Privacy Notice


I understand how important your privacy is. I take care to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws (Data Protection Act 2018 (UKGDPR) and the ethical guidelines of BCAP. These guidelines have been set up to protect your confidential material and ensure that your therapist always conducts themselves with professionalism and integrity.  In order to provide you with the best service possible, I will hold your personal contact details and records of your therapy sessions. Please find below important information about how this information will be held and used.


Your personal information

Your contact details and dates of our sessions together are kept electronically by me in my secure cloud-based Google Workspace account. If you send me an email via my website or via outlook, your emails and messages are also stored in this secure, encrypted and password protected practice management platform.


At the point of booking your initial consultation with me, you will be asked for your personal contact information, for example your name, address, email address and telephone number and you may also choose to share details of the issues you are looking for help with. This information is collected directly by me from you, or via my website enquiry form which uses a compliant third party processor Cognito Forms. 


Your contact information is stored securely in Google Workspace and can only be accessed by me.

In order to be able to fulfil my duty of care to you, in your initial consultation or first treatment session, I will ask you for contact information for your GP and elected Emergency Contact person. These details will be stored securely in Google Workspace and will only be accessible to me.


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 therapy, so that we can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your clinical notes and treatment.

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.


My website uses cookies. You can find the details of how Google Workspace uses cookies here https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies?hl=en-US 


Your payment details

Any payments made directly to me for therapy will be recorded with your contact information. If using BACS or Card, the bank and/or electronic card payment company may also hold your personal details along with any transactions made to me. Your information is inputted directly into the card payment portal and no written record will be taken by me.


Your therapy sessions

Everything that you discuss with me is confidential. Confidentiality will only be broken if there is concern about your safety or the safety of someone else or I am instructed to do so by a Court of Law. I will always endeavour to speak to you about this first.


During remote working I will ensure that I am conducting online and telephone sessions in a quiet, private and confidential setting. I have selected video calling 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.


I discuss my clinical work with a supervisor. This is to ensure that I am offering you the best service possible. These conversations are bound by confidentiality, and you will only be referred to by your first name.


I will also keep notes of each session. These are anonymised and are stored in password protected file within the secure Google Workspace system. These notes are for my use only and help to keep a track of everything that is being discussed. In line with industry guidelines, these notes will be kept securely for up to seven years after your therapy comes to an end. After this time, they will be confidentially destroyed.


If your sessions are paid for or arranged via a third party, (e.g., your employer, a friend, or a family member), other than payment requests, invoices or receipts your counselling information will not be shared. Details about what is discussed in your sessions will remain confidential between us. Any other information can only be shared if you provide your written consent.


Your communications with me

My email account uses the secure Google Workspace server and are double password protected If you send an email to my email address, only I will have access to it.

All phones, tablets and laptops used to respond to your emails are encrypted, 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 phone number may also be used to issue appointment reminders via text message.


Your rights

Any personal data retained by me is kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 (UKGDPR).


Under these guidelines you have the following rights

You can request to view the information that I hold about you (contact details, appointment logs etc.) at any time. If during therapy you would like to see session notes relating to you, please let me know. Should you require a copy of your notes after your therapy has come to an end you can make this request by emailing janice@matrixtherapy.co.uk or calling 07766 404 508.

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.

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.

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

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

b) I am compelled to retain these records by a Court of Law

c) I require these records in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims


Consent

At our first meeting I will ask for your written consent to hold your contact details in the manner and for the purposes listed above. You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time and can do so by emailing me janice@matrixtherapy.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 your me. You can also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office. I am registered with ICO under the reference number ZB618782.