Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice sets out how Noon Counselling & Psychotherapy collects, uses, and protects any information you provide to me, ‘Thomas Noon’ when you use my services of engaging with Counselling/Psychotherapy sessions. In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), I am using ‘contract’ as my lawful basis for processing and storing your information. Noon Counselling & Psychotherapy is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. By engaging with my services, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.
I, Thomas Noon, am both the Data Controller and Data Processor for your information. This means that no one else will have access to view the information held about you.
Information I collect and why:
Your name and contact details
I collect this information to respond to your enquiry. If you decide not to proceed with counselling sessions, your information will be deleted within six months. The purpose of this is in case you re-contact me within this time so I have a record of our conversations. During this period, your details will not be shared with any individual, organisation, or third party. Your information will be stored in my email and telephone directories, both of which are password-protected.
Personal Details
If you decide to proceed with my Counselling/ Psychotherapy services, I will collect further personal details such as name, address, age, any medication, and GP contact details. This information will remain confidential and will not be shared with anyone, person or company, with the exception of my supervisor. In supervision, your full name and address will not be disclosed, and you will not be identifiable. This allows me to maintain best practice in clinical work, as some personal details – such as medication – may be relevant to your care.
In accordance with our contract, information may also be shared without your consent only if required to protect vital interests – for example, if you were at risk of harm to yourself or others. All personal information is stored in a locked filing cabinet accessible only by me.
Notes on our sessions
I keep brief therapeutic notes of our sessions which can only be accessed by me, Tom Noon. You may request access to these notes at any time. These notes will not be shared with any other individual or organisation unless required by law that supersedes this policy. I retain these notes for seven years after the completion of therapy, in accordance with UKCP ethical guidelines and insurance purposes. After this period, the notes will be securely destroyed or deleted. All notes are stored either on my password protected personal computer or in a locked filing cabinet.
Confidentiality
Everything discussed within our counselling sessions is treated as confidential. However, there are circumstances where confidentiality may need to be breached, including:
- If there is a serious risk of harm to yourself or another person/s.
- If there are safeguarding concerns relating to a child or vulnerable adult.
- If a disclosure is required by law or court order.
- If required by a professional regulatory or ethical obligation.
Where appropriate and possible, I will seek to discuss any disclosure with you beforehand.
Online Counselling
Where counselling sessions are conducted online, I use Zoom Healthcare. This supports end to end encryption to protect confidentiality. While reasonable steps are taken to ensure confidentiality and security, no online communication system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Clients are encouraged to use a private and secure environment when attending online sessions using a trusted internet source.
Website contact form
If you submit an enquiry through my website contact form, the information you provide will solely be used to respond to your enquiry and assess whether counselling services may be appropriate. Please avoid including highly sensitive information in an initial enquiry where possible to further protect your data.
Cookies and Website Data
My website is hosted by SquareSpace and they collect and use cookies as most websites do. The website hosting provider and other third-party services used by the website may place essential cookies or collect technical information necessary for the operation, security and performance of the website. I use this data to see how many people are visiting my website and from which country.
Square Space’s privacy policy can be found on their website or by following the below link.
You have the right to access any data and information I hold about you and to request that any inaccuracies are corrected.
Use of your contact details
I will never share your email address or contact details with anyone. They will only be used for the purpose of conducting my professional practice, namely Noon Counselling & Psychotherapy.
Email Communication
Email communication is hosted by Outlook. For your privacy, I recommend keeping information shared via email to a minimum. Email should be used primarily for arranging appointments rather than sharing sensitive or personal information.
Under GDPR you have certain rights, more information can be found here: https://www.ico.org.uk/for-organisation/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/
1) The right to be informed about information held and why.
2) The right of access to see what data is held on you.
3) The right to rectification if you feel data is inaccurate.
4) The right to erasure – some data may be kept for insurance purposes.
5) The right to restrict processing – you have control over who does what with your data
6) The right to data portability – you can request that information is given to others
7) The right to object – you can object to data being held about you.
8) Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling – you should be informed and decide if you want to have marketing directed to you from the choices you make.
Complaints
If you have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact me in the first instance by email. This is noon.psychotherapy@outlook.com
You also have the right to a lodge a complaint with the information Commissioners Office (ICO). Telephone 03031231113 or www.ico.org.uk .
Noon Counselling & Psychotherapy is committed to safeguarding your privacy and adheres to data protection. I take my obligations of GDPR seriously and therefore aim to regularly review, and where necessary update policies in line with changes in current GDPR guidance and regulatory requirements.