Privacy Policy

Data Protection and Privacy Policy 

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. 

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 name, telephone number, address, availability, the psychological issues that you would like to address, and symptoms. If you decide not to proceed, I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 30 days. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know. Once we have agreed that counselling with me is right for you, and your therapy commences, I will collect further information from you that may include: goals for therapy, G.P. contact details, previous therapy, current medication, network of support, financial and employment circumstances, health and physical issues, etc. I will treat your personal information in a way that is compliant with the DPA and the GDPR. The lawful and proper treatment of your personal information is important to me and rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if I believe there is a threat of serious physical harm to you or to others. I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this. 

How I will collect your personal information?  

I will collect your personal information in the following ways: via my website: www.annabelleggettcounselling.com, over the telephone, in writing, and in person during our meetings. 

How I will store your data 

I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely in a locked filling cabinet and password protected computer which is not shared with any third party. I will keep written notes of each session, which will be locked in a filing cabinet. Your contact details will be added to my mobile phone under your initials and an allocated ID number ie:AL009 . For security reasons I do not retain text messages or emails for more than 2 months after our contract has ended. If there is relevant information contained in a message, I will add this to your electronic file. 

How long I will keep your data 

According to the GDPR, your personal information should be stored for no longer than is necessary. In practical terms, I will usually store your information for a minimum of 7 years after our contract has ended. After 7 years your data will be destroyed securely by incineration. However, I may need to store your information for longer than this, for instance in order to defend myself in a claim situation, or to comply with my insurance terms and conditions.   

Who I will share your data with 

Some of your personal information may be shared with your G.P., or other healthcare professional, under certain exceptional circumstances. These include the requirements of a court of law, the threat of serious physical harm to you or to others, or during regular consultations with my professional supervisor. Some of your necessary personal information may be shared via my website enquiry, telephone call data, email exchange or payment information, and these providers operate under their own privacy policies: 

Website: www.squarespace.com/privacy 

Telephone: www.ee.co.uk/eeprivacycentre/ee-privacy-policy 

Email: www.privacy.microsoft.com/en-gb/privacystatement

Banking: www.barclays.co.uk/important-information/privacy-policy/ 

No user-specific data is collected by me or any third party.  

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 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. If I do hold information about you I will: give you a description of it and where it came from;  tell you why I am holding it, tell you how long I will store your data and how I made this decision; tell you who it could be disclosed to; let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form. I will respond within 30 days of your request. 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 annabelcounselling@outlook.com .  If you have any complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by emailing 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 Information Commissioners Office which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information go to ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. I am a registered member of the ICO.