PRIVACY STATEMENT

 

 

A privacy notice explains how you collect, use, store and protect personal information. For therapists, this is especially important because we often hold sensitive information about people’s mental health, relationships, family circumstances, identity, history and risk. Clients should be able to understand what information is held about them, why it is held, who may have access to it, how long it is kept, and what rights they have. 

​

           HERE IS MY PRIVACY STATEMENT, WHICH I WILL ASK YOU TO SIGN WHEN WE AGREE TO WORK TOGETHER. 

 

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a ‘Data Controller’ (Registration Reference: ZB285863). I have an ethical and legal obligation to inform you of what information I need from you, what I need your information for, how I may potentially use it, how I will store it, how I will dispose of it, and during what timescale.

 

Information I need from you:

Name, Date of Birth, Address, Email address, Telephone Number, GP Contact Details

Emergency Contact Name, Relationship to You & Telephone Number, Current Medication, Mental health history, contact details of anyone other than yourself who pays your fees

and for you: Professional Case notes, Therapeutic Contract

 

How I will/may potentially use any of this information:

General verbal communication.

In order to convey accurate information if I am required to contact another agency/professional in case of emergency or if I feel that you or someone else is at risk of significant harm. For these reasons, I may use either or both of your ‘Emergency Contact’/GP details.

General written communication regarding scheduling appointments and to reply to any email/text/call/letter from you.

To make accurate assessments of our work together and to be aware of the impact that certain medications/historical or current mental health may have on this.

To keep track of our work together.

To form a working contract where the boundaries and expectations of our relationship are formally laid out and mutually agreed to.

I may use this information to contact you in the event of there being unpaid fees and if I were to need to pursue any legal case to recover fees owed.

I may use this information to contact the person who pays your fees, also if I were to need to pursue any legal case to recover fees owed.

As a professional and ethical practitioner, I am required to engage in regular Clinical Supervision of my work, and I will share any information I feel is relevant to providing you with a quality service and for my own professional development. Your name and identifying details, however, will not be disclosed.

 

In the event of me being incapacitated or in the event of my death, my Clinical Supervisor will be informed, and they will then be able to gain access to your contact details (not your ‘Case Notes’) to inform you.

 

How I will store this information:

Hard copies will be kept in a locked filing cabinet in my office, with a designated code that only I understand.

​

Information I keep in electronic form:

Your email address is automatically entered into my ‘Contact’s Folder’ on a computer with a password entry that only I have access to. Your telephone number is automatically stored on my mobile telephone with a password entry that only I have access to. This is a professional phone and is not used for personal purposes.

​​

How long I will keep information in paper format:

I will keep this information for 3 years after the end of therapy. The BACP professional Conduct Procedure stipulates that any complaint to them, made against a therapist needs to be made within 3 years of their therapy ending; so, this information was used to influence the timescale I will store information. I also keep this information for any other legal case where I am required by law to subpoena my case notes. At the end of this 3-year period, paper records will be shredded and incinerated.

 

How long I will keep information in electronic form:

At the end of your therapy, electronic contact details will be deleted.

 

What I will not use any of this information for:

I will not use this information to try to sell you anything.

I will never sell this information to anyone.

I will not contact your GP or your ‘Emergency Contact’ as a matter of course.

​

Data Protection Concerns and Complaints

If you have a concern about how I have handled your personal information, you can make a data protection complaint by contacting me using the details in this notice. I will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and take appropriate steps to look into it without undue delay.

Please include:

• your name

• what your concern is about

• what you would like me to look into

• how you would prefer me to respond

I will investigate your complaint as appropriate, keep you informed where necessary, and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

If you are not satisfied with my response, or if you would prefer to contact the UK regulator directly, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office:

​

Information Commissioner’s Office

Website: www.ico.org.uk 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

​

Can I have access to my personal data?

Yes. You will need to make a formal application in writing, and I will provide this information within 30 days. 

​