Information I keep about you (and your child if relevant) as a psychotherapy client; why and how I keep it
• Your name, email address, contact telephone number
o so we can easily communicate for the duration of our therapeutic work.
o This information is provided by you on your client agreement, which is stored in a locked drawer. Your phone number will also be stored anonymously on my phone which only I have access to and is passcode protected. Your email address is stored in my protonmail email account. Protonmail is a secure email provider
• Emergency contact name and phone number. I will use this if I have serious concerns about your well being, or if there is an emergency during a session so I can let someone know if you need assistance or have been taken to hospital. I may also use this if I am having trouble contacting you using the information you have provided unless you ask me not to. You provide this on your client agreement. I will also keep the person’s phone number anonymised on my passcode protected phone. An emergency contact is not needed when working with children under age 18 as you, the parent or carer, will be considered to be the emergency contact.
• Anonymised session attendance records are kept in a password protected document on computer which is also password protected.
• Digitally photographed therapeutic images as and when relevant to the therapeutic work and always in agreement with the client. It can help facilitate the therapeutic work to be able to refer back to images over time. When appropriate and agreed, these are kept anonymously on a password protected computer.
How long I keep this information
• The client and or parent/carer agreement/s will be shredded and all information about you kept on computer, phone and email account will be permanently deleted 90 days following your final session, unless you request otherwise and there is good reason to change this.
Confidentiality
• In addition to GDPR, the therapeutic work is confidential. I will not share your name, email, phone number, emergency contact, attendance record, notes or session material with anyone unless I have specific concerns about your safety or the safety of someone else in relation to you. I will always try to let you know why I need to share any information, before I share it with anyone else.
• I share therapeutic images and session material with my clinical supervisor, which is a necessary part of therapeutic work. Clinical supervision is a facilitative tool for the therapist to improve therapeutic skills and develop awareness for the purpose of benefitting the work with all clients. I do not use real names when discussing work with my supervisor. My clinical supervisor also adheres to GDPR and confidentiality rules.
Additional Information
• I will use your personal information ONLY for the purposes of our therapeutic work.
• I will inform you as soon as possible if there is ever a breach in the protection of your information.
• You have a right to request to see information held about you.
• This statement and policies described are reviewed regularly and may change.