In order for Connect Christian Counselling Service to be able to fulfil its responsibilities as a counselling organisation we will need to record personal information about you. This information includes your name, address and contact details which will be stored in a locked cabinet. Your information will be retained in separate locations (keeping your name and contact details in encrypted files on a password protected PC which has virus protection software installed); apart from the assessment and case notes which will be secured in a locked filing cabinet.
Under an identifying code we will also take notes of ‘assessment information’, relevant medical information, including your GP practice and aspects of your personal social and family history that you choose to share with us Your contact details will be used to contact you. Other personal data such as your name, address and date of birth will be used to verify your identify if there is a need to contact your G.P. or a request for access to personal data from yourself, your appointed representative or legitimate legal instrument such as a court order. This personal information will be held for a period of three years after the cessation of counselling, except where there is a mutually agreed decision to retain it for longer or where we believe that it is in our legitimate professional interests to do so.
Information about counselling sessions and our work together
Notes will be recorded for each therapy session under an identifying code. These notes will be a brief factual record of the session. This set of notes will include any agreements made, with regard to for example, evaluation of progress and proposals about the way the therapy is conducted. The written notes will be stored in a locked filing cabinet. These notes may be discussed anonymously under the identifying code with the counselling supervisor, for client safety or similar for purposes of maintaining professional standards and aiding professional development.
These notes will be held for a period of three years after the cessation of counselling except where your counsellor agrees with you to retain them for longer or where Connect Christian Counselling Service believes that it is in their best legitimate professional interests to do so.
We may make information from these notes available to legitimate third parties under the following conditions:
> Receipt of a request from you or your representative, and where the release of the notes is not judged by us as likely to cause you significant harm or harm to another
person. For this to happen you must sign a waiver
> Where there is a specific legal requirement for us to do so
> Where there is an ethical duty for us to do so, for example to avoid serious harm to yourself or another person, including the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults.
Records of contact between us
If we agree to communicate by email, these records may be kept for the same duration as your counselling notes. Connect Christian Counselling Service’s computer could therefore also have your emails and email address available on it. The computer is password Created April 2018 protected and details are stored in ‘the cloud’ so they can be restored if our computer is lost or stolen.
Your Rights
You have the right to ask to see any information held by Connect Christian Counselling Service about you. To do this please either ask your counsellor, or submit a request in writing to the organization. You also have the right to ask for information that you believe to be incorrect to be rectified. We will endeavour to provide you with the information requested within four weeks.
If we become aware of a situation where your personal information may have been accidently or maliciously obtained by a third party we will notify you within three days. If you are concerned about the way that your information is being held please discuss this with your counsellor. If you are still unhappy you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office.
Agreement
By signing the counselling agreement, your are indicating that we have discussed and agreed how your personal information will be held for the purposes of counselling. Without your agreement to our holding your personal information it will not be possible to proceed with counselling.