I understand how important your privacy is. I  take care to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws (GDPR, 2018) and the ethical guidelines of The British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP). These guidelines have been set up to protect your confidential material and ensure that I always conduct myself with professionalism and integrity.

In order to provide you with the best service possible, I will hold your personal contact details and records of your counselling sessions. Please find below important information about how this information will be held and used.

Your personal information

I use my secure, password protected computer to collect and store your personal data. Within my computer I store your information behind another password protected folder. This is not saved to the cloud or anywhere else. At the point of confirming you want to move forward with counselling with me, you will be asked for your personal contact information, for example your name, address, email address and telephone number.

Your contact information is stored securely on my computer behind two passwords and can only be accessed by me.

In order to be able to fulfil my duty of care to you, in your initial consultation or first treatment session, I will ask you for contact information for your GP and elected Emergency Contact person. These details will be stored securely on my computer and will only be accessible to me.

This personal information will be held for the duration of your counselling after which it will be deleted from my database.

Please note that I will need to keep a record of your name and client reference number for seven years after the end of your counselling, so that I can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your clinical notes and treatment.

I will never pass on your contact details to any third party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research and will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the counselling service I am providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments and collect payment for sessions.

Any physical papers with your information (contract, consent form, contact form) will be scanned to the secure computer files and then shredded immediately.

Your payment details

All payments are either through bank transfer or cash. I will never have your bank details and your information will not be recorded.

Your counselling sessions

Everything that you discuss with me is confidential. Confidentiality will only be broken if there is concern about your safety or the safety of someone else or I am instructed to do so by a Court of Law. I will always endeavour to speak to you about this first.

During remote working I will ensure that I am conducting online sessions in a quiet, private and confidential setting. I have selected video calling platforms that offer end to end encryption to ensure maximum privacy. Please note however that I cannot be held responsible for any breaches that occur due to failures in this technology.

I discuss my clinical work with a supervisor. This is to ensure that I am offering you the best and safest service possible. These conversations are bound by confidentiality and you will only be referred to by your first name.

I keep notes of each session. These are anonymised and are stored in a locked filing cabinet. These notes are for my use only and help to keep a track of everything that is being discussed. In line with industry guidelines, these notes will be kept securely for up to seven years after your counselling comes to an end. After this time, they will be confidentially destroyed.

Your communications with TN Counselling

I use the secure GSuite server only I have access to it.

All phones, tablets and laptops used to respond to your emails are encrypted, fully protected and password protected.

Data Usage

I will only use your email address and telephone number to contact you about your appointments. I may also contact you directly via email in order to share information with you that is pertinent to your therapeutic process.

Your rights

Any personal data retained by me is kept in accordance with the GDPR, 2018.

Under these guidelines you have the following rights

1. The right to request access to your data

You can request to view the information that I hold about you (contact details, appointment logs etc.) at any time. If during counselling you would like to see your session notes, please let me know. Should you require a copy of your notes after your counselling has come to an end you can make this request by emailing hello@tncounselling.co.uk or calling 07488 870445.

1. The right of rectification

At any point during your time using my service or during the seven years thereafter, while I retain your records, you have the right to request amendments to your contact details or session notes. This right can be exercised either by speaking directly to me or by contacting me in writing.

1. The right to be forgotten

You can request that I delete and confidentially destroy the information that I hold about you and your sessions at any time. This request can be made by contacting me at hello@tncounselling.co.uk.  

Instances where I would not be able to comply with your request are as follows:

1. a) It is necessary for me to retain these records in order to continue providing an effective service

2. b) I am compelled to retain these records by a Court of Law

3. c) I require these records in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims

Consent

When you have your first session with me, I will have emailed you this policy and then have a consent form for you to sign to confirm that you consent to the storage and processing of your personal data for the purposes of providing therapeutic services.

You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time and can do so by emailing me at hello@tncounselling.co.uk.  

Breaches of data protection

In the event of any breach of my data protection policies, I will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours and will seek to rectify this immediately.

Raising concerns

Should you have any concerns about my data protection practices, you can raise these directly with me. You can also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office. I am registered with ICO under the reference number ZB494915.