Client Privacy Statement for Andquiss Counselling and Psychotherapy

Andquiss Counselling and Psychotherapy (Andquiss CP) is part of Andquiss Ltd. 

This Privacy Statement has been written in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations 2016 (GDPR), and explains how we (Andquiss CP) collect, utilise, store and dispose of the personal information that we obtain either from clients who register for our counselling services, or from visitors to our website.

1.   What personal information may we collect from you, why do we collect it, and what do we do with it?

a.    Contact Information Form
If you register for counselling services with Andquiss CP, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• Your name, address, email address, contact telephone numbers,

• The name, telephone number and your relationship with a named person whom we could contact, with or without your express consent, in an emergency,

• The name, address and telephone number of your GP, whom we could contact, with or without your express consent, in an emergency,

• Details of any medication you are currently taking.

This enables us to communicate with you regarding your appointments, and to liaise with your named contacts if necessary. Your GP and your Emergency Contact will only be contacted if your counsellor believes that it is necessary to get you extra support, and usually only with your express consent.

b.    Clinical Notes
Shortly after counselling sessions, your counsellor will make brief factual notes, known as ‘Clinical Notes’. These brief and anonymised handwritten notes:

• Act as a reminder to your counsellor of key points of your discussions, and what is important to you,

• Help your counsellor to provide you with effective support and direction,

• May be referred to by your counsellor when they attend their own confidential meetings with their professional supervisor.

To protect your privacy and the privacy of anyone else whom you may mention during your sessions, we take the following steps to keep that information safe:

• No names at all are included within Clinical Notes,

• Instead, Clinical Notes and files are coded with a unique 5 digit client number ending with the first letter of your first name. For example: 14-***

• Between sessions, and until their safe disposal (See Section 3 below), your Clinical Notes will be stored separately from your Contact Information Forms, your Client Counselling Contract, and any other correspondence we have with you.

All documents will be stored in a locked cabinet at a secure location and only your counsellor and one authorised colleague will have access to this cabinet.

c.    Financial information
This may include bank or payment card details if you pay for sessions using these methods, so transactions will be noted on our own bank statements.

d.    Website usage
If you complete an online contact form on our website, the contact details supplied to us will be used solely to enable Andquiss CP to respond to your request for more information.

2.   Who might we share your information with?

Andquiss CP will NOT use or share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Andquiss CP respects confidentiality and works in accordance within the professional code of conduct of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, known as the
‘Ethical Framework’. As such, we will not share any of the personal information you disclose to us to any third party unless:

• Your counsellor believes you are a risk to yourself or others,  

• Your counsellor believes there is a risk to the welfare or safety of a child or vulnerable adult,

• Your counsellor is legally required to share information; for example, to prevent terrorism or report suspected criminal activity,

• Your counsellor is summoned to give evidence in a court of law.

Under such circumstances, your counsellor reserves the right to share relevant information with the appropriate outside authority to prevent harm and to meet their own legal obligations.

There are two other circumstances in which your counsellor may need to share information about you or your problems with another professional counsellor; but in both circumstances, these disclosures will be bound by the strict code of confidentiality in the Ethical Framework.

• All counsellors are required to meet regularly and privately with an independent Clinical Supervisor to ensure that they are working effectively, safely and in accordance with professional counselling standards. During these ‘supervision’ sessions, your counsellor may refer to your anonymous clinical notes when seeking advice on how to best to support you, although they will avoid disclosing personal information which might identify you.
  

• In the event of your counsellor’s death, or if serious illness or other circumstances prevents them from practicing or contacting you, your counsellor will have appointed a trusted colleague who can access the Contact Information Sheets of active clients. They will support clients in making alternative arrangements for counselling and will then ensure the safe disposal of information we hold about you. This arrangement is known as a ‘Clinical Will’ and is normal practice for professional counsellors to ensure that clients remain supported.

3.   How long will we keep your information?

a.    The Contact Information Form

Your Contact Information Form will be shredded within three months after you have completed an agreed course of counselling, and telephone numbers will be deleted from electronic devices. However, if we have cause to write to you or email you whilst you are a client with Andquiss CP, we may keep a secure electronic or paper copy of that correspondence which may include your postal or email address, for up to six years.

b.    Clinical Notes:

Your Clinical Notes will usually be retained in paper form securely for up to six years in case of any future claim under the Limitation Act 1980 unless:

• You submit a written request for them to be destroyed, in which case the written request will be retained for the remainder of the six years,

• Your notes are destroyed under the terms of your counsellor’s Clinical Will.

c.    Financial information
Transactions may be noted on our own bank statements which we may retain in electronic form for up to seven years.

d.    Website usage

Any personal information supplied to us through our website will be used solely to enable Andquiss CP to respond to your request for more information, then destroyed.

4.   How can I access the information you hold about me?

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

If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email us at sarah.taylor@andquiss.co.uk.  We may make a small charge of £25 for this service.  To ensure your personal information is accurate and up to date, you may make a request in writing for any information to be corrected or removed if you consider it to be inaccurate.

5.   Information collected from our website, and use of ‘cookies’

The Andquiss CP website does not use cookies to collect standard internet log information or website visitor information.  Our website is hosted by Squarespace, Inc. and their Privacy Policy can be accessed via https://www.squarespace.com/privacy

Links to other websites

The Andquiss CP website contains links to other useful websites.  This Privacy Policy only applies to our website. If you link to other websites, we advise you to read their Privacy Policy for an explanation of what they may do with any information they collect from you.

6.   Changes to this Privacy Statement

We will keep our Privacy Statement under regular review and we will place any updates on the Andquiss.co.uk web page.  This Privacy Statement was last updated on 9 May 2023.
 

7.   How to contact us

If you have any questions about this Client Privacy Statement or about the information we hold about you, please contact the Data Controller via email datacontroller@andquiss.co.uk or email sarah.taylor@andquiss.co.uk.