Privacy Policy
Your privacy is very important to me and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me.
This privacy policy tells you what information I hold and how I keep it from the initial point of contact through to after therapy has ended. I am always happy to chat with you about this policy and any questions you may have.
I am a professional member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and trainee member of UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and abide by their standards and ethical requirements, including those related to confidentiality, as well as adhering to current data protection legislation.
I am also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) the independent body that upholds information rights.
What data I hold about you and how I use it
At our first meeting I will usually request some background information from you which I will discuss with you first. This includes the following:
your name – title, first and last names
contact information – address, phone number, email and preferred contact method
GP details – where relevant
Next of kin details – to be used in the event of an emergency
I will use your contact information to arrange or rearrange a session, to submit an invoice or provide you with information I have agreed to in our sessions, including any updated information about the provision of my services.
I will also keep brief handwritten notes to act as a reminder of our work together. They will be anonymised so that you cannot be identified and will not be stored alongside your contact information.
How I store your data
All paper records of confidential personal information and notes of sessions are held in a fireproof locked cabinet.
I will usually keep your number on my phone for contact if a need for cancellation arises. If you email me or prefer this mode of contact then this information will be stored on my phone too. I will not use your full name in my contacts and data in my phone is protected by a password.
Disclosure
I will never pass your personal information to any third party unless you require me to do so and we have talked it through. The exception to this would be if I thought you may seriously harm yourself or another person or if I was compelled by the law to disclose information. I will discuss this with you first.
The only exception where your data will be shared is under the terms of my clinical will, which I am ethically required to have in place, for the care and protection of my clients in the event of my sudden death or incapacity. Under those circumstances only, the executors of my will can access the contact data I hold, to inform all of my clients, and to ensure that all records pertaining to my practice are subsequently destroyed. My executor will not read any clinical records.
I attend regular professional supervision sessions to ensure safe and ethical practice. I will not share information in a way that you can be identified unless one of the exceptions above applies.
How long I keep your data
I will keep your data for as long as required by my professional bodies and my professional indemnity insurers. As soon as the retaining period has lapsed all notes and records will be destroyed.
Visitors to my website
When someone visits my website, I use a third-party service, to 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 permit any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website.
Like most websites mine uses cookies and similar technologies, to help the website run effectively. Cookies are small files or pieces of text that download to a device when a visitor accesses a website. No user-specific data is collected by me or any third party. For information about viewing the cookies dropped onto your device visit The cookies Squarespace uses.