I understand how important your privacy is. I take care to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws (GDPR, 2018) and the ethical guidelines of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). These guidelines have been set up to protect your confidential material and ensure that I always conduct myself with professionalism and integrity.

In order to provide you with the best service possible, I will hold your personal contact details and brief notes of your counselling sessions. Please find below important information about how this information will be held and used.

Your personal information

Your personal information is stored on a password protected document on my private, password protected computer.

Only secure email accounts are used for sharing sensitive information (once consent has been gained).

Any details provided through initial contact (online form, email) are stored in my secure email account or phone.

In order to be able to fulfil my duty of care to you, before we begin sessions I will ask you for contact information for your GP and an elected Emergency Contact. These details will be stored securely on a password protected file and will only be accessible to me and by my professional executor in the case of my incapacity.

This personal information will be held for the duration of your counselling after which it will be deleted.

Please note that I will need to keep a record of your name and client reference number for seven years after the end of your counselling, so that I can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your session notes. 

I will never pass on your contact details to any third party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research and will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the counselling service I am providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments and collect payment for sessions.

Website visits and online form enquiries

My website uses Cookies and Squarespace analytics. When you first visit my website you will be asked to accept or decline Cookies. Almost all websites use Cookies which are small text files that get put on your computer by websites as you surf them. Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a website user, but personal information that I store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from Cookies. Sensitive personal information, such as mailing addresses, account passwords, etc. are not stored in the Cookies this website uses. These Cookies are essential to provide you with services available through my website and to enable you to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. These Cookies are used to track information about traffic to the website and how users use the website. The information gathered via these Cookies may directly or indirectly identify you as an individual visitor. This is because the information collected is typically linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with the device you use to access the website. If you prefer to avoid the use of Cookies on my website, first you must disable the use of Cookies in your browser and then delete the Cookies saved in your browser associated with this website. You may use this option for preventing the use of Cookies at any time. If you do not accept the Cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of my website and some features may not function properly. If you'd like to delete Cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse Cookies, please visit the help pages of your web browser.

Squarespace Analytics is a service that gathers anonymous data on how people are using websites and then provides visitor statistics, details of page views etc. This service is used by many website owners as the data helps website owners to improve their websites.

Should you choose to contact me using the contact form on the website, none of the data that you supply will be stored by the website or passed to any third party data processors. I receive the data you provide here to my secure email address.

Your payment details

Payments are made through bank transfer, the only information I receive through this method is the name associated with your bank account and the reference.

Your counselling sessions

All material discussed during our sessions is confidential, information will only be shared if I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or somebody else, or where I am bound by law to disclose information. I will always endeavour to speak to you about this first.

During online working I will ensure that I am conducting online and telephone sessions in a quiet, private and confidential setting. I have selected online platforms that offer end to end encryption to ensure maximum privacy. Please note however that I cannot be held responsible for any breaches that occur due to failures in this technology. Please click the following links to view the security policies of Google Meet and WhatsApp:

https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9852160?hl=en

https://faq.whatsapp.com

I keep brief notes of each session. These are anonymised and are stored securely either physically in a locked box or within a password protected file on my secure computer. These notes are for my use only and help to keep a track of everything that is being discussed. In line with recommended guidelines, these notes will be kept securely for up to seven years after your counselling comes to an end. After this time, they will be confidentially destroyed.

Your communication with me

We will agree a preferred method of communication between sessions. The phone and laptop used to respond to your emails, calls and texts are fully protected with anti-virus software and password protected.

Data usage

I will only use your email address and telephone number to contact you about your appointments. I may also contact you directly via email in order to share information with you that is pertinent to your therapeutic process.

Your rights

Any personal data retained by me is kept in accordance with the GDPR, 2018.

Under these guidelines you have the following rights

1. The right to request access to your data

You can request to view the information that I hold about you (contact details, session logs etc.) at any time. If during counselling you would like to see your session notes, please let me know. Should you require a copy of your notes after your counselling has come to an end you can make this request by emailing hello@rebeccalyndacounselling.co.uk or calling 07441398713.

1. The right of rectification

At any point during your time using my service or during the seven years thereafter, while I retain your records, you have the right to request amendments to your contact details or session notes. This right can be exercised either by speaking directly to me or by contacting me in writing.

1. The right to be forgotten

You can request that I delete and confidentially destroy the information that I hold about you and your sessions at any time. This request can be made by contacting me at hello@rebeccalyndacounselling.co.uk

Instances where I would not be able to comply with your request are as follows:

1. It is necessary for me to retain these records in order to continue providing an effective service

2. I am compelled to retain these records by a Court of Law

3. I require these records in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims

Consent

By filling out the online form or contacting me directly you consent to me processing and storing your personal data for the purpose of providing my counselling services. If you choose not to proceed with counselling I will delete all your personal data immediately.  

You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time and can do so by emailing me at hello@rebeccalyndacounselling.co.uk

Breaches of data protection

In the event of any breach of my data protection policies, I will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours and will seek to rectify this immediately.

Raising concerns

Should you have any concerns about my data protection practices, you can raise these directly with me. You can also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office. I am  registered with ICO under the reference number ZB664158.

Changes to privacy notice
This privacy notice may be updated from time to time, so please check occasionally for any updates.