Therapy is confidential, which means I will not share information about you and what we explore in therapy with a third party, unless you consent to that disclosure.
There are rare exceptions to this, including:
If there is a serious concern for my safety, or someone else’s safety
If there is a legal obligation relating to my involvement in, or knowledge of, a serious crime
If there is a court order requesting information about me
If it is essential to prevent a serious and imminent threat to public health or security
If one of these exceptions arises, I will always aim to discuss my concerns and plans with you first. I am bound by ethical policies, and therefore will follow these when considering issues of safety.
Supervision
To ensure I continue providing a safe practice, I work with a clinical supervisor - this is a senior and experienced therapist. This is confidential support, and therefore if I discuss our sessions with my supervisor I will never use identifying information about you.
Confidentiality
When we begin working together, I will record your name and preferred contact details (for example, telephone number, email address). I will only use this information for essential administrative tasks such as contacting you and arranging appointments. I will not share your contact information with anyone else without your consent unless I am legally or ethically required to do so, as outlined in the confidentiality statement above.
In the event of my death or incapacity through ill-health, a colleague will have access to your contact details so that you can be informed.
Storing and deleting your information
Any personal data I have recorded or that is contained in documents given to me by you or by third parties in the course of our work will be stored securely, on an encrypted password-protected drive. It will be kept for a maximum of 6 years after therapy ends, then deleted.
Your consent and rights
When we start working together, I will ask if you consent to me using your personal data as described in this statement. It is your right to see the data I hold about you and to request that it be corrected (if you believe there are inaccuracies), or deleted. If you would like this to happen, or have any other questions about confidentiality, then please contact me and I will attempt to resolve your query as soon as possible.
Website data
My website host (Squarespace) uses various processes to monitor when and how the site is visited. I do not have access to any of your personal data within these systems, which only show me anonymised numerical information about the site’s usage.