Exceptions to confidentiality

In exceptional circumstances confidentiality may be broken. The circumstances could include:

• Where you as a client give consent for the confidence to be broken.

• Situations 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 someone else. In these circumstances I will always try and discuss any action with you first.

• In extreme cases I am legally compelled by a court of law.

• There may be exceptional situations 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 will where possible, always seek your consent before any disclosure.

Remote counselling

For remote counselling such as video or telephone calls, I will be in a room on my own and therefore our conversation cannot overheard or my screen seen by anyone else. I recommend you do the same for your own privacy and I do not record the sessions.

Supervision

As part of the BACP ethical framework I have regular supervision and this is to ensure talk regularly to another experienced counsellor about my work to ensure ongoing best practice. This is a confidential conversation and if I discuss your sessions with my supervisor, then I will not use your name or otherwise knowingly identify you.

Your personal information/data 

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO number: ZB340774) and any information that I keep is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 18) and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation. See Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk

When we start working together, I will record your name and preferred contact details - telephone number and email address. This information is to enable me to contact you and arrange appointments. This will not be shared it with others without your consent unless I am legally or ethically required to do so, as in the confidentiality statement above. 

As we work together you might verbally share sensitive personal information and I do not record our sessions. However, I might make brief notes during our sessions together, these are kept separately from your contact details and are anonymised and do not identify you. 

Storing and deleting your information 

When counselling comes to an end, I will delete your contact details and any other personal data, which I have noted or is within in any documents given to me by you or third parties during our work together, will be stored securely in a locked filing cabinet and kept for a maximum of 7 years, then deleted. 

In the event of my death or serious illness, a colleague will have access to a list of my current clients and their contact details, so that they can be informed. 

Your consent and rights 

When we start working together, I will ask if you consent to me using your personal data as described in this statement. It is your right to see the data under GDPR I hold about you and to request that it be corrected (if you believe there are inaccuracies) or deleted. If you want to see your data or have any other questions about privacy or confidentiality, then please contact me and I will attempt to resolve your query as soon as possible. 

Website data 

My website host (Squarespace) uses various processes to monitor when and how the site is visited, and I also do this via Google analytics. I do not have access to any of your personal data within these systems, which only show me anonymised numerical information about the site’s usage.