Privacy Policy & Covid-19 Protocols

Your privacy is very important to me, so I have written this Privacy Policy in order for you to understand how I use, disclose and make use of your personal information-

Disclosure of all information during therapy and consultations remains confidential.
The client will be treated with respect and care at all times.
I have a professional obligation to report to relevant authorities any concerns if I believe the client may be intending to cause harm to themselves, the therapist or others.
A query on suitability or conflict of therapy with other practitioners may have to be sought occasionally, with client permission.
If you have acute symptoms of illness/pain etc., it is highly recommended you seek medical advice from your GP in the first instance.
A full copy of the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy’s (AfSFH) and/or the National Council of Hypnotherapy’s (NCH) Code of Practice is readily available. This agreement complies with that of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), UK voluntary regulator for complementary therapists

GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS, 2018 (GDPR )

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is concerned with the personal information about you that I collect, store and share. I am a registered member of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). My reference number is: ZA769590.

The following details of my GDPR policy -

PERSONAL INFORMATION I WILL COLLECT:

Your Name and address
Date of Birth
Relationships. occupation and lifestyle
Telephone numbers and email address with your signature giving consent for me to contact you by telephone, text, voice message or email.
Details of fears, habits and sleeping patterns
Medical conditions relevant to the sessions
Prescribed medication
Details of your GP for me to contact in case of emergency or in the rare situation where I feel you may harm yourself or others
Any other information you feel you would like to share (but this is optional)
Session summary of what you want to achieve by coming to see me.

COLLECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

I am completely committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. When you attend your initial consultation, I will ask you to provide certain personal information, for example your name, your address, both postal and email, telephone number, as set out in the initial consultation form. I will store this data collected securely and hold it on computers or in other formats. I collect personal data for the purposes of administration and communication with clients. I only use personal information within the context of the purposes outlined, and I will only keep the information as long as is necessary to support these purposes.

I will not pass on your personal information to any third party unless I am required to do so by law.

HOW I WILL STORE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.

Storage methods-

Paper: written notes (described below).
Smartphone: I will store your contact information in my phone which is password protected. I do not store your full name, I keep a record of your first name followed by the leading letter of your surname. This allows me to contact you in case of emergencies or to re-arrange appointments, if this is a suitable way for you to communicate with me.
Email: your email address and correspondence will be stored in my email account by nature of you contacting me. This will be deleted once we have finished the sessions and signed you off. Any relevant emails that I feel needs to be kept will be printed off and added to your written notes.
Website: none of your personal information is stored on my website, other than to momentarily collect and send it to my email account for the purposes of our initial contact. Any further communications are deleted once the correspondence has been completed.

DOCUMENTS HELD.

Paper:

Initial Consultation notes including contact details.
Client/therapist Agreement
Brief Session Notes
GDPR Agreement

Electronic:

Contact name and telephone numbers
Email/SMS

HOW I MAY PROCESS/SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.

Peer Supervision

As a fully qualified hypnotherapist, I am required, by my professional body, to undertake peer supervision as a form of good practice. This process allows me to voice any concerns I may have in a safe environment which is strictly confidential. In order to protect my clients’ privacy, my co-supervisor will not know him/her personally or professionally. I will never refer to a him/her by name, but I may refer to their information verbally when it's helpful to the professional process.

EMERGENCIES:

If your health is in jeopardy or I feel you may harm yourself, I may share your contact information with an emergency healthcare service (e.g. GP or Mental Health Crisis Team).

If I become aware of your intent to cause harm to another person/organization, the law may require that I inform an authority including sharing your contact details.

ERASING YOUR INFORMATION:

When we have finished working together, I will erase electronic copies of your information and any correspondence within one month of completion of the sessions.

I will store your written information in a secure place for up to seven years after the completion of our work together. This is so that I have a reference of our work in situations such as you returning to sessions in the future and it is also an obligation under my professional standards and insurance policy. After this time has passed, I will shred the written information.

YOUR RIGHTS:

You have the following rights:

To be informed of what information I hold (i.e. this document).
To see the information that I hold about you (free of charge for the initial request). You are able to see any information that is held about you within 30 days of asking. You can ask for a copy of any personal information held by me if you wish. It is possible, however, that my insurance company’s legal team may want to verify any information that I send out.
To rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
To withdraw consent to me using your personal information.
To request your personal information be erased (though I can decline whilst the information is needed for me to practice lawfully & competently).

WHAT ABOUT ONLINE OR REMOTE SESSIONS?

I offer sessions to clients online, and these are as successful as face-to-face consultations. The platform I use is Zoom and the account I hold is a private business account and complies with all aspects of the GDPR. Zoom’s privacy policy can be viewed here: https://zoom.us/privacy/.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Please arrive on time for your appointment.

Please leave any unnecessary items, such as bags and coats in your car.

You will be required to wear a face mask on entering the therapy room (I will provide one if you do not have your own.)

Once in the therapy room, you can remove your facemask.

Hand Sanitiser will be readily available for you to use on arrival in reception.

We will both adhere to current social distancing guidelines.

I will be using disposable covers for the clinic bed. All used covers will be removed, and the area sanitised between appointments.

If you would like to bring a blanket to cover yourself up with during the relaxation, element of the consultation – please do.

Please bring your own water as refreshments will not be provided.

A Covid form will be sent 24 hours before for your in-person session to read and complete, without this I will not be able to see you. Thank you for completing this in advance.

COVID-19 Protocols Questionnaire (updated October 2021)

Please read the following questions and please indicate YES or NO in the boxes

* close contact is 15 mins in PPE less than 1m, 1m without PPE
** If you have travelled internationally please check https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice for correct information about quarantine.

If all your answers are NO then I will be able to see you without any further questions.

I have done a full risk assessment and am content that I am able to fulfil all the requirements that have been recommended to me by my relevant professional bodies. I have fully reviewed my procedures, and whilst I obviously cannot guarantee zero risk in the consultation room, I have done my utmost to make it as safe an environment as I possibly can.