Here to Hear You

  What information I hold
 

I will only request, store or share your information when you have consented to this or when there is a legitimate interest in doing so. When beginning counselling with you I will ask for your name, age and contact details, along with the name of your GP service. I request these in order to make contact with you and in the event that I needed to alert your GP or another body of a risk posed to you or another. In the initial session I will collect some basic risk assessment information which may contain medical and/or psychiatric diagnoses. I do not ask for Special Categories of Personal Data (such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion) however if you have volunteered such information and it is therapeutically relevant I may include this in the notes I make as an aide memoire. I will only ever use such information for the purposes here stated.
 

How data is stored and may be shared
 

Any such data is stored as follows: Hard copy forms and notes are stored in locked filing cabinets. Electronic data such as letters and invoices are stored on a password protected PC/device. I will store your data for eight years from the end of our counselling relationship. After such time I will shred and dispose of this data. I will not share your details with another party unless you have given me consent or unless I have a serious concern that you, or another person is at risk of harm.
 

Your rights

You are entitled to ask me what data I hold in relation to you or if you have any questions in relation to the protection of your information. You are entitled to ask for any personal data I hold to be rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete. You are entitled to withdraw your consent for your data to be held and ask for your data to be erased if it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or if there is no compelling need for it to continue to be held. For information about the rights you have in relation to the data I hold about you see https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/ If you have any queries or concerns that you feel I am unable to satisfy you may contact the Information Commissioners Office https://ico.org.uk/