Ethical & Legal

Confidentiality

Counselling confidentiality is a fundamental principle that aims to enable a safe, trusting space for clients to speak openly. It means that anything shared during our sessions is kept private and not disclosed to others without your consent. This privacy allows you to explore whatever you decide to bring to counselling without fear of judgment or risk of exposure. The counselling space I use has been soundproofed and is purposefully designed with confidentiality in mind.

However, confidentiality is not absolute. Counsellors have a professional and ethical duty to break confidentiality in specific situations, such as when there is a risk of serious harm to yourself or others you mention, or when required by law. In these cases, any necessary disclosure is handled carefully and with your wellbeing as the priority.

Your Rights

You may request or remove any personal stored data and information in-line with GDPR at any time.

If you have any issues that arise from our work together, I hope that you can discuss this with me in any form of communication you wish.

The BACP also have a formal complaints procedure.

Storage Of Information

I am committed to protecting your personal information and ensure it is handled appropriately and responsibly in line with UK law. All client data is stored in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Your personal details and session notes are kept securely using password-protected systems and/or a locked filing storage.

I retain your records for seven years and keep these in an accessible file for six 6-months after our last session.

You have the right to access your personal data, request corrections, and understand how your information is used. If you have any questions about how your data is stored or managed, I welcome you to discuss this with me.

When records are no longer required, they are disposed of securely and confidentially.

Safeguards

BACP membership

Professional Liability Insurance

ICO registration

DBS

When we begin working together, if you feel you have any medical condition/s that you wish to disclose, I will ask you to complete a medical questionnaire. This will include information for where emergency medication that you have on your person is kept and emergency contacts.

If no medical disclosure is necessary, yet a medical situation occurs, I will call the emergency services.

Any sensitive information that you disclose will be held in-line with GDPR and destroyed when we finish working together.

Regulations

My work is regulated by the ethical standards of good practice outlined by the BACP Ethical Framework.

I comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data-Protection Act (2018).

I am a registered member of the Information Commissioner’s Office ICO.

I hold up-to-date professional indemnity and professional treatment insurance and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

I comply with the Equality Act (2010) for those who fall under protected characteristics.

I have firewall active protection on my personal computer.

All notes, contracts and any personal information of yours is stored in an end-to-end encrypted and password protected folder.

Supervision

As a counsellor, I am required to have regular clinical Supervision.

In supervision, I work with a more experienced licensed counsellor/psychotherapist who has undergone counselling supervision training.

The purpose of supervision is to ensure your best interest and that you are not coming to any harm, whilst also ensuring that my personal well-being is also being considered whilst working with clients.