Privacy Policy, Confidentiality & Accessibility Statement

Mellissa Hamley Counselling Services is committed to complying with the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and to the responsible and secure use of your data. I have a legitimate interest in processing personal data to provide counselling services.

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), reference ZA482633.

What information do I collect?

I collect personal information from you directly.. The type of personal information I collect and process are:

Name
Pronouns
Date of Birth.
Address
Telephone number (plus permission to text or leave messages).
Email address.
Emergency contact details
Counselling History.
Medical conditions relevant to counselling.
Prescribed medication, relevant to counselling.
Reason for counselling

What do I use your information for?

I obtain this information in order to:

Know how to refer to you
Enable me to contact you outside of booked sessions where necessary
Be able to provide you with counselling services
If there is a health emergency, it will enable me to, with your consent, contact someone. This may include, but not limited to, the emergency services or a local crisis team.
If I were to receive a request for your data, it will help me identify if it’s a genuine request from you.
There may be occasions where I’m required by law (E.g. terrorism) to disclose to the authorities your details, and some of these may be required without obtaining your consent.

Who I may share this information with

Therapeutic Will:

In the event of my death, or sudden illness that means I am unable to contact you, I have appointed a Therapeutic Executor who will take care of contacting you on my behalf. They are a qualified counsellor and adhere to the same ethical framework and confidentiality that I adhere to. They will only access your contact details in an emergency, and discuss with you appropriate onward arrangements.

Supervision:

I have regular meetings with a supervisor who will only know of you by first name, and any presenting issues.

Confidentiality

In adherence with The National Counselling Society ethical code, I am obliged to break confidentiality if:

· You or others seem to be in danger or at serious risk of being harmed.

· I am required to do so by subpoena (Court order or instructions from a coroner)

· You infer involvement in or knowledge of an act of terrorism, money laundering or drugs trafficking.

· The client infers knowledge of or involvement in behaviours that may lead to harm or neglect to a minor or vulnerable adult.

Where possible I will discuss this with you first.

Further information can be found within the National Counselling Society’s Code of Ethics and at: www.nationalcounsellingsociety.org/about-us/code-of-ethics/safeguarding-policy

How I store and dispose of your personal information

Your information is securely stored.

Paper records:

This includes the contract, contact information, and brief session notes.

They will be retained for a period of 7 years from when we have finished working together.

Electronic data:

A client code document (to enable me to link documents). This will be retained for 7 years from when we have finished working together, and then erased.

Any emails or texts we may exchange. These will be kept for a month after we have finished working together, and then erased.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access - You have the right to ask me for copies of your personal information.

Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask me to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask me to complete information you think is incomplete.

Your right to erasure – Whilst GDPR gives you the right to request that you be forgotten when you finish working with me, GDPR gives me the obligation to decline that request on the basis that my insurance provider requires me to keep notes and records on file for 7 years, due to the potential for case complaints or legal claims.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, I have one month to respond to you.

Please contact me at mellissa.counselling@outlook.com if you wish to make a request.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about how I use your personal information, please contact me in the first instant. I will do my utmost to resolve any concerns you may have. If for any reason I cannot resolve your concerns, you can contact the ICO.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

Accessibility Statement

Mellissa Hamley Counselling Services is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability. We aim to adhere as closely as possible to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0, Level AA), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines explain how to make Web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines will help make the web more user friendly to everyone. Whilst Mellissa Hamley Counselling Services strive to adhere to the guidelines and standards for accessibility, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website and we are currently working to achieve this. Be aware that due to the dynamic nature of the website, minor issues may occasionally occur as it is updated regularly. We are continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility.

If you have any comments and or suggestions relating to improving the accessibility of our site, please don't hesitate to contact us at mellissa.counselling@outlook.com. Your feedback will help us make improvements.