PRIVACY POLICY
Any personal data that you provide to me through any means (verbal, written, in electronic form, or by your use of my website) will be held and processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, for the purposes for which you have given consent, to provide the professional services you have requested from me, and to meet the legitimate interests of my work.
This policy only applies to data collected by me and via my own forms and website. Third-party agents and websites which are linked to this are not covered by this policy. If you have any queries concerning your personal information or any questions about my use of it, please contact me. I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - registration number ZB546394.
What information do I collect?
Psychotherapy and counselling requests. Contacting me to request access to psychotherapy or counselling services can be done online, on paper or by phone. This involves providing your name, a means of contact, and your availability. This may also include information about your therapeutic needs and history.
Initial discussions. At any initial discussion, I will ask about your current personal, social, professional, financial and medical circumstances. I may also ask about your background and family history, as well as the issues which are affecting you now. I require this information so that I can determine the suitability of psychotherapy or counselling with me for you.
Psychotherapy and counselling
If we agree to work together, I will ask you to complete a written contract which I will discuss with you. This normally includes your name, date of birth, address, telephone numbers, email address, postal address, GP details, medication details, medical and psychiatric history, and next of kin. I may also keep records of ongoing work, appointments, attendance and payments. If you make online payments to me, those banking details will also exist in my bank account, and your banking information may be stored in my accounting software and included in my Making Tax Digital (MTD) submissions to HMRC as part of legally required financial reporting.
What do I use your information for?
• To provide you with a professional psychotherapy and counselling service.
• To offer appointments.
• To notify you about changes to your appointments or other changes to services.
• To administer psychotherapy and counselling services, including arranging sessions and
financial administration.
What information do I share?
I will not share any information about you with other organisations or people, except in the
following situations:
• Consent: I may share your information with others whom you have requested or agreed I can contact.
• Serious harm: I may share your information with the relevant authorities if I have reason to believe that this may prevent serious harm being caused to you or another person.
• Compliance with law: I may share your information where I am required to do so by law or by the regulations and professional rules to which I am subject (areas such as terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, FGM, and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults).
• Clinical supervision: It is a professional requirement for psychotherapists to review their work with a supervisor, who is also bound by confidentiality.
• Professional executor: In the event of my serious incapacity or death, my appointed professional executor will access your details (first name and contact number only) to contact you to advise you of events and consider options for future support if you require it. These executors are psychotherapists bound by professional confidentiality.
• IT security: As part of the backups of encrypted data processed and held by professional IT security companies.
How do I keep your information safe?
All information you provide to me is stored as securely as possible. All paper forms and correspondence are kept in locked filing cabinets on my premises. All electronic records are stored on my computer, access to which requires password-protected authentication, or by reputable service providers using secure encrypted Internet cloud technology. I may also hold your data on my secure smartphone.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is never completely secure. Although I will do my best to protect your information using industry-standard applications, protocols and encryption, I cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to me via email, including forms completed on my website which are transmitted by email; any such transmission is at your own risk. Once I have received your information, I will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
Your identifiable personal information is kept separately from any session notes and other descriptive material. Client notes and other documentation are destroyed six years after the end of psychotherapy or counselling (or seven years after reaching adulthood, should the work have taken place with a client under the age of 18).
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:
• Right of access: You have the right to ask me to provide a copy of the personal information I hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You have the right to require me to correct any inaccuracies in your information. Any inaccuracies will be amended promptly.
• Right to restrict processing: You may wish to request changes to how certain aspects of your information are stored or used - please contact me to discuss.
• Right to withdraw consent: You may withdraw your consent for me to hold and process your data at any time by contacting me. Please note that if you do this while we are engaged in psychotherapy or counselling, our work together would need to end.
• Right to complain: You have the right to make a formal complaint about how I handle your personal data (see below).
To exercise any of these rights, please contact me at hello@cararobincounselling.co.uk
Data protection complaints
If you have a concern about how I handle your personal data, I encourage you to contact me in the
first instance:
Email: hello@cararobincounselling.co.uk
I will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days of receiving it, and aim to provide a full response
as promptly as possible.
If you remain dissatisfied with my response, or if you prefer to raise your concern directly with the
regulator, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
Website: ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in law or my practice. If I make any
substantial changes, I will notify you in writing.