Privacy Policy

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 Specialist Counselling is committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes the personal information that Specialist Counselling collects from or about you, and how we use and to whom we disclose that information.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, other than the person's business title or business contact information when used or disclosed for the purpose of business communications. Personal information does not include anonymous or non-personal information.

We collect and maintain different types of personal information in respect of those individuals who seek to be, are, or were clients, therapists, employed or contracted by us, including the personal information contained in booking a session, reports, references, invoicing and notes taken during or subsequent to any sessions that are carried out. 

In addition to the examples listed above, personal information also includes information such as name, home address, telephone and mobile telephone numbers, personal email address, date of birth, marital status, gender and any other information necessary for Specialist Counselling to provide services to its clients.  

All of this information will be collected directly from you. In most circumstances where the personal information that we collect about you is held by a third party, we will obtain your permission before we seek out this information from such sources (such permission may be given directly by you, or implied from your actions). An example of this would be sending information to your insurance company to process your medical expenses claim. 

On rare occasions we may use the services of third parties and may also receive personal information collected by those third parties in the course of the performance of their services for us. In that case, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such third parties have represented to us that they have the right to disclose your personal information to us.

Where permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, we may collect information about you without your knowledge or consent.

We may use your personal information for the purposes described in this Policy, or for any additional purposes that we advise you of and where your consent is required by law we have obtained your consent in respect of the use or disclosure of your personal information.

We may share your personal information with our employees, Contractors, members, Contractors, consultants and other parties who require such information to assist us with establishing, managing or terminating our client relationship with you.

Your personal information may be disclosed as permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements. In such a case, we will not disclose more personal information than is required under the circumstances; to comply with valid legal processes such as search warrants, subpoenas or Court orders; to protect the rights and property of Specialist Counselling; during emergency situations or where necessary to protect the safety of a person or group of persons; where the personal information is publicly available; or with your consent where such consent is required by law.

To the extent that your consent is required, we will assume, unless you advise us otherwise, that you have consented to Specialist Counselling collecting, using and disclosing your personal information for the purposes stated above. Where your consent was required for our collection, use or disclosure of your personal information, you may, at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, withdraw your consent. All communications with respect to such withdrawal or variation of consent should be in writing and addressed to the Director of the Business.

Specialist Counselling endeavours to maintain physical, technical and procedural safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information in question. These safeguards are designed to protect your personal information from loss and unauthorised access, copying, use, modification or disclosure.

Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, Specialist Counselling will retain your personal information only for as long as it believes is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the personal information was collected (including, for the purpose of meeting any legal, accounting or other reporting requirements or obligations). We may, instead of destroying or erasing your personal information, make it anonymous such that it cannot be associated with or tracked back to you. 

It is important that the information contained in our records is both accurate and current. If your personal information happens to change during the course of sessions, please keep us informed of such changes.

You can ask to see the personal information that we hold about you. If you want to review, verify or correct your personal information, please contact the Director of the Business. Please note that any such communication may be required in writing.

When requesting access to your personal information, please note that we may request specific information from you to enable us to confirm your identity and right to access, as well as to search for and provide you with the personal information that we hold about you. We reserve the right to charge you a fee to access your personal information; however, we will advise you of any fee in advance. If you require assistance in preparing your request, please contact the Director of the Business.

Your right to access the personal information that we hold about you is not absolute. There are instances where applicable law or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide some or all of the personal information that we hold about you. In addition, the personal information may have been destroyed, erased or made anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices.

If we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will try to inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.

Data protection legislation also provides you with certain other rights. These are not always absolute rights and must be considered in the wider scope of the legislation. These rights are:

right to erasure, also known as the right to be forgotten. The broad principle underpinning this right is to enable an individual to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. In some circumstances this is not an absolute right;

right to restrict processing. You have the right to ‘block’ or suppress processing of personal data. Again this is not an absolute right and will depend on the circumstances and any other legal/statutory obligations Specialist Counselling may have;

right to data portability. 

right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority (including profiling). 

rights related to automated decision-making including profiling. 

Any questions you may have regarding the processing of your personal data should be directed at the Director of Specialist Counselling.