Jessica Joy Therapy

Sometimes a journey starts with a single step.

Jessica Joy Therapy Privacy Policy

In my work as a psychotherapeutic counsellor, I act as a data controller. I am responsible for collecting and for processing the information that you have provided to me. Processing includes the organisation, retrieval, consultation, use, storing and destruction of information and its disclosure to other parties.

When you provide me with information about yourself and your family, this information is protected and securely stored.

The main reason that your data is used by myself is so that a service can be provided to you. This service will be managed through a business contract that we each sign.

The information that you provide is used for the purposes of assessing your needs and for providing a counselling or psychotherapy service to you. Some non-identifiable information may be shared with my supervisor who will provide professional advice and feedback to me in line with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical framework. This will be done anonymously so you will not be identified from this process. I will securely store the information acquired from the counselling or psychotherapy sessions in a locked filing cabinet. It will be kept for no less than seven years but may be kept for longer and this will depend upon a variety of different factors (e.g. legal rules, insurance requirements, changes to ethical policies, returning clients, etc.).

In exceptional circumstances, I may need to request further information from your GP or from another other medical professional.

In rare instances, it may be necessary for myself to share the information that you have disclosed to me with further individuals or organisations.

Reasons for doing this include, but are not limited to:

• as part of my duty to protect a child, a vulnerable adult, yourself or the public

• for the prevention and detection of a crime

• if I am required to do so by a court of law

I may also use some of this information for other reasons, such as to:

• maintain records

• respond to any enquiries you make about the services I have provided

• investigate complaints

• meet my statutory obligations

• ensure the accuracy of my records

I keep information about you strictly confidential. This means that I store it securely and control who has access to it. I never use or share it for marketing purposes.

I will only share such information as necessary, and where I am satisfied that the other individual or organisation is entitled to receive it.

If you believe that information I hold about you is incorrect, or if you have concerns about how I am handling this information, please contact me.

If you wish to have your personal information deleted, please let me know and I will take reasonable steps to remove it unless I need to keep it for legal, insurance, auditing, internal risk management or archiving purposes.

If you would like further information then please contact Jessica Douglas directly.

You can also refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office website at https://ico.org.uk/. Their website explains your rights in relation to the information we hold.