GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the most significant piece of privacy and data protection in twenty years. It took effect on 25th May 2018 and from that date we are required to ensure that we gain a new data protection and privacy consent from all clients. In it (amongst other things) we confirm what information we hold about you and how we are permitted to use it.
PRIVACY POLICY (updated 9/5/25)
Your privacy is very important to me and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended, including:
I am happy to chat through any questions you might have about my data protection policy and you can contact me via email: Claire@ClaireShawCounselling.com
‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me.
I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (Registration number: ZA526146; Company: Claire Shaw Counselling).
My phone number is: 07597 280 998. My email address is: Claire@ClaireShawCounselling.com
My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information:
The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. I have explained these below:
If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.
If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.
The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between me and you).
How I use your information:
Initial contact:
When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include your name, email address, telephone number and your reasons for wishing to attend counselling. Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral.
If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 12 months from the date I collect the data. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.
While you are accessing counselling:
Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken:
I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.
All counsellors and psychotherapists undergo professional supervision, where they discuss aspects of their client work. This is a confidential space, and my supervisor is bound by the same Ethical Framework as I adhere to (https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/3103/bacp-ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions-2018.pdf).
Clinical Will:
In the event that I should become ill and am unable to contact you, or of my death, I have a Clinical Will in place. Under these specific limited circumstances, my supervisor will have access to my clients’ contact details, in order to inform them of the situation. They will not have access to your clinical notes. Once my work with you is ended, I will remove your contact details from my Clinical Will, unless you request otherwise.
After counselling has ended:
Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for 5 years from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. This is in line with the requirements of both my insurer and professional membership organisation, but if you want me to delete your contact information sooner than this, please tell me. I am required by my insurers and professional membership body to retain clients' clinical notes for 5 years after ending therapy.
Third party recipients of personal data:
I sometimes share personal data with third parties, for example, where I have contracted with a supplier to carry out specific tasks. In such cases I have carefully selected which partners I work with. I take great care to ensure that I have a contract with the third party that states what they are allowed to do with the data I share with them. I ensure that they do not use your information in any way other than the task for which they have been contracted.
I do not disclose any information you provide to any third parties other than as follows:
I use secure online cloud practice management software (www.writeupp.com ) which acts as a data processor to store your personal data which may include your Contact information, Medical information and Communication Information. Pathway Software, the company behind Writeupp has developed software for the NHS for over 10 years and is ISO 27001:2013 certified. Writeupp may use third-party suppliers to provide functionality within WriteUpp, for example, to deliver and send text and email messages. All third-party suppliers are GDPR compliant, and the use of these services will be in accordance with the third-party suppliers’ terms and conditions and their respective privacy policies. Writeupp’s privacy policy can be viewed at https://www.writeupp.com/privacy-policy.pdf
Emails, secure direct messages and text messages may be sent to you and by you through this system.
Further information stored within Writeupp may include:
For security reasons I do not retain text messages for more than 1 week. If there is relevant information contained in a text message, I will transfer it to Writeupp.
In addition, I use a web hosting provider (https://www.godaddy.com/en-uk ), encrypted email and cloud storage provider (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365 ) and phone line provider (Lebara )
I may be required to disclose certain data to regulators or other lawful authorities:
Other than as set out above, I shall not disclose any of your personal data unless you give me permission to do so. If I do supply your personal data to a third party, I will take reasonable steps to ensure that your privacy rights are protected and that third party complies with the terms of this notice.
Your rights:
I try to be as open as I can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/for-the-public.
If I do hold information about you I will:
You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you. To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing addressing it to Claire@ClaireShawCounselling.com
If you have any complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by writing or emailing to the contact details given above. I would welcome any suggestions for improving my data protection procedures.
If you want to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information you can contact the ICO which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information go to www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Data security:
I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously and as such I take every effort to make sure it is kept secure. I use encrypted devices and password or biometric protection. I do not keep paper copies of any data pertaining to my client work.
Visitors to my website:
When someone visits my website, I use third party services, GoDaddy, and Google Analytics to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow GoDaddy or Google Analytics to make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website.
