To safely and appropriately provide you with counselling we need to collect personal data from you and we need your written consent to collect this data.

Counselling is a confidential process and we do not reveal your personal data or the content of your sessions to a third party without your express permission. The only exceptions to this would be if you were threatening your own life or the life of another, there was a safeguarding issue or you were involved in a crime that falls outside of counselling confidentiality boundaries. In these cases, we may decide to contact emergency services or
relevant authorities without your permission.

This privacy policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, where we keep it, how long we keep it for and the procedures that we have in place to safeguard your privacy.

What Information Do We Collect?

 

When you contact our service via email, we collect the following information on our online Enquiry Submission Form:

Name
Email address
Mobile number
Reason for your enquiry

When you contact our service via the phone and when you choose to proceed from a phone or online enquiry, we collect the following information on our Registration Form:

Name
Address
Email address
Landline number
Mobile number
Date of birth
GP name and address
Next of kin
Reason for your enquiry

If you opt to access our low cost service, we will complete an assessment, during which we will gather the following information from you:

General Counselling

Mental health history
Family history
Current medications
Name and contact details of medical or mental health professionals managing your care
Family history
CORE-OM 34 assessment

Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy (in addition to the above)

Gender identity
Preferred pronoun
Sexual orientation
Relationship status
Nationality
Religion
Sexual health history
Results of relevant medical tests
PQ Form

During your therapy your low cost counsellor will keep brief notes of each session to recordthe content of the session and any homework tasks that may have been agreed.

If you opt to access our full cost service, your counsellor will complete their own assessment and will need to inform you of their Privacy Policy.

How do we use this information?

We collect this information for the following reasons:

• To accurately identify you and thereby safely and confidentially process your referral through our service.
• To identify all of the factors that may be contributing to the problem you are seeking help with.
• To monitor and measure the effectiveness of our service.

Where do we keep this information?

Your Enquiry Submission Form and any emails relating to your referral within the service are kept on the password protected computer of our Data Processor. Your Registration Form
and Assessment Form are processed via email using password protected word documents and stored in the password protected computer folders of our Data Processor. Our Data Processor’s computer is stored in a locked office to which only the Data Processor and Data Controller have access.
In the low cost service, your referral, assessment and therapy data is kept together in paper format in what we refer to as a client pack. Your client pack is kept in a locked filing cabinet in the location in which you have your therapy.
When your therapy is over, our Data Processor collects and transfers your pack, using a portable locked filing box, to their office, where it is kept in a locked filing cabinet within a locked office.
Your counsellor will keep your mobile number stored in their mobile phone, which is
password protected.

How long do we keep your data for?

We destroy computer records of your enquiry, registration and assessment forms on completion of your therapy. We store your client pack in locked filing cabinets for a minimum of 7 years, in line with guidance from our insurers, after which point they are shredded. Your records in our service are not classed as medical records or public records.

How do we safeguard your privacy?

We receive and store your enquiry, registration and assessment data via password protected word documents on a password protected computer, kept in the Data Processor’s locked office. Other than your enquiry and registration information, all other documentation is identified by your initials only.

The only people who have access to your data are:

Our Data Controller
Our Data Processor
Your Counsellor

You will not be personally identified in any reports that monitor and measure the
effectiveness of our service.
Our counsellors have regular supervision to ensure that they are providing the best standards of care for you. You are identified in supervision by your first name or initials only.
Supervisors may keep records of the guidance they have offered to the counsellor which would not be directly identifiable to you and which would be stored in line with their individual Privacy Policies. Supervisors do not have access to your client pack.

Subject Access Request

Should you wish to access your data or have it destroyed before 7 years have elapsed you may submit your request in writing to our Data Controller. Each application will be considered on an individual basis and any decision to provide access to or destroy your personal data will be reached only after consultation with our insurers and professional bodies.

Website and Cookies

Please see our website for our separate Terms and Conditions and Cookie Policy. www.localcounsellingcentre.co.uk

Data Breaches

LCC strives to do its utmost to protect your data. However, in the event of a personal data breach the following actions will be taken:

• All breaches will be reported with 72 hours to the data protection officer where deemed necessary.
• If the breach is likely to result in a high risk of adversely affecting individuals’ rights and freedoms, LCC will inform those individuals without undue delay.
• A record of any personal data breaches will be kept.

Data Controller

Krystal Woodbridge, Director LCC
krystal@localcounsellingcentre.co.uk

Data Processor

Kathy Freeman. Practice Manager LCC Ltd
Kathy.freeman@localcounsellingcentre.co.uk

LCC Ltd Address

2, Venture House,
Fifth Avenue,
Letchworth Garden City,
Herts
SG6 2HW