Privacy policy
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
On 25th May 2018 the European General Data Protection Regulation came into effect. This means you should be clear how your information will be recorded and processed in the context of counselling services you receive.
Secure Storage
I make every effort to keep all information confidential. Your personal information is stored securely and confidentially. Session notes are kept securely in a locked filing cabinet and your personal details are encoded to disguise your name.
Records of sessions will be kept securely for up to six years after your last session and then will be destroyed.
In the case of clients under the age of 18, records are kept for 5 years after the child turns 18.
In the case of counselling records, insurance companies and ethical bodies ask for records to be available for the period of time as outlined above.
Sharing information
Data/information held about you will not be passed on to anyone without your explicit consent or in cases where:
There is a specific requirement for me to do so
There is an ethical duty for me to do so, e.g. to avoid serious harm to yourself or another person, including the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults.
Your personal contact details will be shared in exceptional circumstances with my supervisor or other named agent in the event I am incapacitated so that they can contact you to explain the situation.
Legal exceptions
The information disclosed during the course of counselling is confidential. However, there are legal exceptions. For example, if you reveal a threat of harm, or there is a threat of harm to self or to others, if you reveal knowledge of terrorist activity or if a court order is received and a legal obligation arises.
Right to Access
You have the right to ask for a copy of your personal information, free of charge, in an electronic or paper format at any time. You also have the right to ask me to amend or change any incorrect information about you.
Right to be Forgotten
You have the right to ask me to erase any information that I hold about you. This includes your personal information that is no longer relevant to original purposes, or if you wish to withdraw consent.
In all cases and when considering such requests, these rights are obligatory unless it’s information that I have a legal obligation to retain.
Data Portability
As the client, you have the right to receive your personal information which you previously
provided, and also have the right to transfer that information to another party. For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, the data “controller” is Debra Pulford – Counsellor.