Privacy statement

I am registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and chartered by the British Psychological Society (BPS). I adhere to the ethical framework and guidelines of the relevant professional and regulatory bodies to ensure that you receive a professional service and the best care possible. I am committed to keeping your personal information safe and secure and in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I also ensure that I keep up to date with relevant training and accreditation.

Information that will be collected and how it is used

Your information will be collected and held in line with professional and regulatory frameworks. Your details will be used in order to respond to and process any enquiries (online and by telephone). Upon starting work with me, your communication and personal information will be collected for contact and identification reasons. During our sessions together, notes from initial consultation/assessment and therapy will be made which will include personal details. Information relating to personal details can include: your name, postal address and other contact details (such as your telephone number and e-mail address), your date of birth, GP details, occupation, medical history, information about your present situation and difficulties, social and family circumstances, information relating to possible risks and screening/outcome measures, bank details for payment and videoconference details for online therapy purposes. The sharing of personal information will minimised as part of any communication via phone and/or email. Whilst I will make efforts to maximise security in relation to our communication, please note that transmitting information over the internet is not completely secure, therefore, any information that you transmit it at your own risk.

The information collected is used for the purpose of being able to respond to and/or maintain contact with you and to deliver an effective psychological service, with your well-being and safety being paramount to this. The information that you provide will also be used to produce invoices for input provided. I will ask if you would like to receive a copy of any correspondence with health professionals (if this is required during our work together). I am identified as the data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Your information will not be passed onto third party services for marketing purposes. I will unfortunately be unable to work with you if you do not allow me to keep data about you and our work together.

Confidentiality

All written personal information gathered as part of the consultation, assessment and therapy process are kept securely in a locked filing cabinet that only I have access to. Please note that psychology sessions aim to provide a safe, therapeutic space in which you can discuss your experiences in confidence, however, confidentiality will need to be breached in the following circumstances in accordance with professional guidelines: 1) if I have concerns that you or someone else (child or adult) may be at risk and it is necessary to share information with relevant health professionals/services with regards to safeguarding risk and/or well-being, 2) due to legal reasons (e.g. laws and regulations and where disclosure may be in the public interest), 3) if you have provided your consent for me to share your information with a required professional/service. If there is a breach to confidentiality, I will aim to discuss this with you first (and if a proposed disclosure is not deemed to increase the possible level of risk to you or others) and recommendations will be discussed and documented in notes from our session. If I am required to share your details with any third parties based on this, I will ensure that the relevant information is sent securely.

Professional and regulatory bodies advise that Clinical Psychologists are required to have supervision (clinically based meetings) in order for clinical practiced to be reviewed and to ensure that the best possible care is provided during our work. I engage in regular clinical supervision with a qualified HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist, during the course of which I discuss aspects of consultation/assessments and therapy. The supervisor that I meet with is also bound by the same levels of confidentiality that apply to me.  

How long your information is kept for

Written and electronic information is required to be kept for the time necessary to provide the consultation/assessment and/or therapy service requested. I will need to keep therapy details for a period of seven years following the end of treatment to comply with record keeping obligations that Clinical Psychologists are required to abide by. After that time, written information will be shredded. Basic contact information that may be held on a mobile phone for the purpose of consultation/assessment and/or therapy will be deleted within six months following the end of input. If you contact me but choose not to take up a service I will delete your data after 6 months.

Access to your personal information

You have rights relating to the personal information that I hold in order to verify the accuracy or ask for this to be updated, corrected or erased (although I may have to keep some information about the service provided to you on record for a certain amount of time due to professional guidelines and where erasure of records would be in contradiction with professional and regulatory guidelines). You also have the right to request a copy of the information that I hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email: enquiry@doctorreena.com and information will be provided to you within 30 days of your request (in accordance with guidelines). I reserve the right to make a nominal charge for such information requests in some circumstances. As a security measure, I may need to request further evidence from you in order to verify your identity. Please note that it will be important for you to inform me of any changes in your personal information during the course of our work together (I cannot be held responsible for errors in your personal information if I have not been informed of relevant updates).

Changes to the privacy statement may be required over time. I would encourage you to review this frequently to stay informed about how your personal data is used.

The above statement, along with my full terms and conditions will be emailed to you prior to the start of your consultation/assessment session. By engaging in psychological services, you are acknowledging and agreeing to the outlined statement and terms for our work together.  

Please feel free to ask any questions based on the information provided above (email: enquiry@doctorreena.com)