Privacy Policy

Use of this Website

Please note that these Terms may be amended from time to time. Notification of any changes will be made by posting new terms onto the Website. In continuing to use the Website you confirm that you accept the then current terms and conditions in full at the time you use the Website.

What happens if I send you my details through the website?

If you choose to contact me through the website, I may ask for some of your personal information. Any personal information you provide me with will be handled in accordance with my Privacy Notice.

Website Legal Disclaimer

Although I aim to offer you the best service possible, I make no promise that the services on this Website will meet your requirements, be available at all times or be error-free. If a fault occurs with this Website please report it to me and I will attempt to correct the fault as soon as I reasonably can.

Your access to this Website may be occasionally restricted to allow for repairs, maintenance or the introduction of new facilities or services. I will attempt to restore the service as soon as I reasonably can.

This Website may provide content from other internet websites or resources and while I try to ensure that material included on this Website is correct, reputable and of high quality, I do not make any warranties or guarantees in relation to that content. If I am informed of any inaccuracies in the material on the Website, I will attempt to correct the inaccuracies as soon as I reasonably can.

Commentary and other materials posted on this Website are not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed.  I shall not be liable for any losses that may be incurred by you or any visitor to this Website or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents as a result of any reliance placed on such materials.

Third Party Websites

As a convenience to you, this Website may include links to other websites or material. I am not responsible for content on any site outside of this Website so if you do follow a link to any of these sites, you acknowledge you do so at your own risk and I will not be liable or otherwise be responsible in any way in relation to this. 

Data Privacy Statement

At Oakleaf Counselling I take the privacy of your information very seriously and this Privacy Notice is designed to tell you about my practices regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal data which may be obtained via this website or other means including online forms, email, or phone.

I do not process personal data on a large scale, but I will hold and process personal data in order to supply my services and this privacy notice explains how I do this.

I am registered under the Data Protection Act 2018 as a data controller under number ZA785599. 

What data do you collect and how do you use it?

I will hold contact information for you when you register with me, such as your name, email address and telephone number. These details are collected so that I can make contact with you outside of our sessions and also if I need to break confidentiality, as set out in the counselling contract we agree to work within.

You can withdraw my authority to process your personal data (or request that I restrict my processing) at any time but there are circumstances in which I may need to continue to process personal data. This might also negatively impact upon the service I am able to offer. 

How long will you keep my data?

Your personal details are stored securely and separately from my brief session notes which are also stored securely and anonymously. I will hold information for 7 years from the date of their 18th birthday for children and young people, for adults this will be 7 years. This will be from the date you contact me or from the date our sessions end, whichever is later.  After this time, all notes and data I hold for you will be destroyed.

I review the personal data I hold on a regular basis to ensure the data I am holding is still relevant to my business and is accurate. If I discover that certain data I am holding about you is no longer necessary or accurate, I will take reasonable steps to correct or securely delete it. 

Sharing your information

I will not share your data with any third parties. The only exception to this is written in our counselling contract with regards to the limits to confidentiality I am bound to as a counsellor.

How secure is my data?

I take security of your data very seriously and will take all reasonable steps to ensure the safeguarding of the information I collect from you and protect against unlawful access and accidental loss or damage by:

  • Storing your phone number securely and anonymously on the mobile phone I use solely for work
  • Storing your email address securely in the Oakleaf Counselling email account
  • Storing my session notes anonymously and separate from your personal details

What are my rights with my personal data?

You have the right to:

  • request that your personal data will not be processed;
  • ask for a copy of any personal data that I have about you;
  • request the correction of any errors in or update of the personal data that I have about you;
  • request that your personal data will not be used to contact you for direct marketing purposes;
  • request that your personal data will not be used for profiling purposes;
  • request that your personal data will not be used to contact you at all;
  • request that your personal data be transferred or exported to another organisation, or deleted from our records; or
  • at any time, withdraw any permission you have given me to process your personal data.

You can write to me using the email address below to notify me of a request or notifications in respect of these rights.

I aim to complete any requests as soon as possible but will comply within one month of receiving your email. 

Notification of changes

I will post details of any changes to this privacy notice on my website.

Contact Me

If at any time you would like to contact me with your views about my privacy practices, or with any enquiry or complaint relating to your personal information or how it is handled, you can contact me at helen@oakleafcounselling.org.uk

 

For further information, you can contact the ICO by visiting http://www.ico.org.uk/