CONFIDENTIALITY
Our counselling sessions including content and all other details remain confidential except in the following circumstances-
1. There is a risk of serious Harm to yourself or others
2. There is a legal requirement for me to inform the police of serious offences such as Terrorism offences.
Where possible I will always endeavour to inform you of a need to share your details in relation to point number 1. Legal obligations relating to point number 2. May prevent me from advising you of a disclosure
In order to offer you my best therapy practice and to comply with BACP guidelines I attend regular Supervision to discuss my work and fitness to practice. Supervision is a professional and Ethical requirement for all Counsellors and takes place monthly (sometimes more often). NO PERSONAL DETAILS, NAMES OR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION OF CLIENTS IS SHARED DURING SUPERVISION. UNLESS IT IS NECESSARY FOR SAFETY OER LEGAL REASONS AS DETAILED ABOVE I WILL NEVER SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITHOUT YOUR EXPLICIT CONSENT.
GDPR POLICY
Information I collect about you and how I use it
Contact details including telephone and mobile numbers, email addresses, postal/residence address may be collected and used in order to confirm or cancel appointments, to notify you of any changes to my availability to offer appointments, to request payment for appointments that you have requested in line with the payment policy above, to send appointment reminders, to confirm details of your requirements prior to therapy. Occasionally for the purpose of Safeguarding or legal compliance as detailed above it may be necessary to share these details with relevant authorities such as the police, emergency services or Social care.
Next of Kin and emergency contact details if you have provided these details they will be used only for the purpose of contacting the named individual to notify them of a medical emergency
GP/Surgery details if you have provided these details they will be used only for the purpose of liaising with your GP/Surgery at your own request and not without your full consent
Payment information when you pay for sessions online I will receive details of your payment via PayPal. This information is used to identify the person paying for the session in order to match the payment with client and to confirm that you have paid. If you require a refund in line with the cancellation policy then these details will be used to provide you with a full or part refund of your session.
Data retention (How long I keep your information for)
I will keep your information for the duration of our Counselling relationship. Once you decide to end therapy either by notifying me, not attending further sessions without communication for 1 month or not attending a first session without communication for one week your details will be deleted and if you wish to return to therapy it will be necessary for you to provide these details again.
Your rights
You have rights relating to the information I hold to verify the accuracy or to ask for them to be supplemented, deleted, updated or corrected. You have the right to request a copy of the information that I hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email me via the contact details stated in this agreement. Information will be provided to you within 30 days.
Security of your data
Information will be kept securely and confidentially in line with my data retention policy as stated above.
Lawful basis for processing your information
The lawful basis for my holding and using your information to deliver therapy to you is consent. By consenting you agree to my processing of your information for the purposes detailed in this agreement.
