Sandra Holden Counselling Service Privacy Policy  

Introduction

This statement confirms how I, Sandra Holden from Sandra Holden Counselling Service use and protect any information that I receive from you whilst using this service.
I am committed to safeguarding and protecting your information, and if I ask you for any information, it will only be used in accordance with this privacy notice.
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations 2016, Sandra Holden is the data controller for Sandra Holden Counselling Service.

Grounds for data collection 

What information we collect?

Processing of your personal information (meaning, any information which may potentially allow your identification with reasonable means; hereinafter " Personal Information ")  is necessary for the performance of our contractual obligations towards you and providing you with our services, to protect our legitimate interests and for compliance with legal and financial regulatory obligations to which we are subject.

When you use the Site, you consent to the collection, storage, use, disclosure and other uses of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

We encourage our Users to carefully read the Privacy Policy and use it to make informed decisions. 
We collect two types of data and information from Users. 

The first type of information is un-identified and non-identifiable information pertaining to a User(s), which may be made available or gathered via your use of the Site (“ Non-personal Information ”). We are not aware of the identity of a User from which the Non-personal Information was collected. Non-personal Information which is being collected may include your aggregated usage information and technical information transmitted by your device, including certain software and hardware information (e.g. the type of browser and operating system your device uses, language preference, access time, etc.) in order to enhance the functionality of our Site. We may also collect information on your activity on the Site (e.g. pages viewed, online browsing, clicks, actions, etc.).

The second type of information Personal Information which is individually identifiable information, namely information that identifies an individual or may with reasonable effort identify an individual. Such information includes:
  • Device Information: We collect Personal Information from your device. Such information includes geolocation data, IP address, unique identifiers (e.g. MAC address and UUID) and other information which relates to your activity through the Site.
  • Information I collect – I store your name, number, email address and other personal information that you provide to me, along with any brief notes of sessions.

How do we receive information about you?

We receive your Personal Information from various sources:
  • When you voluntarily provide us your personal details in order to register on our Site;
  • When you use or access our Site in connection with your use of our services;
  • From third party providers, services and public registers (for example, traffic analytics vendors).

What information we collect?

We do not rent, sell, or share Users’ information with third parties except as described in this Privacy Policy.

We may use the information for the following:
  • I will use your contact details to engage in my work with you according to our contract, including contacting you about appointments, keep records such as appointments, running and maintaining my business. I also may keep brief notes of counselling and supervision sessions in order to support me in offering you counselling. I will not use contact information or your session notes for any other purposed other than in this notice and my contract. If for any reason I am asked to provide a report of the sessions to another professional – e.g. at your request then this will be sent to you, password protected for your approval before it is provided to the person requesting it. It will also be stored for 7 years
  • Conducting statistical and analytical purposes, intended to improve the Site.
  • Hosting and operating our Site

User Rights

Your rights and Access to Information :- You have the right to ask to see any information that I hold about you. Unless prevented from doing so by legal reasons, I will arrange a session to discuss this with you in more detail and aim to provide this information to you within a month of your request. You also have the right to ask me to change any information that I hold about you. I will do this except for any information I need to hold for legal purposes such as my business tax purposes. This does include diary appointments and any session notes.
Complaints:- if you wish to complain about how I hold your data in any way then in the first instance please contact me, Sandra Holden, as the data controller of Sandra Holden Counselling Services at www.sandraholdencounsellor.co.uk. If you have any further concerns which are not addressed then you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office on 0303 123 1113
Breach: I will report any data breach to the information Commissioner, to the National Counselling Society and to you within 72 hours if it becomes apparent that any data is stolen.

Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services, and as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our policies. Retention periods will be determined taking into account the type of information that is collected and the purpose for which it is collected, bearing in mind the requirements applicable to the situation and the need to destroy outdated, unused information at the earliest reasonable time. Under applicable regulations, we will keep records containing client personal data, account opening documents, communications and anything else as required by applicable laws and regulations. 

We may rectify, replenish or remove incomplete or inaccurate information, at any time and at our own discretion.

Cookies

We and our trusted partners use cookies and other technologies in our related services, including when you visit our Site or access our services. 

A "cookie" is a small piece of information that a website assign to your device while you are viewing a website. Cookies are very helpful and can be used for various different purposes. These purposes include allowing you to navigate between pages efficiently, enable automatic activation of certain features, remembering your preferences and making the interaction between you and our Services quicker and easier. Cookies are also used to help ensure that the advertisements you see are relevant to you and your interests and to compile statistical data on your use of our Services. 

The Site uses the following types of cookies:

a. 'session cookies' which are stored only temporarily during a browsing session in order to allow normal use of the system and are deleted from your device when the browser is closed; 

b. 'persistent cookies ' which are read only by the Site, saved on your computer for a fixed period and are not deleted when the browser is closed. Such cookies are used where we need to know who you are for repeat visits, for example to allow us to store your preferences for the next sign-in; 

c. 'third party cookies' which are set by other online services who run content on the page you are viewing, for example by third party analytics companies who monitor and analyze our web access.

Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but Personal Information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. You may remove the cookies by following the instructions of your device preferences; however, if you choose to disable cookies, some features of our Site may not operate properly and your online experience may be limited.

We also use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about your use of the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users access the Site, what pages they visit when they do so, etc. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve our Site and services. Google Analytics collects the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit sites, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this Site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.

Third party collection of information

Our policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. To the extent you disclose your information to other parties or sites throughout the internet, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the information you disclose to them. Accordingly, we encourage you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third party that you choose to disclose information to. 

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies that we do not own or control, or to individuals whom we do not employ or manage, including any of the third parties which we may disclose information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. 

How do we safeguard your information?

I keep brief notes recording the theme of the counselling session. These are stored in a locked filing cabinet and shredded confidentially 5 years after your counselling sessions end unless agreed otherwise. Any personal information stored on-line will be kept securely on a password protected computer. Your contact and appointment details will be kept for 7 years after your counselling sessions end and then shredded confidentially unless agreed otherwise. Any emails, texts, WhatsApp message or other communications will be deleted at any time but not later than one month after receipt unless they form part of your notes or are required for legal or insurance purposes in which case they will be kept for 7 years as above. Your telephone number will be stored on my mobile phone under your initials or your first name for the duration of our work together and will be deleted when we end therapy. If I change telephones then your details will be deleted on the old phone. If any reports are provided on your behalf, then these will be stored for 7 years and password protected. I store a note of your appointment in my paper diary which is coded by the use of an allocated reference number and initials to protect your identity. This is kept for 7 years. At the end of these periods respectively I will confidentially shred all paper copies and I will use a specialist software programme to delete any data stored online. If I should die or become incapacitated then you will be notified and my notes will be confidentially shredded within 3 months.

Minors

We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy, especially in an online environment. The Site is not designed for or directed at children. Under no circumstances shall we allow use of our services by minors without prior consent or authorization by a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from minors. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with Personal Information without their consent, he or she should contact us at sandraholdencounsellor@hotmail.co.uk

Updates or amendments to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to periodically amend or revise the Privacy Policy; material changes will be effective immediately upon the display of the revised Privacy policy. The last revision will be reflected in the "Last modified" section. Your continued use of the Platform, following the notification of such amendments on our website, constitutes your acknowledgment and consent of such amendments to the Privacy Policy and your agreement to be bound by the terms of such amendments.

How to contact us

If you have any general questions about the Site or the information we collect about you and how we use it, you can contact us in writing at Sandra Holden Counselling Service, 75 Lowbank, Burnley, Lancashire BB12 6PP.
Last Modified  8th November 2021