Privacy Notice
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. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended.
I am happy to chat through any questions you might have about my data protection policy and you can contact me via info@vickicounselling.com.
'Data controller' is the term used to describe the person/organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people's personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me.
I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. (Registration number: ZC235022)
My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information
The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. I have explained these below:
If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.
If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.
The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called 'special category personal information'. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is consent initially. I will then retain any counselling records in case of the need to reference them in the future (the official legal basis is to defend against potential legal claims).
How I use your information
When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include the personal information you share via my contact form such as your name, contact details and the nature of why you would like counselling. Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral or a parent or trusted individual may give me your details when making an enquiry on your behalf. If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 12 months. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.
While you are accessing counselling, rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if there is immediate risk of serious harm to you or someone else, safeguarding concerns such as a vulnerable person at risk of abuse or neglect and if I receive a court order requiring me to disclose information. I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.
I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely and are not shared with any third party. I discuss anonymised case material with my clinical supervisor in line with the BACP supervision requirements, no identifying information about you is shared.
I will keep written notes of each session, these are kept for 5 years after our last session.
If there is relevant information contained in a text message or email I will add this to your client record.
Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for five years from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please tell me.
I never sell your personal data.
