required by law to tell you about how I store and safeguard the personal information you give me. I am legally required to ask for your consent to be able to keep and use the information and data in certain ways and am registered with Information Commissioner’s Office.

As a counsellor I take my clients’ confidentiality and privacy very seriously and I follow a set of rules to help me keep information safe whilst also making sure that I can be the best therapist possible.

If you are not happy with any of the following explanation, I am happy to discuss it further with you.

You can withdraw your permission at any time, and I will remove your information and date from my records following the correct procedures. However, if you would still like to continue working with me then I may have to seek legal advice.

What client information and data will I hold?

I need to keep information and data so that I can work safely and professionally as advised by the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) – my professional body.

The information and data may include:

Your name and address
Your phone number and email adadress
An emergency contact’s name and phone number
Your GP’s name and contact details
Relevant medical information
Any work created during our sessions together
Session notes
Payment information
My emails to you, and yours to me
Invoices

You have the right to view the information I hold; session notes and creative work are confidential are private between us as client and counsellor. The same rules regarding confidentiality which we refer to in the contract apply to your personal notes and information.

When sensitive information and date is finished with by me, I will shred paper information and delete electronic information and data.

If I discover there has been a data breach of your personal information I will tell you as soon as possible.

How, why and for how long do I keep your information and data?

How I keep the information.
All paper information and data I keep is in a locked filing cabinet or cupboard. All electronic data is password protected. Neither my computer or phone is shared with anyone else unless it is accessed by a technician for maintenance.

All labelled paperwork and session notes are coded, rather than labelled by name.

In the event of an accident or unexpected end to our work together one other registered person has a list of the codes and how to get access to the locked filing cabinet.

Why I keep the information
I have been asked to keep some personal information by my professional liability insurer and by my professional organisation (the BACP).

I keep limited session notes to help me keep a record of themes which means I can reflect on our work together and your therapeutic journey as my client. This helps my work as a therapist and allows me to carry out my practice to the best of my ability.

As a small business owner, I am required by law to retain certain financial information, primarily for my own tax purposes.

How long I keep this information
My professional liability insurer advises that I keep personal data such as your name for seven years after the end of your therapy with me. After that time, it is destroyed.

I will remove any contact details when we finish our work together, unless you tell me you would like me to retain it in case we work together again in the future.

My supervisor will destroy any notes they may have made when you and I finish our work together.

My current policy is to destroy session records 6 months after our work finishes. If you would like me to retain them for a longer period, please discuss this with me.

I keep financial information for 7 years as advised by HMRC.

Who sees the information
Banking transactions may be viewed by employees of the bank, my accountant and HMRC. My supervisor has your first name and the code I use to identify you. I also have identified a colleague who has been entrusted with the passwords so that they can access your contact information in case of an emergency when I am not able to do so.

This website is hosted on the Wix.com platform. Wix.com provides me with the online platform that allows me to sell my services to you. Your data 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.

If you don’t want me to process your data anymore, please contact me via email.

We may update this policy and advise you to check this page regularly to ensure you are happy with any changes we have made. We may notify you by email of any changes.

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