we adhere to UK gdpr (general data protection regulation)

we follow the ethical framework of the bacp (British association for counselling & psychotherapy)

to provide the best possible service we need to store your personal contact details

your email and phone number will only be used for contact necessary to providing counselling services

any information we hold about you will only ever be used for the provision of counselling services for you

Brief notes from your initial assessment and counselling sessions will be kept on password protected files on a password protected computer

during your initial assessment we will ask for contact information for your gp

we will not routinely contact your gp, as your sessions are confidential

we hold your gp contact information in case an emergency or other situation arises during your sessions where contacting your gp becomes necessary

everything you say during your sessions will remain confidential with certain exceptions listed below

all counsellors receive supervision, where they discuss their work with another experienced counsellor to ensure they are working ethically and safely

if your sessions are discussed in supervision you will be completely anonymised

some of our counsellors are students in their final year of counselling training, and are required to write about their sessions as an essential part of their training

if your sessions are written about by your student counsellor you will be completely anonymised, and the assignment will be read only within the educational facility where their training takes place and the awarding body for their qualification

there are certain situations where your counsellor may need to inform a third party about the content of your sessions

where possible your counsellor will discuss this with you, but there are certain situations where it is a legal requirement to not inform you

if there is a serious risk of harm to yourself or others, or a safeguarding issue concerning a young or vulnerable person we have an obligation to inform a third party

if required by a court order we will be compelled to share your client notes

after your sessions have concluded we will retain your information and notes for seven years, after which they will be destroyed

we are required to keep records for tax purposes, but you will be referred to by a reference number in any accounts

if you have paid us by bank transfer, your account name will appear on our bank statements - we will block out your name before submitting bank statements to our accountant

2018 GDPR guidelines give you rights concerning the information we hold about you

you may request access to information we hold about you at any time

you may request that the information is corrected or deleted at any time

if you wish to make a request concerning the information we hold about you, please email office@ramsgatecounselling.com

if you wish to make a complaint concerning the information we hold about you, please email office@ramsgatecounselling.com

if you wish to take this complaint further you may contact the ICo (information commissioner’s office), the statutory body which oversees data protection law in the uk