Violetta Nash

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is paramount to me, both during our therapeutic sessions and beyond. As a counsellor, I'm registered with the ICO to ensure the safekeeping of records, in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ethical guidelines of my professional body (BACP).

GDPR Agreement

My GDPR agreement sets out how any personal data I collect from you, or that you provide to me, will be stored and processed confidentially, in accordance with the GDPR, 2018 and will never be passed on to third parties for the purposes of sales, research or marketing.

Any personal data I collect from you, or that you provide to me will be stored in line with the GDPR, 2018. Any session notes I take are very brief and anonymised, using only your initials, and are securely password-protected. Further, all data, whether on my laptop or other devices, is safeguarded with passwords and biometric access. Additionally, any signed contracts are securely stored in a lockable cabinet, protected with a safety code. Your information will never be shared with third parties for sales, research, or marketing purposes.

It is important that the personal information I hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep me informed if your personal information changes during your therapy with me.

How is your personal information collected Information that you provide by emailing me and via various therapy directories and platforms (Tunbridge Wells Counselling Hub, BACP, Counselling Directory, Psychology Today, National Counselling Society, Find a Therapist, Therapy Counselling, or by telephone conversations, online or face to face sessions. Regarding online safety. I use Zoom for online sessions and ProtonMail for email. Both platforms are securely encrypted. Zoom has the facility to record sessions which I will not use.

Information I hold about you

To work ethically and provide the best service I will need to collect, store, and use the following personal information about you:

Personal contact details such as name, title, addresses, telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. Date of birth. Emergency contact number, including GP contact information. Bank account details. Start and end date. Number of sessions, brief notes, mental health questionnaires, discharge forms, evaluation forms and exercise sheets.

How long I keep your information for

Text messages are deleted immediately and I won’t store your number on my phone. Emails only kept if relevant to our ongoing work together. I will retain brief sessions notes whilst we are we are working together. After therapy has finished, I will retain these documents for a further five years in case you decide to return to therapy with me and which is also a requirement of my indemnity insurance, after which time I destroy all information and contact details.

Disclosure of your personal information

In the event of my incapacity or death your personal contact information will be disclosed to the clinical executor of my Professional Will so that they can notify you. In the event of my death my executor will also destroy all contact information and notes on my computer.

In the event I am under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation. For example, if I am subpoenaed to court, or as a legal requirement such as safeguarding children or vulnerable adults, terrorism or money laundering.

As part of ethical practice and my commitment to providing a professional service, I attend supervision regularly. This is bound by a confidentiality contract (separate to this policy) and to protect your identity I only use the initial of your first name.

Your rights

You are entitled to view, amend, or delete the personal information that I hold. All requests have a month to be carried out.  In the event of a data breach I have a legal obligation to report a data breach to you and the Informations Commissioners Office (ICO) within 72 hours. Your rights You are entitled to view, amend, or delete, where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it, the personal information that I hold. All requests have a month to be carried out.

Changes to the GDPR agreement

I will notify you if any changes are made to the GDPR Agreement in the future.  Consent to the GDPR agreement Consent to the GDPR agreement is deemed accepted by your use and undertaking of the services of Violetta Nash and Violetta Nash Counselling or Tunbridge Wells Counselling Hub and constitutes your approval and acceptance of this agreement and you are consenting to my use, and storage of your personal information, you have disclosed to me, as detailed above. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.