Confidentiality/ My Disclaimer/ Privacy /Security/ Data Protection
I follow a code of ethics and practice in line with the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Practitioners (FDAP), The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the General Medical Council (GMC)
The following is my consulting disclaimer and the privacy practices which apply solely to information collected by my website and in your connection with me as your therapist.
I want you to know:
- What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the web site, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
- What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
- The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
- How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
Your use of the website, owned by SJMacAuley.Org Ltd, company registration number 08025326, and any subsequent payment for my services and e-signature of your informed consent document means you accept this Disclaimer and the policies contained in this Privacy Statement.
This website is designed to provide a portal to assist you to engage with my services, an online programme of personal counselling. You do this at your own risk. Any form of self-reflective practice can bring up uncomfortable emotions and memories that can be disturbing and you should expect this. In the event, we will endeavour to work through the disturbance in that session. I will require you to sign an informed consent/safety/agreement contract. Although I am medically qualified, I am no longer in practice as a medical doctor and will not provide general medical services or advice on medication. I point you at solutions to problems you present with. It is you not I that will get you well. I do not accept any liability whatsoever for any injury or damage whatsoever arising from the use of this website or the counselling that ensues.
I respect your privacy and am committed to protecting it as outlined in this statement. When accessing my website, I will learn certain information about you, both automatically and through voluntary actions, you may take, during your visit. This policy applies to information I collect on the website and in email, text, or other electronic messages between you and myself
Please read this statement carefully before you start to engage my services. By using the website or by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by the content herein.
Information I Collect About You
I collect your information in order to record and support your participation in our counselling sessions. You may if you wish, provide a completely bogus identity and use a VPN to access the site and engage with me. I do not sell, rent, lease or otherwise transfer any information collected whether automatically or through your voluntary action.
When you access my website, I will learn certain information about you during your visit. The website provides various places for you to provide information. I collect information that you provide by filling out forms on the Website, communicating with me via contact forms, responding to questionnaires, providing comments or other feedback such as on social media.
I use information you provide to me to deliver the requested service. Information I collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technology such as Google analytics and Tawk as you navigate through my website, is used to observe your, browsing actions, and patterns. This will generally include information about your location, your traffic pattern through my website, and any communications between your computer and my website. This includes data about the type of computer you use, your Internet connection, your IP address, your operating system, and your browser type. The information I collect automatically is used for statistical data and will not include personal information. I use this data to improve my website and my service to my clients including you.
Use of Cookies and Pixels
Similar to other commercial websites, my website utilizes a standard technology called “cookies” and server logs to collect information about how my site is used. Information gathered through cookies and server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our site, and the websites visited just before and just after our own, as well as your IP address. A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a website, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a website to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites. The Company reserves the right to use technological equivalents of cookies, including social media pixels. These pixels allow social media sites to track visitors to outside websites to tailor advertising messages users see while visiting that social media website. My company reserves the right to use these pixels in compliance with the policies of the various social media sites.
Electronic Communications and Email
If you choose to correspond with me through email, or digital messenger (“Electronic Communications”), I will retain the content of your messages together with your email address, phone number or username and our responses. I provide the same protections for these Electronic Communications that I employ in the maintenance of information received online, mail, and telephone. This also applies when you register for my website sign up through any of my forms using your email address.
I am committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential. I do not sell, rent, or lease your subscription to third parties, and will not disclose your email address to any third parties. I will maintain the information you send via e-mail in accordance with UK law. In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, all e-mails sent from me will clearly state who the e-mail is from and provide clear information on how to contact the sender. In addition, all e-mail messages will also contain concise information on how to remove yourself from my mailing list so that you receive no further e-mail communication from me. My emails provide users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from me by reading the unsubscribe instructions located at the bottom of any e-mail you receive from me at any time. How Do I Protect Your Information and Secure Information Transmissions? I employ commercially secure methods and platforms to ensure the privacy of the information you provide to me and the information I collect automatically.
This includes using standard security protocols and working only with reputable third-party vendors. Some of the information you may enter on my website may be transmitted securely via a secure medium known as Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL. Credit Card information and other sensitive information is never transmitted via email. I may use software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing the number of visitors to the different sections of my site, what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, I use software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
Privacy Statement, Security and Data Protection
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. As “Data Controller” for my company I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office [registration number ZB 183611] This privacy statement tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended.
My lawful basis for holding and using your personal data depends on the stage of our relationship. If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and storing 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 case management (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a counsellor (in this case, a contract between me and you). When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services, I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include name, email address and phone number. Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral or a parent or trusted individual may give me your details when making an enquiry on your behalf. If you decide not to proceed, I will ensure all your personal data is deleted. While you are accessing counselling rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if, very rarely I might legally have to disclose your personal information to a third party, including a lawyer, when necessary to enforce our terms of service in the contract agreement between us, or, I will disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when I in good faith, believe you or others safety is in danger or when the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights or when compelled by a court or other governmental entity to do so. I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.
I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely and are not shared with any third party. I will keep an electronic recording of each session which is then transferred to an protected encrypted electronic cold storage on a remote hard drive. I do not retain text messages or email unless important. Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for three years (Indemnity Insurer guidance) from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please let me know and submit an erasure request which I will send you to sign. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters. 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. 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 ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.