Practice Policies and Further Information

These policies have been written with the intention of providing transparent and understandable information about Tina Rose Counselling & Therapy Service and will assist in making an informed decision about whether to access this service. Any work undertaken is in accordance with UK laws and ethical guidelines. This service is only available to clients who are permanent residents of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If you have any further questions, then please get in touch.

• Privacy and Confidentiality

• Client confidentiality is maintained within the following limitations. Limitations include risk of serious harm to self or others, safeguarding, drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism or if there is a legal/public health obligation to share that information.

• If there is a need for confidentiality to be broken, you will be informed, where possible, and encouraged to seek assistance.

• If during our therapeutic work, you found yourself in an emergency or in major crisis and considering serious self-harm, it would be vital to get immediate help. This could include contacting your emergency contact, your GP, or your nearest accident and emergency service (A & E). The Samaritans are available 24/7 by telephoning 116 123. The NHS Cheshire and Wirral partnership support line 0800 145 6485 offers urgent mental health support 24/7 or by visiting https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline.

• Where a parent/guardian signs the counselling agreement on behalf of the young person under the age of 18, confidentiality will be between the client and the counsellor. This confidentiality will be maintained within the above limitations.

• As part of my commitment to good practice I attend regular Supervision. Cases may be discussed with a supervisor, but this will be done confidentially and anonymously.

• If I am unable to keep an appointment, I will contact you before the session. If I become incapacitated and am unable to contact you directly, I have appointed someone to communicate this to you and support you in making alternative arrangements if desired.

 Data collection, storage, sharing, retention, and disposal

• I am GDPR compliant and registered with the Information Commissioners Office Reg No:ZA278302 Visit www.ico.org.uk for more information.

• I will only use your personal details for running my business, for example, contacting you about appointments.

• I will not contact you for any other reason and will not share your personal details without prior consent.

What information we collect, use, and why:

o   Personal information collected/processed; Full name, Date of birth, Home address, Telephone number, Email Address, GP name and address, Medication, Parent/Guardian/Emergency Contact Name and contact details (where relevant), Payment transactions, records of appointments.

• Enquiry forms, assessment forms and brief case notes are kept for each client. Case notes and assessment forms are identifiable by unique client reference number and are stored securely and separately to enquiry forms. Please contact me for further information.

        To provide this service, data is collected in the following ways:

1.         Direct from clients

2.         tinarosecounselling.co.uk,https://www.create.net/about/privacy-policy

3.         Google Business https://privacy.google.com/businesses/

4.         BACP Find a Therapist https://www.bacp.co.uk/privacy-notice/

5.          NCPS Directory https://www.nationalcounsellingsociety.org/help/privacy-policy

6.          As an affiliate counsellor for EAP and insurance providers. (Contact me for more details)

Lawful bases and data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website https://ico.org.uk/

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide and improve products and services for clients are:

• Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

• Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.

• Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:

• To provide professional services

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

•   Vital interests – collecting or using the information is needed when someone’s physical or mental health or wellbeing is at urgent or serious risk. This includes an urgent need for life sustaining food, water, clothing or shelter. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object and the right to portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts are:

• Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to protect client welfare are:

• Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:

• To provide professional services

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

We also collect or use the following special category information to protect client welfare. This information is subject to additional protection due to its sensitive nature:

• Health information

Who we share information with:

• Emergency services/emergency contact

• Professional consultants/GP

• Third parties: Insurance/EAP Provider (if applicable)

 Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• Your right of access - You have the right to ask for copies of your personal data. You can request other information such as details about where personal information is obtained from and who personal information is shared with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.

• Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask for the correction or deletion of personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.

• Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask for the erasure of your personal information in certain circumstances.

• Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

• Your right to object to processing You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information.

• Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask for the transfer of the personal data you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

• Your right to withdraw consent – When consent is used as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

•  You don’t usually need to pay a fee to exercise your rights. If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.

