Name: Christine Martin, Psychotherapist in Advanced Clinical training

Address: www.christinemartindevon.co.uk

Phone Number: 07512 899 833

E-mail: chris77775@protonmail.com

Workplace address 4 Barnfield Crescent Exeter EX1 1QT

I am registered with the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO). Your data will not be sold on.

When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling/therapy service I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include information such as name, contact details, availability. If you decide not to proceed, I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within one month. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.

I use legitimate interests as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information in this when you visit my website. 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 to me. Please be aware that it is not possible to guarantee the safety of information sent over the internet. My website uses cookies.

I will make a note of your name, date of birth, address, your email address, pertinent medical conditions, including physical and mental health details, GP and contact details, and whom I should contact in the event of an emergency. I will process sensitive classes of information. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (counselling or therapy) and necessary for a contract with a health professional. I will make brief written notes after each session and a record of any correspondence (email, telephone or other). If you have consented to the recording of sessions by me, these will be erased within two years of recording.

Your information will be retained for as long as I am working with you and for a period of six years after we end our work together. Your information/details will then be securely disposed of by shredding, deletion from mobile or computer. Emails will be deleted within a few days of my dealing with them. If you have consented to the recording of sessions by me, these will be erased within two years of recording. In the event of my being unwell and thus unable to have a session with you, I will either text or telephone you on the mobile number you have given me, please let me know if for some reason this mobile number is not appropriate. Your contact details and notes will be kept separately, the notes anonymously.

Confidentiality is central to Counselling and Psychotherapy. I will not disclose information about you, either verbally or in writing, unless I have your permission to do so. There may be occasions when I am unable to gain consent. I do not disclose information unless there are issues related to risk in some way. I do not write reports summarising our work together.

Where there are issues of risk to yourself or to others, in this eventuality I will seek to gain your permission (written or verbal) to disclose this information to services such as your GP. If I am unable to gain your permission, there may be exceptions when I will have a duty to disclose information to others. Exceptions occur when I

• believe that you or a third party is in danger of serious harm especially a vulnerable person, eg a Child.

• would be liable to civil or criminal court procedure if the information were not disclosed. Examples include but are not limited to terrorism, drug money laundering

I have regular supervision/learning for ethical and development purposes however your identity will not be given during this process.

Please note the limit of confidentiality relating to the balance of Public interest. Under this clause I may need to share your name and contact details with the NHS if I or another client contract the virus. If this were to be the case, then it would be necessary to break confidentiality for reasons of public interest in the area of public health.

I make every effort to keep all information secure. Your personal information is stored securely and confidentially in my home in a locked container.

In the event of my death or sudden illness that means I am unable to contact you, I have appointed a Therapeutic Executor who will take care of contacting you on my behalf. They are a qualified counsellor/therapist and adhere to the same ethical framework and confidentiality that I adhere to. They will only access your contact details in an emergency, and discuss with you appropriate onward arrangements.

Personal data is information about a living individual which is capable of identifying that individual. 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.

Processing is anything done with/to personal data, including storing it.

The data subject is the person about whom personal data are processed.

The data controller is the person or organisation who determines the how and what of data processing.

The GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 which governs the processing of personal data.

The GDPR states that I must have a legitimate basis for processing your data. If you have had counselling or 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 or therapy) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between me and you).

Most of the personal information I will process is provided to me directly by you.

If you would prefer I do not use your personal information in this way, please contact me by email chris77775@protonmail.com - or telephone on 07512 899 833. Please be aware that if you do not wish me to use your personal information in this way it is possible that I may not be able to continue to provide you with counselling/therapy.

If you wish to make a complaint about how your personal information has been used, please contact me in the following ways: by email chris77775@protonmail.com or telephone 07512 899 833.

Alternatively, you are entitled to raise a concern to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) without first referring your complaint to me. See https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.

The ICO’s address: Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113.

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk.

You have the right to ask for a copy of your personal information, free of charge, in an electronic or paper format. You also have the right to ask me to amend or change any incorrect information about you.

You have the right to ask me to erase any information that I hold about you. This includes your personal information that is no longer relevant to original purposes, or if you wish to withdraw consent. In all cases and when considering such requests, these rights are obligatory unless it is information that I have a legal obligation to retain.

As the client, you have the right to receive your personal information which you previously provided, and also have the right to transfer that information to another party. For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, the data “controller “is Christine Martin Counselling and Therapy service.

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for me to retain such data; If you do request this, I will delete/remove it in line with your request.
• The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time;
• The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
• The right to object to the processing of personal data, (where applicable);

If you would like to: Tell me that your contact details have changed; advise me that I have incorrect, out-of-date or inaccurate details for you, then you can contact me by telephone or email, as above. You can contact me to ask about information I may hold about you.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, I have one month to respond to you.

This Privacy Policy lets you know how your personal information is being collected, stored and shared and is in line with EU/UK General Data Protection Regulations

(22nd December 2020 reviewed October 2024)