In accordance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) I take your privacy seriously.

I keep personal details plus minimal notes from client sessions as evidence of our work together and to enable me to contact you, your emergency contact or your GP if required.

I am registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Your sessions with me are confidential and this confidentiality will apply to any records kept – in accordance with the Data Protection Act and GDPR.

In exceptional circumstances confidentiality may be broken which could include:

  1. Where you as a client give consent.
  2. Where I feel it is appropriate to consult with, or involve, other professionals such as your GP in circumstances where there is a risk of harm to you or a third party. In such cases I will aim to discuss any action with you first and seek to gain your co-operation.
  3. Where I am compelled by a Court of Law.
  4. Where statutory law requires me to inform the relevant authorities – such as terrorist activities, drug trafficking or abuse of a child or vulnerable adult.

I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Reg. MBACP) and abide by the BACP Ethical Framework. I am also a member of the Association for Counselling and Therapy Online (ACTO), abiding by the ACTO Code of Ethics.

I receive regular supervision where client issues are discussed. Care will be taken to preserve your anonymity with the exception of a) to d) above.

I take great care to keep our information and therapeutic exchanges protected:

  • I use ordinary email and/or text/SMS for administrative, procedural or practical issues only.
  • I use appropriately secure and/or encrypted media for video, email and live chat sessions and, if we work online, I will ask you to do the same.
  • When on video or phone sessions I make sure I cannot be overheard and, when working on video, email or live chat, that my screen cannot be seen by others and if we use these media I will ask you to do the same.
  • Any identifying names or numbers are kept separately to notes taken.
  • I store any electronic or hard copies of our correspondence securely – locked away and encrypted or password protected. I will request that you take appropriate steps to protect any records your end, too, so that no-one else has access to them.
  • In order to protect the confidentiality of our relationship and the appropriate boundaries I will not engage with you directly through social networking or professional forums.
  • I request that neither whole nor part of our exchanges – direct information or verbatim transcripts – should be published or circulated to third parties, social or professional forums.
  • After our work is completed all client material is removed from my computer, stored securely, and treated in confidence.

Whilst we are working together your name and contact number will also be held by a local colleague, who is also a counsellor, and is the person who would get in touch with you to inform you in the event of my sudden incapacity or death. Her records are stored securely and will be securely destroyed once our work together is ended.

You have the right to view my and my colleague’s records at any time and to request correction or erasure, although there is a small amount of detail I will still need to keep for tax and legal purposes.

My records will be retained for seven years after we end our work together and all of your data will be securely destroyed after that time.

If we decide to work together I will ask you to sign a contract with me which will include your consent to the above.