Your privacy is very important to me and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me for. I am registered with the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) and adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

If you decide to start counselling with me, I will provided you with a written privacy statement showing how I collect, hold and store information. This statement describes how all personal data is processed and protected (paper and electronic), and all other ways in which your privacy is protected. Data will only be given to third parties with your consent or when I am legally obliged to do so. Data will never be sold to third parties. The privacy statement also shows how long your data will be held and for what reason. It explains that you have the right to request a copy of your data. You also have the right to ask for personal data to be erased, unless there is a legal obligation for it to be retained. The privacy statement is part of the contract, that needs to be signed to show you have read and understood it before counselling starts.

The contract I provide also explains: 

• Confidentiality regarding the counsellor’s need for supervision.
• How client anonymity is protected.
• The limits of confidentiality should a serious risk of harm arise to either the client or another person during the course of therapy.

If after the 15-minute consultation you decide not to have counselling with me, I will delete all your personal data within 48 hours. 

When you visit my website, I use a third party service to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns so I can continually improve the service I provide. This information is processed in a way that does not identify anyone. More on my use of cookies, is included in my privacy statement. No user-specific data is collected by me or any third party. If you fill in a form on my website, that data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent to me.

If you have questions about your privacy, please ask.