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Your privacy is very important to me and I would like to reassure you that I adhere to all laws and procedures relating to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679, Data Protection Act 2018 or other applicable data privacy legislation. I will only use your personal data to provide you with the specific service or services you explicitly agree to. I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), my registration reference is A8928770.

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​This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended, including:

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• Why I am able to process your information and what purpose I am processing it for

• Whether you have to provide it to me

• How long I store it for

• Whether there are other recipients of your personal information

• Whether I intend to transfer it to another country,

• Whether I do automated decision-making or profiling, and

• Your data protection rights.

 

I am happy to chat through any questions you might have about this policy. ‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/ organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me.

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A. LAWFUL BASIS FOR HOLDING AND USING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

 

The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. I have explained these below:

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• If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.

• If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.

• The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between me and you).

 

B. HOW I USE YOUR INFORMATION

 

Initial contact

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When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services, I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include your name, email address, and a brief reason for why you are seeking counselling.

If you decide not to proceed, I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 30 days. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.

 

While you are accessing counselling

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Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if in the circumstances detailed in the Therapy Agreement under Confidentiality.

I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept electronically in a secure, password-protected system, and are not shared with any third party.

I will keep any session notes electronically in a secure, password-protected system.

For security reasons I do not retain text messages for more than 30 days. If there is relevant information contained in a text message I will transfer it to your secure, password protected electronic notes. Likewise, any email correspondence will be deleted after 30 days if it is not important. If necessary I will retain email or text correspondence for up to 7 years in line with my business insurance policy.

 

After counselling has ended

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Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for up to 7 years from the end of our contact with each other in line with my business insurance policy and are then deleted. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please tell me.

 

C. THIRD PARTY RECIPIENTS OF PERSONAL DATA

 

I sometimes share personal data with third parties, for example, where I have contracted with a supplier to carry out specific tasks. In such cases I have carefully selected which partners I work with. I take great care to ensure that I have a contract with the third party that states what they are allowed to do with the data I share with them. I ensure that they do not use your information in any way other than the task for which they have been contracted.

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D. YOUR RIGHTS

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I try to be as open as I can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters.

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If I do hold information about you I will:

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• give you a description of it and where it came from;

• tell you why I am holding its, tell you how long I will store your data and how I made this

  decision;

• tell you who it could be disclosed to;

• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

   

You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you.

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To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing addressing it to contact@zenanicholascounselling.co.uk.

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If you have any complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by writing or emailing to the contact details given above. I would welcome any suggestions for improving my data protection procedures.

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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.

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E. DATA SECURITY

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I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously and as such I take every effort to make sure it is kept secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure I have put in place suitable electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard the information I collect from you against unlawful access loss or damage.

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F. WEBSITE

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1. (a)  If you complete the contact form on my website, that data will be stored on the web host before being sent to me.

2. (b)  If you visit my website, I will hold "Cookie Information". A cookie is a small text file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive or mobile device. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. I use Cookie Information to analyse and improve my services or in order to customise the website according to your personal interests;

3. (c)  On my website, I use cookies to track users' progress, allowing me to make improvements based on usage data. A cookie helps you get the best out of the website and helps me to provide you with a more customised service.

4. (d)  Once you close your browser, my access to the cookie terminates. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. To change your browser settings, you should go to your advanced preferences.

5. (e)  I am required to obtain your consent to use cookies. I will obtain this consent with a toolbar which appears when you first visit our website.

6. (f)  If you choose not to accept the cookies, this will not affect your access to the majority of information available on our website. However, certain online services may not be available.

7. (g)  An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a number assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), so you can access the Internet. I may use your IP address to diagnose problems with our server, report aggregate information, and determine the fastest route for your computer to use in connecting to our website, and to administer and improve the website.