Chris Jones Therapy Privacy Policy
I understand how important your privacy is. I take care to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws (GDPR, 2018) and the ethical guidelines of the BACP. These guidelines have been set up to protect your confidential material and ensure that your therapist always conducts themselves with professionalism and integrity.
In order to provide you with the best service possible, I will hold your personal contact details and records of your therapy sessions. Please find below important information about how this information will be held and used.
Your personal information
All personal information (be it initial assessment forms/contracts or further information provided throughout our work together) will be stored securely on a password protected (and 2FA protected) cloud service.
At the point of booking your initial consultation with me you will be asked for your personal contact information, for example your name, address, email address and telephone number and you may also choose to share details of the issues you are looking for help with. In order to be able to fulfil my duty of care to you, I will also ask you for contact information for your GP and elected Emergency Contact person.
This personal information will be held for the duration of your therapy after which it will be deleted. Please note that I will need to keep a record of your name and client reference number for seven years after the end of your therapy, so that we can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your clinical notes and treatment.
I will never pass on your contact details to any third party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research and will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the therapeutic service I am providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments and collect payment for sessions.
Your payment details
All payments are made via payment processor (Stripe) or via bank transfer, therefore myself or my website do not hold your payment information.
Your therapy or coaching sessions
I will ensure that I am conducting online sessions in a quiet, private and confidential setting. I have selected video calling platforms that offer end to end encryption to ensure maximum privacy.
Our work together is likely to involve the use and/or completion of various worksheets or clinical resources. If these are sent to me (via email for example), they will be stored securely on the password protected (and 2FA protected) cloud service.
Your communications with me
My email account is password and 2FA protected and only I have access to it. All devices used to access or respond to your emails are likewise encrypted and password protected.
Data Usage
I will only use your email address and/or telephone number to contact you about your appointments or to contact you in order to share information with you that is pertinent to your therapeutic process.
Your phone number may also be used to issue appointment reminders via text message.
Your rights
Any personal data retained by me is kept in accordance with the GDPR, 2018.
Under these guidelines you have the following rights
- The right to request access to your data
You can request to view the information that I hold about you (contact details, appointment logs etc.) at any time. If during therapy you would like to see your session notes, please let me know. Should you require a copy of your notes after your therapy has come to an end you can make this request by emailing info@chrisjonestherapy.co.uk
- The right of rectification
At any point during your time using my service or during the seven years thereafter, while we retain your records, you have the right to request amendments to your contact details or session notes. This right can be exercised by contacting me via email at info@chrisjonestherapy.co.uk
- The right to be forgotten
You can request that I delete and confidentially destroy the information that I hold about you and your sessions at any time. This request can be made by contacting me at info@chrisjonestherapy.co.uk
Instances where I would not be able to comply with your request are as follows:
- It is necessary for me to retain these records in order to continue providing an effective service
- I am compelled to retain these records by a court of Law
- I require these records in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims
Consent
Prior to your first therapeutic session with me, you will be asked to sign and return by therapeutic contract and privacy policy which confirms that you consent to the storage and processing of your personal data for the purposes of providing therapeutic services.
You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time and can do so by emailing me at info@chrisjonestherapy.co.uk
Breaches of data protection
In the event of any breach of my data protection policies, I will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours and will seek to rectify this immediately.
Raising concerns
Should you have any concerns about my data protection practices, you can raise these directly with me. You can also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office. I am registered with ICO under the reference number ZB607936.