Privacy, Confidentiality and data protection

General:

By providing your personal information such as your name and email address and telephone number, you are agreeing for Chasing Zero and associates working for Chasing Zero (e.g. Counsellors) to contact you regarding the information you have requested. This information will be used exclusively for our purposes and will not be passed on to any third parties, unless you personally request this in any specific instances.

What rights you have over your data? If at any time you no longer wish to hear from us simply let us know via the online contact form and we will not contact you further and will delete your details from our records.

Cookie policy:

Please see this page for full details

Disclaimer:

The information and services in this website have been provided in good faith.

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Chasing Zero and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.

Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Chasing Zero. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, Chasing Zero takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.

 

In the Counselling situation:
Due to data protection laws we are required to inform you (the counsellee) how we store and use your information. All of our counsellors are registered data controllers. Your counsellor  has a professional duty to record your information and to keep this information for 7 years, upon which it will be deleted, this is a requirement from the BACP. Your information will only be retained for longer when there is a mutually agreed decision or where your counsellor believes it is in my best professional interests to do so.

Your counsellor will keep the basic information you provided on the agreement form at the beginning of counselling. This includes your name, address, phone, email, and GP practice. They will subsequently write brief client notes (using a code) after each session, giving factual information of our sessions and verbal agreements. Your agreement form and client notes are kept in a locked cabinet. Your phone number is stored in your counsellors phone, which is password protected, using a code or pseudonym for the duration of counselling. For communications by email,  email accounts are also password protected.

As part of professional practice your counsellor may discuss the content of the sessions in confidence during clinical supervisor (this may be with both an external supervisor and with a counselling supervisor within Chasing Zero).  This will be using a code or pseudonym; no identifying information will be shared. Your contact details will be used for the purpose of contacting you (unless you have opted to receive other information). Other personal data such as your name and address will be used to verify your identity, if there is a need to contact your G.P., or request for access to personal data from yourself or your representative or legitimate legal instrument such as a court order.

You have the right to request to see your information. This will be supplied within one month of receiving your request in writing. You also have the right to ask for your information to be erased and also to be corrected if you believe it to be incorrect.

Your contact details alone will only be shared in exceptional circumstances with a supervisor or another named agent in the event that your counsellor is incapacitated, in order that you can be contacted to explain the situation. The details of this arrangement are set out in the counsellors professional will.

Your counsellor has a professional duty to share information about you to legitimate third parties under the following conditions:

• Receipt of a request from you or your representative, and where the release of notes is not judged by me as likely to cause you significant harm to another person.
• Where there is a specific legal requirement for your counsellor to do so.
• Where this is an ethical duty for your counsellor to do so, for example to avoid serious harm to yourself or another person, including the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults.

Post counselling

Your counsellor will delete your phone number from his/her mobile. However, the phone will retain any records of phone calls and texts between you and your counsellor. If we agree to further communication by text or email these records may be kept for the duration as your counselling notes.

Concerns

If you have any concerns about the way your information is being held please discuss with with your counsellor and every effort to resolve this with you will be made. In the unfortunate event that you feel you have not been heard, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or my professional body, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).