PRIVACY NOTICE

Details of what information I collect from you, what I do with it and who it might be shared with.

RJT Counselling & Training Services is compliant with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and takes data protection seriously. The Data Controller is Robert Topping.

I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZA545167. This is checkable by clicking HERE.

What information do I collect from you as a counselling?

When you first come to counselling, I will collect your personal information as part of an agreed counselling contract. This contract acts as the foundation of our work together.

Personal information I usually request from you includes: your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, GP contact details and contact details of your next-of-kin.

I also keep concise notes on your progress in counselling. These notes are anonymised, coded with a reference number and stored separately from your contact details.

Some information recorded in counselling notes may include sensitive personal information – e.g. race, ethnic origin, religion, politics, criminal convictions, health, sex life or sexual orientation.

Personal information is recorded electronically and in a written format.

What information do I collect from you as a learner on a training programme?

When you first enrol on one of our programmes, I will collect your personal information to register you with our accreditation body.

Personal information I usually request from you includes: your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, and contact details of your next-of-kin.

I also keep concise notes on your progress in training as a requirement for some of the training programmes that we offer.

Personal information is recorded electronically and in a written format.

What if you're a young person under 16 years old ?

When it is considered to be appropriate parent/guardian consent should be obtained. This does not apply when the client is deemed to be capable of making their own decisions in respect of their health and well-being and under 16 years old (Gillick competency).

If the client is not deemed as being capable of making their own decisions, they must get the permission from their parent/guardian before providing RJT Counselling & Training Services with any personal details.

Why do I collect this information?

Any information provided by you is necessary to ensure a counselling, mentoring & training service is provided to a high ethical standard.

Who might I share your information with?

Although counselling is a confidential arrangement between the counsellor and the client, there may be occasions when I may need to talk to someone else about what you might disclose in therapy. This is usually only undertaken in order to ensure you or someone else is kept safe from serious risk of harm and I would hope to gain your consent for this to happen. However, this might not always be possible.

Individuals or agencies I might talk to usually include your GP, the police, social services, emergency services and your next-of-kin.

Information on what you talk about in counselling might also be shared with the courts, should you be involved in legal proceedings.

I may also need to disclose information about possible criminal acts or security threats to the appropriate authorities.

As a registered member of BACP & an Accredited member of the NCS, I operate in line within the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. This means I am committed to reviewing my client work in supervision with a qualified clinical supervisor.

Supervision provides practitioners with regular and on-going opportunities to reflect on all aspects of practice in order to work as effectively, safely and ethically as possible.

Part of supervision includes the confidential discussion of client work and it is likely that I will share some of what you tell me with my supervisor in order to ensure you get the best outcomes from counselling.

Your personal information will not be shared with any third parties for marketing purposes.

Data that is received from third parties?

At times data will be shared by a third party and will only be used for information purposes only. These documents may contain information such as your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, GP contact details and contact details of your next-of-kin and referral information. These documents will be held in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 and Data Protection Bill. All documents will be returned to the referring organisation following the intervention.

What do I do with your information?

All records are kept securely for a period of five years from the termination date of therapy and then destroyed, as per the requirement of our insurance policy.

How can I access the information you hold about me?

You have the right to request a copy of the information I hold about you.

You also have the right to object to your personal information being gathered and the right to withdraw your permission at any time.

If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email me on robert@rjtcounselling.co.uk.

In order to verify your identity, please provide a copy of your passport or driving license and proof of address.

I aim to provide you with a copy of your information in a commonly used format within a month of receiving your request.

You have the right to have any inaccuracies corrected or information deleted. This can be requested verbally or in writing.

This service is provided free of charge.

Data protection complaints

Should you be unhappy with how your personal data is handled, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Links to other websites

This website may, from time to time, provide links to other websites. We have no control over such websites and are not responsible for the content of these websites. This privacy policy does not extend to your use of such websites therefore you are advised to read the privacy policy or statement of other websites prior to using them.

Website

RJT Counselling & Training Services uses Wix to publish its website.

For more information about how Wix processes data, please see Wix's Privacy Notice.

Social media

RJT Counselling & Training Services uses Facebook to promote it's service's, this platforms is compliant with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

You can access Facebook’s Privacy Policy here .

Payments

Online payments can be made through iZettle, for more information around their privacy policy please click here.

For more information on our terms and conditions regarding payment, please click here.

Zoom

Zoom, the online service we use to deliver Webcam Counselling, will not collect your personal information and sessions are not recorded. Video calls take place using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to ensure they remain confidential. When you make a booking you will be asked for an email address, if you want to keep these details private, please use an email address that only you have access to.

Zoom uses cookies. However, these will not contain identifiable information about you or your counselling session.

If you want to delete all traces of Zoom you'll need to:

uninstall Zoom
delete your internet history for the day you had counselling
delete any cookies Zoom has left on your device. You can get more information about deleting cookies on the Information Commissioner's Office website.

Cookies are small files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are used to ensure websites work properly or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the site’s owners.

Most browsers allow control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

You can usually choose to set your web browser to remove or reject cookies before using Wix's websites, although certain features of these websites may not function properly without the aid of cookies.

For more information about the cookies used by Wix, visit their Privacy Policy (Section 9) here.

This privacy notice was last updated by Robert Topping on 17th February 2019.