All personal information is held in accordance with current General Data Processing Regulation (GDPR). Only your name, telephone number and e-mail address are kept digitally.  All devices are password protected.  This information is only kept for the purposes of communication e.g. appointment confirmation and will not be shared with a third party.  All paper data, including our contract, session notes, are stored in a locked filing cabinet, only accessed by myself for the purposes of professional reflection in order to facilitate the therapeutic process.  Only in the unlikely event of my death or serious illness, would a colleague access this information to inform you and destroy all data.  All paper information is held for a period of 7 years to comply with my Professional Liability Insurance Policy.

Supervision

I seek a monthly consultation with a qualified Supervisor, who also abides with the codes of practice of our profession. The supervision process is for my practice (rather than seeking instruction on working with you). To protect your privacy, my supervisor will not know you personally nor professionally. I will refer to you by your first name only, and I may refer to your information verbally when it is helpful to my professional processes.

Therapeutic Will.

Your name and contact details will be shared with my authorised trustee. This is so that you will be contacted on the event of my death, should you still be in therapy with me.

Emergencies.

If your health is in jeopardy (provided I have your consent) I may share your contact information with an emergency healthcare service (e.g. Mental Health Crisis Team). If I have become aware of your intent to cause harm to another person/organisation (e.g. terrorism), the law may require that I inform an authority without seeking your permission. In such a situation, the law may require that I share your personal information without your knowledge (known as whistle-blowing).

Erasing your Information.

When we have finished working together, I will erase electronic copies of your information & correspondence within one month. I will hold onto your written information for up to seven years past the end of our working together. This is so that I have a reference of our work in situations such as you returning to counselling in the future. After this time has passed, I will shred the written information.

Your Rights.

• To be informed what information I hold (i.e. this information page).

• To see the information, I hold about you (free of charge for the initial request).

• To rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

• To withdraw consent to me using your personal information.

• To request your personal information be erased (though I can decline whilst the information is needed for me to practice lawfully & competently).