I am a registered member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) as a trainee psychotherapist and work within their ethical framework. I hold professional indemnity insurance through Balens and I have an enhanced DBS certificate. I understand how important your privacy is and I take care to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws (GDPR, 2018) and the ethical guidelines of the BACP.
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): I am only processing personal data for the core business purpose. I therefore do not have to pay a fee to the ICO. However, my practice adheres to the principles of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and I follow their best practice to manage information.
Under GDPR you have rights as an individual which you can exercise in relation to the information I hold about you, so please read below to understand how I handle your data.
Data processing and storage
Information that you provided at assessment such as address, date of birth, next to kin, GP and medication is securely held in a lockable cabinet. While we work together I will store your phone number and email address on my smartphone under your first name and the phone is password protected. Only me can access this information. I will only contact you in response to you or concerning appointments, invoicing, or payments. I do not engage with clients through any social media. I do not share your information with anyone else, though in line with UK counselling regulations, I have regular supervision to support me in working with clients. These records are kept in line with insurance requirements for 7 years following the last occasion on which treatment was given.
Consent: as a therapist who occasionally uses creative interventions, I want to ensure you know that any art done in sessions is yours. I will keep this material safely and return it to you at the end of our work together or dispose of it if you prefer me to do so. I will never use any of your data/artwork for writing, publishing, research or training without prior consent.
I have regular ongoing supervision to support and ensure my practice is safe. When I share in supervision client material this is always done confidentially, protecting your identity.
Note keeping: I do not keep process notes but I keep a document with all sessions attended, main themes discussed, payments and when I received supervision for these sessions (in line with BACP regulation). I use client initials to identify who the clients are. This document is saved in the cloud, password protected, and information will be kept for 7 years after ending therapy after which I will dispose of it securely. You have a right to see this information, should you wish to do so. You have a right to change any information that you consider incorrect. You can also ask me to delete all/any of the information that I hold. There are however, some details that I need to keep due to legal and professional obligations.
Confidentiality: I am bound to a code of ethics and confidentiality, and am obliged therefore not to disclose any information to a third party (other than within professional supervision) without your consent. However, if in exceptional circumstances I were to become concerned that you may be in danger of harming either yourself or others, I am also bound by a legal duty of care to seek to prevent this. I would normally seek
your consent before undertaking any action.
In the event of a complaint: Please contact me directly. If we cannot solve the complaint, you can contact BACP- the governing body to which I belong https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-us/protecting-the-public/professional-conduct/
Therapy with Cristina