WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE Emma Weston - MA, DIP COUNS, CERT SUPERVISION, MBACP

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is concerned with the personal information about you that I collect, store, and share. As a counsellor and supervisor, under the above regulation, I am obliged to inform you that as part of my contract with you as your counsellor or supervisor I will need to collect and process information as detailed below. The BACP's (my professional body) requirement is that I seek regular supervision to ensure that I am practising safely and ethically and to help me develop insights and interventions that will benefit my clients, supervisees and myself. Third parties cannot identify clients or supervisees from our sessions due to its anonymous nature and information that is stored digitally will be kept securely for my use. Clients and supervisees will have had this explained and accept that the collection and processing of information from counselling and supervision sessions is a necessary part of their contractual obligation with me. This forms the legal basis for collecting and processing data. Your privacy is important to me and I endeavour to be transparent about the data that I collect and how I use it. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION I WILL COLLECT

· Name

· Gender (or preferred identity)

· Age

· Date of Birth

· Relationships and Progeny

· Occupation

· Address

· Telephone/SMS number (plus permission to send SMS and leave voice message)

· Email address

· Counselling History

· Medical conditions relevant to counselling

· Prescribed medication

· Difficulties

· Session summary

HOW I WILL STORE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

STORAGE METHODS

· Paper: written notes, these will be kept in a locked cabinet. 

· Smartphone: I will store your contact information in my personal iPhone; this allows me to contact you in case of emergencies. This phone is password protected. 

· Email/SMS/WhatsApp: your email address and correspondence will be stored in my email account (currently Gmail) by nature of you contacting me. My computer is password protected. Your telephone number may be stored in my SMS or WhatsApp app should we exchange messages this way. Electronic correspondence will also be held by the corresponding app (Gmail, Phone's SMS, WhatsApp).

· Website: none of your personal information is stored on my website and I do not use cookies.

PAPER DOCUMENTS HELD AND STORED IN A LOCKED CABINET

· Contact Sheet.

· Contract/Agreement.

· Assessment Record.

· Brief Session Notes.

· GDPR Agreement.

· Client Code (linking documents.)

ELECTRONIC

· Contact name and telephone.

· Email/SMS/WhatsApp.

HOW I MAY PROCESS/SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN COUNSELLING SUPERVISION OR SUPERVISION OF SUPERVISION

I receive a monthly consultation called supervision with another therapist qualified in this process. The consultation process is for my practice and professional development, as well as to ensure that I am practising ethically and safely. In order to protect your privacy, my supervisor will not know you personally nor professionally. I will refer to you by your initials, and I may refer to your information verbally when it's helpful to my professional processes.

THERAPEUTIC WILL

Your name and contact details will be shared with my Therapeutic Executor in the event of my death. This is so that you will be contacted on the event of my death, should you still be in therapy or supervision with me. 

EMERGENCIES

If your health is in jeopardy I may share your contact information with an emergency healthcare service (e.g. Mental Health Crisis Team), in most cases I would endeavour to get your consent prior to this happening. If I have become aware of your intent to cause harm to another person/organisation (e.g. terrorism), the law may require that I inform an authority without seeking your permission. In such a situation, the law may require that I share your personal information without your knowledge such as if my notes are subpoenaed by a court of law.

ERASING YOUR INFORMATION

When we have finished working together, I will erase electronic copies of your information and correspondence within one month. I will hold onto your written information for up to seven years past the end of our working together. This is so that I have a reference of our work in situations such as you returning to counselling or supervision in the future. After this time has passed, I will shred the written information.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the following rights:

· To be informed what information I hold (i.e. this document).

· To see the information I hold about you (free of charge for the initial request).

· To rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

· To withdraw consent to me using your personal information.

· To request your personal information be erased (though I can decline whilst the information is needed for me to practice lawfully and competently).

DATA SECURITY

I maintain reasonable precautions to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. I store all paper records in a locked filing cabinet, to which only I have the key, and electronic records are stored and protected with a password.

A printed copy of this statement will be given to you when we first meet for counselling or supervision. If we agree to continue working together, we will both sign the printed copy of this statement to indicate our agreement.

I aim to transparently communicate my legal basis for holding, storing and sharing information. This includes explaining what I will hold, how I will hold it, with whom I will share it, for how long, and what will happen when data is no longer needed. If any of this needs further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.  As the Data Controller, I will deal with any issues or complaints and my contact details are at the top of my web page.