Important Information

Privacy Notice for Carola’s Counselling

I value your privacy as I do my own. The information below sets out how I collect, use and protect any personal data that you give to me. I may change this privacy policy from time to time by updating this Privacy Notice. If the changes are substantial I will make this clear on my website or I may contact you directly.

About Me

I am a sole trader and data controller of the information I hold and process about individuals who have expressed an interest in my counselling service.

About the individuals whose data I collect

I collect data about individuals who:

Enquire about and/or attend counselling sessions.
Enquire about and/or attend my occasional courses, workshops and other events.
Interact with me via my website or social media.

What I do with personal data

The legal basis for processing your data is as follows:

Contractual obligations in communicating therapy-related. information, eg booking appointments, recording progress
Legitimate interest in communicating information about courses, workshops, events and relevant products.
Legitimate interest for financial accounting purposes
Legitimate interest in promotional activities.

Storage of personal data

I hold data in both written and electronic form.
Written data collected:

From individuals if they enquire by telephone or text, in which case, I hand-write contact details and brief notes in order to make contact.
From clients during the Initial Consultation and subsequent therapy sessions.

Written data is stored securely in locked cabinets. Relevant data is transferred to electronic format for the purposes of recording attendance and bookkeeping.

Electronic data is held in spreadsheets on password-protected laptops. Client data is anonymised.

For clients participating in online therapy sessions, I use the industry-standard online meeting software Zoom. It provides a secure environment for online sessions. I ensure that my anti-virus, firewall etc protection is kept up to date. I further ensure that I am in a private space whilst conducting online therapy.

Electronic data within emails, text messages, voicemails, and social media direct messages is held securely using leading service providers, such as Gmail, Facebook etc, and is accessed via password-protected user accounts, laptops, and mobile phones.

Sharing your personal data

I may share your data with third-party service providers who assist with administering the service I provide to you, eg:
Online meeting software to help me provide ‘remote’ therapy sessions.
Event booking systems to help me manage attendees.
Payment Gateways to process financial transactions.

These providers have access to your personal information so that they can perform their functions on my behalf, but they may not use it for other purposes.

I am professionally obliged to report to relevant authorities if I have concerns that you may be causing harm to yourself, to others, or to me.

I am also obliged to disclose information if it is in the public interest to do so, eg to prevent a serious and imminent threat to public health, or national security or to prevent or detect a serious crime.

To ensure best practice I may from time to time discuss your progress with a senior supervisor, in which case I would not divulge your identity.

With the above exceptions, I will never share your data with a third party without your express permission, unless legally required to do so. Times when I might seek your consent to share your data may include:

Clients: making a referral to another therapist or medical practitioner.

Your rights

You have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulations:

To request a copy of the information I hold about you.
To update any of your personal information if it is inaccurate or out of date.
To request that I delete the personal data I hold about you.
To restrict the way in which I process your personal data.
To request that I stop processing your data if you object to me doing so.
To ask me to transfer your personal data to a third party.

Data Retention

I will keep your personal data for no longer than necessary for the purposes of providing my service to you and to fulfil my obligations for financial and insurance record keeping.

Terms & Conditions for Counselling Sessions with Carola’s Counselling

I undertake to treat you with courtesy and respect at all times.
I undertake to use my skills, knowledge and experience to the best of my ability to help you achieve a successful outcome from the counselling sessions.
Success is dependent on your commitment to the process and your active participation in and between sessions.
The number of sessions required will vary from person to person. Typically, you will know when you are ready to discontinue sessions, I do not ‘discharge’ you from therapy.
Session fees represent payment for my time, skills and experience, not for a specific outcome.
To ensure maximum benefit from the sessions, please do not attend under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs. I reserve the right to cancel the session and the full fee will apply.
If you suspect you may have a medical condition you should seek advice from your GP. I am not qualified to diagnose or treat medical conditions.
Standard sessions last 50 to 55 minutes.
Please arrive on time for your appointment. If you arrive late your session will finish at the normal time and the full session fee will apply.
Please do not attend a face-to-face session if you suspect you have a health condition that is infectious or contagious, eg Covid, ‘flu, a cold, tummy bug etc. I undertake to do the same.
If you are unable to attend a face-to-face session, we may be able to arrange an online session via Zoom.
If you are unable to keep an appointment please give as much notice as possible. This will enable another client to have the opportunity to book your time slot.
Cancellations should be made via text or email.
If you cancel your appointment with less than 48 hours’ notice or do not attend an arranged appointment the full fee will apply. The fee will be waived if you cannot attend due to health reasons.
Please make payment promptly on the day of your appointment. In the unlikely event that you miss two consecutive payments, we will discontinue our work together.
All information disclosed during your consultation and subsequent counselling sessions will remain confidential, unless in exceptional circumstances where I am obliged to notify any authorities of well-being concerns. These exceptions are outlined in the Privacy Notice on my website.
As with anything worth doing, success requires effort. Counselling is a collaborative process and I am fully committed to helping you make the necessary changes to achieve your preferred future.