Reason for Privacy Policy
Personal data means information concerning individuals which may lead to them being identified from that data. My processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, Registration Reference ZA104533. I take the processing and storing of personal data seriously, and make every effort to keep your information secure.
What data do I hold, why do I hold it, and under what legal basis?
I will hold the contact details you offer when you first get in touch with me for the period of one month to enable communication to take place about the possibilities of counselling. Once counselling starts, I have a legal obligation to hold your name, address and email address for accounting purposes. HMRC regulations state that this information is required to be kept for a minimum of seven years.
I will also ask for your consent for me to hold your contact details for the duration of the counselling process, plus one further year in case of the need for follow-up work. I do not send marketing communications either by post or by email.
With whom do I share the data?
I may make some notes after sessions. These are anonymised and held in encrypted form on cloud-based software called Evernote. This company does not have access to the information. Notes are held for one year after the counselling has ended in case of the need for follow-up work, after which they will be deleted. No individual will be able to be identified from these notes. Data for accounting purposes is held securely on QuickFile under their Privacy Policy. You will be given access to view this data.
Other than these, I will not share data with anyone unless I am legally obliged to do so, for example if I am told about drug- or arms-dealing, money laundering, child abuse, etc.
Clinical Will
It is good practice for a professional counsellor to be able to contact my clients in the event of my death or of me being incapacitated. To this end, I will update the name, address and phone number of my current clients on a password-protected Clinical Will document. I will remove clients’ details as soon as the counselling has finished. Only the person I have asked to act as my Clinical Will Executor and myself will have access to this document.
Your rights to your data
Under GDPR you have a number of rights concerning your data. If you would like to see the information, particularly if you believe it may be out-of-date, please contact me and I will do all that I can to address your concerns.
You also have the right to withdraw your consent, or to have your data deleted. Once I receive such a request I will inform you as to whether I can comply with your request. I may need to keep your address, for example, under HMRC guidelines.
If you have any concerns, please contact me using the details at the top. Alternatively you may wish to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. Their postal address is Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Their website address is https://ico.org.uk