Privacy & Data Protection

1. All information provided by you is confidential to Counselling Solutions, including whether you are or have been a client.
2. We may discuss counselling sessions with an external supervisor, however your identity will not be disclosed.
3. We will not pass on, or discuss, personal information about you, including information on attendance, to anyone subject to the following exceptions:-
   
   - Where we are legally compelled to do so.
   - Where we have reason to believe that someone, especially a child, is at risk of harm.
   - Where there is a duty to the public to disclose.
   - Where disclosure is permitted by law and required to protect our interest.
   - Where disclosure is made at your request or with your consent.
   
4. In addition, when you expressly consent, we may transfer information when we consult with other professionals.
5. You expressly consent to Counselling Solutions using your personal and sensitive data, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, for the purposes of delivering counselling or other services to you, and for managing and quality assuring those services.
6. No personal data, e-mails, chat messages, instant messages or case records are stored on my computer and any data that has to be stored is stored on a portable storage device that is held in a secure location when not in use.
7. Your e-mails will be sent from the website itself via secure SSL transmission.
8. No E-Mails, chat messages or instant messages are stored on the website.
9. My office computer is in a secure, private location.
10. Clients engaging E-Mail counselling may wish to use a web based e-mail account, such as Yahoo or Hotmail, with a nickname, to preserve their anonymity.
11. Clients engaged in chat room or Messenger counselling may login using a screen name. In the interests of security clients are not permitted to change that screen name for subsequent sessions.
12. I will digitally sign all E-Mails as proof of origin.