As a registered member of BACP I abide by their standards and ethical requirements including confidentiality. I am registered with the Data Commissioner as required by GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) legislation. This policy sets out how I use your personal data when you interact with me for counselling services.
1. Personal data I hold about you:
Identity data
- First Name, Last Name
Contact data
- Mailing address, email addresses, telephone numbers, skype address (where relevant)
- GP details
- Telephone, email and skype details are held on my personal password protected computer and smartphone.
Session data
- I hold brief handwritten notes to provide cues and reminders of session detail.
- These notes are stored in a secure, locked cabinet.
- These notes are retained for the period specified by my professional bodies and my professional indemnity insurers.
- As soon as the retaining period has lapsed, all notes are destroyed.
2. I use your personal details to contact you in order to:
- arrange/rearrange any session
- submit an invoice
- provide any information that I might have agreed to supply you with
3. Disclosure
- I do not share your personal data with any other party. The only exception to this 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, in order 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 use client pseudonyms in supervision. My supervisor does not have access to information that would enable them to identify you.