Introduction
Your privacy is very important to me and as such I undertake to keep any personal information you provide to me safe and secure and to only use it for the purpose it was given to me. I adhere to the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (reference C1292070).
This privacy notice explains what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your counselling has ended. ‘Data Controller’ is the term used to describe the person/organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me. I am happy to answer any questions about my data protection policy.
The UK GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.
If you are currently having therapy with me or are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.
The UK GDPR also makes sure I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriate. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for the provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case a contract between me and you).
How I use your information
When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This may include your email address and telephone number. If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 7 days. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.
Whilst you are accessing counselling everything you discuss with me is confidential and the content of such will not be shared with anyone except for the purposes of my own supervision where aspects of our work may be discussed but no full name will be used and identifiable details removed. I reserve the right to break confidentiality if I believe there is a risk of harm to you or to others however wherever possible this will be discussed with you in advance. I am not bound by confidentiality if in good faith I feel I can assist in the prevention or detection of a serious crime, this includes safeguarding issues regarding children or vulnerable adults, crimes regarding substantial financial gains and losses and acts of terrorism.
I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely and are not shared with any third party. Any notes which I take of our sessions will also be kept securely. I am required to retain your data for up to 7 years after you have finished counselling. I conduct an annual review to ensure data is not kept for longer than is necessary and all data is securely destroyed. If you would like me to delete your data sooner then please let me know.
Your rights
I try to be as open as I can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop me processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/. To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing to my email address shynescounselling@gmail.com.
Data Security
I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously and as such I take every effort to make sure it is kept secure. I encrypt digital data and keep paper records in a locked filing cabinet.
Visitors to my website
My website is hosted by a third party, Go Daddy, who collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow Go Daddy to make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website. I use legitimate interests as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information in this way when you visit my website.
Like most website we use cookies to help the site work more efficiently. Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you.
No user specific data is collected by me or any third party. If you fill in a form on my website, that data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent to me.
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