Private Policy

 

This policy applies to Deborah Pleasants (data controller) and is relevant to her counselling and supervision services. This policy applies to her practice, website and services; online and in person.

 

Information I collect and how I use it

 

In order to offer my counselling service in accordance with legal and ethical obligations I may need to gather and store the following:

 

• Name, address, DOB, contact number and email address

• GP details

• Reason for seeking counselling

• Counselling history

• Medical information and lifestyle information relevant to counselling

• Medications relevant to counselling

• Personal details; occupation, relationships, dependents, emergency contact number, relevant religious or cultural information.

• Clinical notes of our sessions; which include dates, times, payment information, summary of issues discussed.

• If relevant, I may need to complete Safeguarding incident reports, ethical decision-making forms or other forms related to our counselling work.

 

How I store your information

 

The above information, gathered through intake forms, contracts, as well as sessional notes is stored securely. This will be either through online platforms, on my personal password protected laptop or for paper documents in a locked cabinet in my house. I have risk assessed each of the digital platforms or tools I use listed below to understand how the data is handled and stored, any risks to confidentiality and how to mitigate those risks as far as possible:

 

• Your personal details and clinical notes are stored securely and confidentially. Clinical notes are saved under your first name and surname initial on password-protected devices, while personal details are kept in a locked cabinet. Only information relevant and necessary to our work together will be recorded.

• Contact details forms and our Counselling Agreement are processed through the online platform Jotform.

• For telephone calls and text messages, I have a separate work mobile phone, which is locked and password protected. If your number is stored, it will be with a first name and initial surname.

• Emails are stored in my Gmail account, documents and files are stored in Dropbox, calendar information is managed through iCloud Calendar (iCal), and Teams information is managed through Microsoft Teams. All account have password access and restricted to myself as the authorised user. 

• I use Wix to host my website. Any information collected to send an enquiry to my email is not retained on my website.

• Clients may find information about me on third party websites, such as the BACP directory. I do not control these sites - and I am not responsible for how they collect, store or use information.

• Your information is kept for a period of 5 years following the end of our work, as specified by my insurer. 

 

How I may share your personal information

 

• I attend monthly clinical supervision to maintain ethical and safe practice. I do not share identifiable information, but I may discuss client’s presenting details. My Supervisor is a counsellor and bound by professional confidentiality in the same way as myself.

• If your health is at serious risk I may share your details with a healthcare professional, such as a GP or mental health team. 

• I have a Therapeutic Will. In the event of my death or serious illness, my Therapeutic Executor (a qualified counsellor and supervisor who will observe confidentiality) may contact you if you are still in therapy. They may recommend alternative sources of support.

• Any recording of sessions would only be done by explicit consent - this is for either party. I do not use AI tools or platforms to transcribe or summarise our sessions.

• I may use AI tools to support my practice, but I will not enter any identifiable client information into AI or any other digital tools (apart from those listed above) without your written prior consent. I do not outsource my decision making to AI and remain responsible for critically evaluating any AI output and decisions based on its suggestions. 

 

Your rights

 

• To request a copy of the information I hold about you. This is facilitated by making a formal request. To do this please email me and information will be provided to you within 30 days.

• To have your records amended, corrected or supplemented (e.g. change of name and address).

• Erasure of Data. Under GDPR you can request your data be erased. However, there are exceptions to this. In the case of counselling records, insurance companies and ethical bodies ask for records to be available for the period as outlined above.

 

In the event of a complaint regarding data please email me and hopefully we can resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection: www.ico.org.uk