Privacy Policy

 Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018, I’m required to give you information about the type of personal information I collect from you and how I intend to use the information. 

Collection of Personal Information 

I may collect: 

●  basic information such as your name, gender and date of birth, to identify you 

and know a bit about who I’m working with; 

●  contact details such as email, address and mobile phone number, so I can 

contact you in order to arrange appointments or communicate for the 

purposes of us working together; 

●  emergency contact details in case of a medical emergency; 

●  your GP’s contact details, I would normally ask your consent. However, if I 

feel there is a risk of serious harm to yourself or someone else, I may need to 

contact your GP as part of my duty of care; 

●  assessment notes (sensitive personal information you disclose to me during 

our first meeting) This may include your personal history, medical conditions, prescribed medication, mental health diagnoses and counselling history. I use this information in order to build a clearer picture of your mental health and personal history in order to understand how we might best work together; and 

●  payment details (if you pay by PayPal or BACS ), which will be held in my bank account. 

Storage of Personal Information ​ 

I will store: 

●  Any paper records will be transferred to digital formats before being disposed 

of as confidential waste. Paper records will not be stored; and 

●  electronic data such as assessment or session notes, email, phone number, 

privacy policy agreement and SMS correspondence, on devices that are password protected and accessed only by me. I will retain assessment and session notes for 5 years after our last session together, and any emails and SMS correspondence for 1 month, following our last session together. 

●  Please note that all Session Notes and Assessment Forms will be anonymised and kept separately from any contact information that might identify you. 

Processing / Sharing of Personal Information 

It is very unlikely that I will share your personal information. I will not sell it or use it for unethical reasons. Examples of instances in which I might need to share your personal information without your explicit consent include: 

●  if I believe that you or another person (or people) may be at risk of serious harm, I may have to break confidentiality and contact a suitable authority (e.g. your GP or the emergency services); although I will usually attempt to gain your permission before breaking confidentiality in these instances, I retain the right to do so without your consent; 

●  if I become seriously ill, hospitalised or pass away my Therapeutic Executor (another counsellor I have chosen to cover such situations) may need to contact you to inform you of the situation and to advise you of your options; and 

●  if I am required to do so by law (e.g. to pass on information relating to acts of terrorism or on-going abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult). 

Your Rights 

You have the following rights with respect to your personal information: 

●  to request a copy of the personal information I hold on you (free of charge and 

within one calendar month); 

●  to request that I rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal information; 

●  to withdraw your consent for me to use/process your personal information 

●  to request that some or all of your personal information be deleted; I can, 

however, decline this request whilst the information is needed for me to 

practise lawfully and competently; and 

●  to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (www. ico.org.uk) 

if you 

are unhappy with any aspect of the way I have handled your personal information.