• To make a data protection rights request, please contact me at [email protected]

• Data Retention: Client documentation is stored securely and will be destroyed 5 years after the last therapy session. For clients under the age of 18, documentation is kept for 5 years after the client’s 18th birthday.

• Any electronic information stored is on password protected devices and in encrypted format.

• If you have any concerns about the use of your data or how it is processed, then please contact me.

• If a data breach occurs, I will take immediate action to prevent or limit harm. I will inform the Information Commissioners Office and all clients affected within 72 hours of the data breach. Clients will be provided with a written apology and I will take immediate action to prevent the breach from occurring again.

Complaints, questions, comments, and access requests are welcomed and should be addressed to the Data Controller Tina Rose in the first instance by emailing [email protected]

• If you remain unhappy with how your data has been used after raising a complaint with me, you can also complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address is: ICO Head Office, 4th Floor, No.3 Circle Square, 5 Hawkshaw Street, Manchester, M1 7BL Helpline number: 0303 123 1113 Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Appointment Information

• Sessions take place in person, by telephone or via Zoom zoom.us. (https://zoom.us) Please see their privacy policy for more information https://www.zoom.com/en/trust/privacy/.

• If you are under the age of 18 we can discuss if online and telephone sessions are suitable. I can offer face to face sessions or help with referral to other agencies providing online work, which is specifically directed to a younger age group.

• Counselling appointments are booked in advance and will last 50 minutes. Clients are expected to be punctual for sessions.

• Supervision sessions are booked in advance and will last up to 90 minutes. Supervisees are expected to be punctual for sessions.

• Hypnotherapy and EMDR sessions are booked in advance and will last up to 90 minutes. Clients are expected to be punctual for sessions.

• If you need to cancel a session, then at least 24 hours’ notice must be given. Cancellations and missed appointments within this time incur a charge of 50%. 

• Fees are payable per session and are reviewed annually. An invoice will be provided for all appointment

• Fees for each session are payable by cash, credit/debit card or cheque (made payable to ‘Tina Rose’) during each session. Alternatively, payment by Bank Transfer is accepted in advance of the session.

• Card payments and invoices are processed securely through online banking providers. To run my practice this requires a limited input of client information. Please contact me for further information.

• Where sessions are funded externally, clients are liable for any fees and excesses not covered by their referrer or policy provider.

• If you do not attend your appointment or if there is an abrupt end to therapy, you will be contacted by telephone and/or email.

• If you are slightly late to the session it will end at the original finish time. If you are more than 15 minutes late; the session will not take place.

• If I am unable to keep an appointment, I will contact you before the session.

• Inappropriate behaviour will result in the termination of the session with immediate effect. If this should happen, I reserve the right to charge you in full for the session.

• Sessions take place in real time and will NOT be recorded by either party.

Appointment Guidance

• I recommend that during remote therapy sessions you use headphones and ensure you are in a quiet and private space to maintain the privacy of your sessions.

• Remember to take care to protect your password and other login details. Please also check that any security updates have been installed. Any electronic communication used will leave a digital footprint. All devices I use are password protected and have security software.

What happens when our appointment time arrives?

In person: Clients are requested to use the side entrance through the wooden gate. Please knock at the door at our appointment time and I will take you through to the therapy room. 

Telephone Appointments: I will telephone you at the agreed time (or vice versa) and the session will begin. At the end of our session together, you should end the call when we have said goodbye.  You will be reminded when it is time for the session to end. You should ensure you have removed any call logs that relate to our time together, to maintain your privacy from other people in your environment. 

Online Appointments: For online sessions you will need to access the video conferencing platform on your device. Please ensure you log in/click on the link to join the session- I intend to be in the video consultation when you arrive. At the end of our session together, you should end the call when we have said goodbye.  You will be reminded when it is time for the session to end. You should then ensure you have closed all Internet pages that relate to our time together, to maintain your privacy from other people in your environment.