Confidentiality, Privacy & Data Protection

At Renewed Perspective, I understand that counselling involves sharing deeply personal information. Protecting your privacy and maintaining confidentiality are fundamental parts of the therapeutic relationship.

Overview

This page explains:

  • What personal information I collect and why

  • How your information is stored and protected

  • When information may be shared

  • How clinical supervision works

  • Your rights under UK data protection law

  • How to raise a concern or make a complaint about how your information is handled

What Information do I collect?

In order to provide counselling services safely and effectively, I collect certain personal information about you.

This may include:

Personal and Contact Information

  • Name

  • Address

  • Telephone number

  • Email address

  • Date of birth

  • Emergency contact details (where provided)

Assessment and Administrative Information

  • Initial enquiry details

  • Client registration forms

  • Assessment forms

  • Session bookings and appointments

  • Correspondence between us

  • Invoices and payment records where applicable

I only collect information that is relevant to providing counselling services and meeting my professional, ethical and legal obligations.

Counselling Records and Session Notes

As part of my professional practice, I maintain brief records of our work together.

During sessions I may make short notes to help me remember key themes and information discussed. These notes are written into secure electronic counselling records stored locally on my password-protected computer.

Session notes typically contain:

  • Themes discussed

  • Interventions used

  • Progress within session

  • Risk assessments where relevant

  • Any significant decisions or agreed actions

Session notes are factual, concise and intended to support safe and effective therapeutic practice.

I take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.

Confidentiality

Everything discussed within counselling is treated as confidential. Confidentiality is essential to building trust and creating a safe therapeutic environment in which you can explore personal issues openly. I will not normally share information about you with anyone else without your knowledge and consent. However, there are circumstances where I may be legally, ethically or professionally required to share information.

These include situations where:

Serious Risk of Harm

I believe there is a serious and immediate risk that:

  • You may harm yourself

  • You may harm another person

  • Another person may be at serious risk of harm

Safeguarding Concerns

Where there are concerns regarding the safety or welfare of:

  • Children and young people

  • Vulnerable adults

  • Individuals at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation

Legal Requirements

I may be required to disclose information where:

  • Ordered to do so by a court of law

  • Required by legislation

  • Required by law enforcement or statutory authorities acting within their legal powers

Prevention and Detection of Serious Crime

In limited circumstances, information may be disclosed where necessary to prevent or detect serious crime or protect public safety. Wherever possible, I will seek to discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand unless doing so would increase risk or prevent lawful action being taken.

Clinical Supervision

As a professional counsellor, I work under regular clinical supervision. Clinical supervision is a standard requirement of professional counselling practice and forms part of the ethical framework for safe and effective client care.

Supervision provides:

  • Professional support

  • Clinical oversight

  • Safeguarding guidance

  • Quality assurance

  • Ongoing professional development

During supervision, I may discuss aspects of our work together with my supervisor. Only information necessary for professional consultation is shared, and wherever possible identifying details are minimised or removed. My supervisor is bound by the same professional standards of confidentiality and data protection as I am.

Your Rights

Under UK data protection legislation, you have rights regarding your personal information, including:

  • The right to be informed about how your data is used

  • The right to request access to your personal information

  • The right to request correction of inaccurate information

  • The right to request deletion of information in certain circumstances

  • The right to restrict processing in certain circumstances

  • The right to object to certain types of processing

  • The right to lodge a complaint regarding how your information is handled

Requests regarding your personal data should be made in writing.

Data Protection Complaints

If you are unhappy with how I have collected, stored or handled your personal information, I encourage you to contact me in the first instance so that I can investigate and attempt to resolve the matter.

Please provide details of:

  • What information or activity concerns you

  • Why you believe there has been a problem

  • What outcome you would like

I will acknowledge your complaint and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

If you remain dissatisfied after I have considered your complaint, you have the right to raise the matter with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection. The ICO expects organisations to have an internal data protection complaints process before escalating matters to them.