I am committed to protecting and respecting your privacy; 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 UK data protection legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR), tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018. I have outlined what personal information I may gather and why; how I store this information; the limits of processing and sharing your information and your data protection rights.

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Personal Information

• Your name, date of birth, gender – to identify you

• Your email, address and mobile number – for counselling communications only

• GP contact details – will be used only if I think there is a risk of serious harm to you or others, with your consent whenever possible, as part of my duty of care

• Emergency contact - for medical emergencies

• Client Assessment - personal information you disclose to me during our first session such as medications, previous counselling experience, mental health diagnoses to provide a basis for our counselling work

• BACS details which are received and held in my bank account

 

Storage of Personal Information

• Paper records of Client Assessments and Session Notes will be anonymised and stored in a locked drawer. Client Contracts will be stored separately in a locked drawer

• Electronic data on my pc and phone will be password protected and only accessible by me. I will retain Assessment and Session Notes for 5 years after our last session and I will retain SMS and email data one month after our last session.

 

Processing / Sharing of Personal Information

• I will not sell or use your personal information for unethical reasons. As part of professional practice, I have regular Supervision for anonymous case discussion to ensure I’m working safely. In exceptional circumstances I may need to share your personal information without your explicit consent, examples include:

  • If I think or feel that you or others may be at risk of serious harm, I may have to break confidentiality and contact your GP or the emergency services. I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this. 

  • If I become seriously ill, incapacitated or die my Therapeutic Executor, a fellow counsellor whom I have nominated, may need to contact you to inform you and advise you of your options

  • My legal requirement to disclose any information relating to acts of terrorism, drug trafficking or abuse of a vulnerable person

 

My Website

When someone visits my website, I use Google Analytics, a third party service, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. This information is processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website. You can read Google Analytics privacy policy here https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US

Like most websites you visit I use cookies to help the site work more efficiently – find out more about cookies on allaboutcookies.org

 

Your Data Protection Rights

You have the right to:

• receive a copy of the information held about you

• request your information be changed or updated

• request that your information be deleted if you believe it is being kept for longer than necessary; I can decline this request whilst the information is needed for me to practice lawfully and competently

 

If you have a complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me via email, info@deborahcolmancounselling.com. I would welcome any suggestions for improving my data protection procedures. If you want to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information you can contact the ICO which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information go to ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.