Privacy Policy
Nicky Methven Privacy Policy
Introduction
Your privacy is very important to me, and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me.
By providing your information to me you are confirming you are over 18 years of age.
‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/ organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me, Nicky Methven
Contact details
Nicky Methven on behalf of Nicky Methven Counselling.
Email address: methvennicky@gmail.com
Postal address: Old Rose House, Rose Farm Road, Pluckley, Ashford, Kent TN27 0TA.
Telephone: 07874 756821.
It is very important that the information I hold about you is accurate and up to date. If any time your personal information (for example name or address), please contact me by emailing methvennicky@gmail.com
Communication Data
This includes any communication that you send to me whether that be through the contact form on my website, through email, text, social media messaging, social media posting or any other communication that you send me. I process this data for the purposes of communicating with you, for record keeping and for the establishment, pursuance or defence of legal claims. My lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to reply to communications sent to me, to keep records and to establish, pursue or defend legal claims.
I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
I am happy to chat through any questions you might have about my data protection policy, and you can contact me via email.
My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information
The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. I have explained these below:
If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.
If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.
The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between me and you).
Data security
I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously and as such I take every effort to make sure it is kept secure. I use encrypted devices, locked filing cabinets, and cupboards.
How I use your information.
Initial contact
When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services, I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include your name, date of birth and contact details Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral or a parent or trusted individual may give me your details when making an enquiry on your behalf.
While you are accessing counselling
Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if I have reason to think you or somebody else may be a risk of harm or in the event of you disclosing information relating to a criminal act. I will always endeavour to speak to you about this first, unless I believe that there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.
I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely in a locked area separate from any notes and are not shared with any third party. I will keep brief notes of each session; these are kept in a separate secure cabinet.
After counselling has ended
Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for 5 years from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please tell me.
Your rights
I try to be as open as I can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters.
If I do hold information about you I will:
• give you a description of it and where it came from;
• tell you why I am holding its, tell you how long I will store your data and how I made this decision;
• tell you who it could be disclosed to;
• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.
You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you. To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing by emailing it to methvennicky@gmail.com.
Data protection complaints
If you have a concern about how I handle your personal information, I want to hear from you.
How to raise a concern
You can contact me by email or letter my contact details are above. Please describe your concern as clearly as you can and include any relevant dates or details.
What happens next
I will acknowledge your complaint with 30 days of receiving it. I will then look into your concern and respond to you without undue delay.
If you remain dissatisfied
If you are not satisfied with my response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by ringing 0303 123 1113.