As you probably already know, The General Data Protection Regulation is a new piece of EU legislation that aims to make it simpler for people to control how companies use their personal details.
What details do we collect?
- Name
- Phone number – for booking sessions and informing you of any changes
- Email address – if initial contact has been made by email
- Dates and times of appointment bookings
All the above are stored electronically on a secure Outlook system and retained for at least 6 years, and are often also included in therapist’s written notes. Additionally the following information is recorded in written client notes in order to facilitate the therapy process:
- Age and date of birth
- Home address
- Occupation – including name of employer where relevant
- Home circumstances – very brief details of your partner or who you live with.
- Details of the problems and issues for which you are seeking therapy
- Relevant information that is discussed in the therapy process
- Details of any therapy strategies used
The above information is also retained for at least 6 years, which is standard practice to enable us to deal with any queries or complaints, and is also required by our insurer – Balens Insurance. Therapist’s notes are archived as soon as a notebook is full, and kept locked in a filing cabinet in a secure room that is also locked when not in use, and protected by a central station alarm system with CCTV monitoring. The notebook currently in use is kept with the therapist and is secure at all times.
Do you share any personal information?
As you would expect, confidentiality is a core principle of the therapy relationship, so we do not share any information with anyone else. The only exception to this would be to prevent serious harm to the client or another person, or testimonials left voluntarily by clients with permission to use them.
Do we use any data processors?
Yes, we use Microsoft Outlook for diary entries, contacts and email, and Elavon and PayPal to process payments.
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter
Social media automatically creates links between the accounts of anyone who likes, shares or comments on another person’s or organisation’s posts or pages. Peter Phelps’ and Change Your Mind Ltd social media accounts are publicly visible, and any likes, shares and comments will also be visible to everyone and will create a link to that person’s account, but this information will not be used by us for commercial purposes.
Further information
If you have any queries relating to data and personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer, Peter Phelps, via email to peter@changeyourmind.ltd.uk, or by phone or text to 07855 352947.
