PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated October 2022

Your privacy is 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. By accessing or using any of my services, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy.

The GDPR ensures that sensitive personal information that you disclose to me is stored 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 & Psychotherapy) and necessary for a contract with a health professional.

‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/ organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me. I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

How I use your information:

Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if there is an imminent safeguarding concern, if I am compelled by a court of law, or if you have told me you are ok for me to share information. I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.

 I will keep a record of your personal details to help the therapy run smoothly. These details are kept securely and are not shared with any third party. These personal details will be provided by you, and I ask for your name, pronoun, address, email, telephone number, date of birth, GP and an emergency contact. I may also keep written notes from our sessions which are again kept securely and not shared with any third party. These details will be kept in a password protected computer.

After therapy has ended:

In accordance with BACP protocol on storing files, this information will be kept for 6 years after you finish therapy.  After that time, the information will be destroyed. I operate an Access to Records Policy, which means that you can request to see your file.  The request will be processed within 28 days. 

Your rights:

I try to be as open as I can in giving people access to their personal information. 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 and let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form. You can 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 email jodi@jodimishcon.com

If you have a complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by email. I would welcome any suggestions for improving my data protection procedures.

 If you want to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information you can contact the ICO which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information go to ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

Data security

 I take the security of the data I hold about you seriously and as such I take steps such as a locked filing cabinet and/or password protection.

Visitors to the website

When someone visits my website, I use a third party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website. I use legitimate interests as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information in this way when you visit my website.

I use Squarespace.com as the content management system and host for the website. Like most websites we use cookies to help the site work more efficiently. You have the right to opt out of these cookies using the website cookies banner. 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.

Privacy Policy Updates

 I reserve the right to update this privacy policy, so please review this page from time-to-time. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately on posting on the website. If I deem any changes to be material, I will of course let you know.

By accessing or using any of my services, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy.