PRIVACY POLICY

The privacy and security of your personal information is extremely important to me and I want to assure you that your personal data is in safe hands with Pathway Counselling. To ensure you feel comfortable, please read through this privacy policy.

Introduction

Any personal data provided by you to Pathway Counselling through any means will be held and processed in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

As the data controller of Pathway Counselling I am committed to protecting your privacy.

This policy only applies to data collected by the counsellor at Pathway Counselling via verbal communication, written, in electronic form, or by your use of the website.

When you engage in counselling with Pathway Counselling, you will be asked to consent to the processing of your data under the terms of this policy.

What information is collected?

Counselling requests – registering with me to request access to the counselling service can be done online, on paper or in person. The request process involves providing your name, telephone number (and an emergency telephone number), email address and GP information as required. You may also be asked about your availability, therapeutic issues, and other details which are deemed relevant to processing your request.
Introductory appointments – at an initial appointment I may ask about your current personal, social, medical and financial circumstances. You may be asked about your background and any issues which are affecting you now. This information is required to help decide if I can provide you the best counselling service and to ensure the best service is provided for you.
Website – I use Google Analytics to collect anonymous data relating to user behaviour and ‘web traffic’ statistics. The collection and use of this data by Google Inc. is subject to their own Privacy Policies.
Note taking - Brief notes are recorded after each session as a reminder for the following session. These are anonymised and stored securely in a locked filing cabinet. They are kept for 5 years following completion of counselling and then destroyed (in accordance with insurance policy)

Pathway Counselling uses the information held about you in the following ways:

• To provide you with the professional counselling service requested from Pathway Counselling.

• To notify you about changes to your appointments and other changes to the service.

• To seek feedback from you on your experience of counselling.

• To improve the service ensuring that it is provided in the most effective manner for you and for Pathway Counselling

• To administer the service, including the arrangement of counselling appointments, the handling of payments and financial control, data analysis, research, statistical and survey purposes

• To fulfil my administrative, legal and contractual obligations as counsellor.

What information do I share?

I will not share any information about you with other organisations or people, except in the following situations:

• Consent – If you have requested that I arrange contact on your behalf, I may share your information with other professional carers or other organisations.

• Serious harm – I may share your information with the relevant authorities if I have reason to believe that you or another person are in immediate danger.

• Compliance with law – I may share your information where I am required to by law or by the regulations and other rules to which I am subject.

How do I keep your information safe?

All information you provide is stored as securely as possible. All paper forms and correspondence are kept in locked filing cabinets. All electronic records are stored securely on a cloud server using the latest firewalls and data security protocols, and all access is by password-protected authentication.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure. Although I will do my best to protect your information, I cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to me via email. Any transmission is at your own risk. Once I have received your information, I will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Your identifiable personal information is kept separately from any session notes. Client notes and other documentation are destroyed 5 years after the completion of counselling.

Your rights

You have the right to ask me to provide a copy of the information held by me in my records. You also have the right to require me to correct any inaccuracies in your information. If you would like to do this, please email me at pathwaycounselling@protonmail.com

You may withdraw your consent for me to hold and process your data at any time. However, if you do this while actively receiving counselling at Pathway Counselling, your counselling would have to come to an end. You can withdraw your consent by emailing me at pathwaycounselling@protonmail.com

Cookies are not used to collect any personal information on the website, or to share your browsing behaviour with any third party except:

Google Analytics - Like hundreds of thousands of websites you visit, I use Google Analytics to collect generic, anonymous data from all visitors to monitor how the website is used. This data is shared with Google in return for the service they provide.

Cookie Notice – The law requires that you receive a notification about my use of cookies, and so a set of cookies is specifically used to collect the information that you have seen this notice and agreed to it.

Any questions?

If you have questions about this policy, please call me on 07391 838401 or email me at pathwaycounselling@protonmail.com

This policy was last updated on the 05/01/2022.

Policies: Welcome