Website and Practice Privacy Notice

Personal information and the legal basis for its collection

Brief factual notes about our sessions, your agreement to this contract and your contact details are held electronically and securely. 

All information is held securely in accordance with professional recommendations and I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998) and for the General Data Protection Regulations (2018) for the information I hold about you. 

Your consent given by signing this form is the legal basis I have for storing your information. I store your name, address, contact details, a medical history, your doctor’s names and contact details, and any other relevant medical or psychiatric notes. I also record our sessions in digital format with your consent. These recordings are not normally kept for more than a month. And all are securely deleted at the end of our work unless specifically agreed otherwise. 

I make brief therapeutic notes on the content of our sessions, these are kept electronically and in an anonymised form such that other persons are not identifiable. 

Your rights with regard to your personal information.

• The right to be informed – This notice informs you of the information I collect.
• The right of access – You may ask to view the record I hold on you at any time.
• The right to rectification – I will correct any factual inaccuracies you report.
• The right to erasure – You have the right to have your records permanently deleted subject to UK Law 
• The right to restrict processing – Your data is not processed for any other purpose other than for me to maintain records about your therapy. 
• The right to data portability – You can ask for the record to be transferred to another organisation. I would not normally transfer session records and you can ask for this information not to be transferred.
• The right to object – By signing this form you consent to me holding the information outlined above. If you have any objection to me holding this data or a specific part of the data you do not have to sign the form or provide the data. 
• Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling. No automated decision making occurs and clients are not profiled. 

Your personal data when working online

I have reviewed the terms and conditions that apply to the Zoom platform that I use to hold sessions online. Their privacy statement is available here and describes the information they retain about our use of their software. 

https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/privacy-and-security.html

Insurance

As part of my practice I am fully insured for professional liability with a specialist provider of insurance for Psychotherapists. I also maintain third party accident insurance should any accident occur whilst you are on the premises. My insurance covers me for working face to face and online.

Professional Standards

As a member of various professional bodies I subscribe to a range of codes of ethics. Details of these memberships which can be viewed via the “Professional Standards” section under “Fees and Information” on my website. Copies of the codes are available on request. 

Supervision

As a key part of professional development and ethical practice I have regular supervision of client work that I undertake with a supervising psychotherapist. Confidentiality is maintained and my supervisors are also bound by the same codes of conducts that I abide by. I may ask your permission to record our sessions to assist in supervision and treatment planning. 

Website – Disclaimer

The content of my website is intended for information only. Whilst utmost care has been taken in the writing and presentation of this information I do not guarantee its usefulness or accuracy. I accept no responsibility for any decisions made and accept no liability for any loss or damage based on the information found on the website. Anyone using information offered on the website does so at their own risk and will be considered to have taken full liability and responsibility for any damage or injury arising from its use.

Direct Communication

As part of my intake I will ask about direct communication and will ascertain how best to contact you for efficiency but also for confidentiality. Should our agreed method of communication need to be altered please inform me at your earliest opportunity. 

Revised – 20 April 2020