Privacy notice

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. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have about my data protection policy and you can contact me via email at hello@lizlewiscounselling.com.  ‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me. I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and my registration number is ZB230850.

My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information

The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information. If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract. The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between me and you, which is referred to as a statement of understanding).

How I use your information

When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include your name, phone number and/or email address. Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral or a parent or trusted individual may give me your details when making an enquiry on your behalf. If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted immediately.

While you are accessing counselling

Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. However there are certain circumstances when information may need to be passed on to someone else. These include safeguarding concerns (if you or someone else is at immediate risk of harm) and legal requirements (eg regarding disclosures of terrorist activity). I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this. I will keep a record of your personal details to contact you regarding appointments and to assist in the counselling process. All paper forms and correspondence are kept in locked filing cabinets. All electronic records are stored securely on a password-protected computer. Your identifiable personal information is kept separately from any session notes and other descriptive material. Client details and any other documentation are destroyed 6 years after the end of counselling in line with potential professional indemnity claims.

Your rights

You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You may withdraw your consent for me to hold and process your data at any time. If you do this while currently receiving counselling this would bring our counselling relationship to an end. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters.

You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you. To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing addressing it to hello@lizlewiscounselling.com. If you have any complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by writing or emailing to the contact details given above. If you want to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information you can contact the ICO which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information go to ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

Visitors to my website

When someone visits my website, I use Google Analytics to collect anonymous standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow any company to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website. Cookies are used to enable core functionality such as security and accessibility, and to gather the anonymous information used by Google Analytics.

Any questions?

If you have questions, please get in touch.