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This policy explains how safe-space counselling collects, uses and protects your personal information when you visit this website, get in touch or come to counselling. I handle your information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Who I am
safe-space counselling is run by Donna Sheppard, an integrative counsellor based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. I am the "data controller" for your personal information, which means I decide how it is used and I'm responsible for keeping it safe.
You can contact me about anything in this policy using the details on my Contact page.
What information I collect
When you visit this website. This website doesn't use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. Like most websites, the company that hosts it automatically records basic technical information, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, to keep the site secure and working. My Cookie Policy has more detail.
When you get in touch. If you use the contact form, phone, WhatsApp or email, I receive the details you choose to share. This is usually your name, email address, phone number, how you'd like me to contact you and your message.
If you come to counselling. I keep the information I need to provide counselling safely and professionally. This includes your contact details, appointment and payment records, and brief session notes. If you agree, it may also include your GP's details and an emergency contact.
Some of this, such as information about your mental or physical health, is "special category" data. The law gives it extra protection, and I treat it with particular care.
How I use your information
- To reply to your enquiry and arrange a free initial call
- To provide counselling, including arranging appointments and keeping session records
- To take payments and keep financial records
- To meet my professional and legal duties, including clinical supervision
- To keep this website secure and working
I will never sell your information or use it for marketing.
The legal basis for using your information
Data protection law says I must have a valid reason, or "lawful basis", for using your information:
- Consent: when you get in touch, you agree to me using your details to reply. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
- Contract: when you start counselling, I need your information to provide the service we have agreed.
- Legal obligation: for example, keeping financial records or sharing information where the law requires it.
- Legitimate interests: for example, keeping this website secure.
For health information and other special category data, I rely on your explicit consent and, where it applies, the provision of health or social care.
Confidentiality
What you share in counselling stays confidential. Like all professional counsellors, I discuss my work with a clinical supervisor, but never in a way that identifies you.
In rare situations, I may need to share information without your consent. This could be if there is a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, if a child or vulnerable adult may be at risk, or if the law requires it, for example a court order. Wherever possible, I would talk to you first. I'll explain all of this in our first session.
Who your information is shared with
I don't share your information except as described in this policy. I use a small number of trusted services to run my practice, which handle information on my behalf:
- Vercel, which hosts this website
- Formspree, which receives messages sent through the contact form and emails them to me
- Google Fonts, which supplies the fonts on this website
- Sanity, which stores and serves the website's text and photos
- My email provider
- WhatsApp, if you choose to message me there
- The video service I use for online sessions
Some of these companies are based in, or store information in, the United States. Where your information is transferred outside the UK, it is protected by safeguards approved under UK law.
How I keep your information safe
I keep paper records in a locked cabinet and digital records on password-protected devices. Session notes are brief and factual, and I avoid using your full name in them where possible.
How long I keep your information
- Enquiries that don't lead to counselling: deleted once they're no longer needed
- Counselling records: kept for as long as my professional body and the law require after our work together ends, then securely destroyed
- Financial records: kept for as long as tax law requires, usually six years
Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the information I hold about you
- ask me to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete
- ask me to delete your information, where I don't need to keep it for legal or professional reasons
- ask me to limit how I use your information, or object to me using it
- ask for your information in a format you can take elsewhere
- withdraw your consent at any time
To make a request, please contact me using the details on my Contact page. There's no charge, and I'll reply within one month.
Making a complaint
If you're unhappy with how I've handled your information, please tell me first so I can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it last changed.