Your personal data - what is it?

Personal data relates to a living person who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”).

What sort of personal data do I collect?

• I electronically record your contact details: your name, telephone number, email address, date of birth, postal address, and the details of the GP you are registered with on my file.
• I electronically record date and time of your sessions, as pseudonymised (coded) calendar items.
• I retain any emails and text messages relating to session bookings and cancellations.

Why do I collect personal data?

I collect personal data to retain the information needed in order to contact you in relation to your bookings and cancellations, and also for safeguarding practices, outlined under British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Code Of Ethics.

I record session attendance to track the progress of counselling and for accounting purposes.

Do I collect sensitive personal data?

I do not record on your file any of your sensitive personal data. By GDPR definition, sensitive personal data would include genetic or biometric data, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union activities, health, sexual orientation, or details of criminal offences.

How do I obtain personal data?

I obtain personal data directly from you. It is important that this data is accurate, so please inform me in case of any changes.

How I use your information:

I process personal data relating to those I provide counselling and therapy services to. This is so that I am able to provide the services to you that you have requested of me.

This personal data includes identifiers such as names, addresses, personal and family history, medical history (inclusive of any psychiatric diagnosis and or treatment), ethnicity and other personal information where this information has been shared with me including IP addresses.

Collecting and using your information in this way is lawful because:

• The processing is necessary for the performance of my services to you.
• The processing is necessary for the performance of legal and professional obligations to which I am subject.
• The processing is necessary if it were to protect the life of you or someone else.

I will not share information about you with third parties without your consent unless the law allows me to.

I may be required, by law, to pass on some of the personal data that I collect under statutes (or other legislative provisions) enacted from time to time, if I have a court order requiring me to disclose personal data, for professional obligations to enable me to perform my services to you (such as obtaining supervision from practitioners who are subject to the same privacy rules as I am) per my professional obligations or if it is necessary to protect you or someone else’s life.

How long do I keep your personal information and how do I store it:

I only keep your information for as long as I need it or for as long as I am required by law to keep it. I keep details of your name, address, date of birth, contact telephone numbers, contact email addresses, and GP details on my computer which is password protected in files that are also password protected, and on my mobile telephone which is both password and fingerprint-protected.

If we have corresponded by email, I will keep copies of the emails on my email account but delete any with attached files that you have sent me, and I save those emails with the attached files password-protected on my computer. I can access information held on my computer via cloud services, such access is password-protected and restricted to me alone.

Your rights:

You have the right to:

• ask for access to your personal information;
• ask for rectification of the information I hold about you;
• ask for the erasure of information about you;
• ask for my processing of your personal information to be restricted;
• ask to receive your data in a form allowing you to transit it to another data controller (portability); or object to my processing your information.

If you want to use your rights, for example, by requesting a copy of the information that I hold about you, please contact me by email at contact@suzanneburrage.co.uk.

If you are not happy with the outcome, you may raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, whose details are as follows:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number.