What to Expect
The initial consultation/assessment will last approximately 1hr 15 mins, with further sessions lasting 1hr. The number of sessions will vary, depending on your need/goals.
During assessment you will be asked questions about the target situation/problem to build a detailed picture of your thinking, feelings and behaviour. The process of hypnosis will be explained, and a brief relaxation/hypnosis session will be included. At the end of the first session a suggested treatment programme will be offered and discussed.
For further sessions therapy will be tailored to your individual needs.
You will sit in a comfortable chair in a warm, private room where you can relax and talk freely, knowing that sessions are completely confidential.
At the end of the session you will be guided back to full wakefulness and alertness and will leave each session with new knowledge and confidence that you can achieve your goals.
Privacy Policy
I am committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This policy sets out the basis by which any personal data I collect from you, or that you provide to me, will be processed.
For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”), the Data Protection Officer/Controller and Head of Organisation is Carina Wardle, Hypnotherapy North Yorkshire.
Attending more than one appointment implies that you agree with these Terms and Conditions.
What is the General Data Protection Regulations, 2018 (GDPR) and how does it affect me?
The GDPR replaces the 1998 Data Protection Act to ensure your personal and sensitive, confidential data is kept private and held securely, being processed in the way that you have agreed to. It is there to protect your rights as a consumer of a service or product that might involve your identifiable data, e.g. your name and address or whether you have a specific condition. It also covers any session records, text messages or emails we exchange.
What are your rights under the GDPR?
Under the General Data Protection and Retention (2018) legislation all individuals have:
the right to be informed.
the right of access.
the right to rectification.
the right to erasure.
the right to restrict processing.
the right to data portability.
the right to object.
What Personal data do you collect from me?
Personal data collection begins from the moment you first contact me:
You may contact me via telephone, text message, email, website contact form, or via a third- party website.
I may collect and process the following information about you:
Information that you provide by filling in forms on my website, which is then automatically sent to me via an email.
Information that you provide in any direct email or written correspondence;
Information that you provide in any text or telephone correspondence.
I will also collect data from any consultation forms, any other forms or questionnaires you complete as part of any course of therapy and will make brief session notes during any sessions together.
Sometimes you might give your consent implicitly, such as when you send me a message by e-mail or telephone.
You may withdraw your consent at any time by instructing me at carinawardle@btinternet.com
I process personal information to enable the provision of Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy, to advertise services and to maintain accounts and records.
What types of data do you collect?
personal details which may include:
family, lifestyle and social circumstances
employment and education details
physical or mental health details
racial or ethnic origin
religious or other beliefs of a similar nature
offences and alleged offences
How do you store these records?
I ONLY keep paper records on file. I do not store any information about you in any electronic form.
Text messages are deleted once actioned. I do not store client phone numbers.
Email messages may be stored on your file, if relevant, with identifying information removed.
Written correspondence – this is stored in your file with any identifying information removed.
Session notes are stored in your file, again with no identifying information.
Client files are stored in a locked filing cabinet. The cover sheet on your file is the only part of your notes that contains information that may identify you. This is kept in a separate locked cabinet and linked to the rest of your file via an identification number. This means that in the event of your notes being lost or stolen, you would not be able to be identified from those notes.
How long will you hold my information for?
I am required by my insurance company, Balens, to hold information for a period of 7 years after the end of therapy sessions.
If you are a child, I must hold your data until your 25th birthday, unless you are 17 when treatment ends and then I must keep it until your 26th birthday. Therefore, all records will be deleted in the January after the above retention scales. This is in line with NHS regulations for holding data.
What if I don’t want my records to be held for that long?
It is your right under the GDPR to request that all your records be deleted. Any person may put in a request for their personal data to be removed (the ‘right to be forgotten’ or the ‘right to erasure’). In this instance hard copy data will be shredded using a cross shredding machine owned by the organisation and incinerated and any electronic data will be permanently deleted. The client will be notified of the completion. The request for deletion of data and the confirmation of completion will be held securely until eight years after the request was made.
Why do you need to record this information?
I collect information about why you are using the service, a small amount of medical information and a small amount of information about your important others, alongside brief session notes. This information enables me to provide a high-quality service to you, ensuring I am equipped with the knowledge of our previous discussions prior to each session. Your contact details / address and Doctor’s details will only be used with your explicit consent on completion of a consent form.
Is what we discuss kept confidential?
Everything we talk about during our sessions is strictly confidential between you and me. To ensure I am doing my job effectively and that I have the right support, I may discuss elements of our sessions with my supervisor. During these discussions I do not disclose any details that may identify you to my supervisor, and my supervisor also adheres to the GDPR
Situations where information may have to be disclosed are as follows:
I have a duty of care towards you. If there is a serious risk of harm to yourself or to others, then your GP or the Police may be informed (it may not always be possible to talk to you first).
If depression is suspected, then your GP may be informed. I will talk to you about this first.
If you are seeking help for a physical issue, I may have to speak to your GP for advice before therapy can begin, for example when seeking therapy for back pain, migraines or high blood pressure or any other medical condition including (but not limited to) Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, auto-immune conditions, Thyroid issues etc.
If it is suspected that you are unsafe to drive, e.g. under the influence of drugs or alcohol then the DVLA may be contacted.
I am legally obliged to contact the police if I suspect terrorist acts have occurred or are being planned, without informing the client. (Terrorism Act 2000, section 38B)
The courts can also order disclosure of information in other circumstances. It is a very complex area and I would always seek advice from a professional therapy body, and/or supervisor, before breaking confidentiality on a legal matter, as it is not always clear cut.
On occasion, it may be necessary for me to discuss the therapy sessions with my clinical supervisor. This is always done without the mention of any names.
In an emergency, I may have to contact a GP, emergency services or next of kin and, in certain emergency situations (e.g. health related) you may not be able to give consent to this at the time.
What about other Health and Social Care Professionals?
· As I adhere to the GDPR any contact, relating to you, with other health care professionals would only be made with your signed consent or the consent of your parent if you are under 18.
Will you keep in touch with me after completion of therapy?
· Following a course of therapy and with your consent I may keep in touch with you periodically via email, text message or telephone for a period of up to 12 months to see how you are and/or to seek feedback on my services. If you no longer wish me to do this please let me know via email
Disclosure of your information
I will not disclose your information to any other organisation or individual unless I am required to do so for any legal reason.
Access to information
You have the right to access information I hold about you or ask me to remove your data from my records by contacting me as set out below.
Changes to the privacy policy
Any changes I may make to my privacy policy in the future will be posted on my website privacy page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail.
Complaints Procedure
I hope to the meet the highest quality standards when processing personal and sensitive data. Complaints can help identify areas for improvement and therefore I would welcome you raising any concerns you have.
This document was created to be as transparent and understandable as possible. It will not be completely exhaustive of all aspects of data collection. If you would like further information about a specific process, please contact me as set out below.
If you feel you would like to make a complaint about how your personal and sensitive data is handled by me, you can contact me directly. If I cannot resolve your complaint to your satisfaction you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office on 0303 123 1113.
Contact
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed. Please email me at carinawardle@btinternet.com, or write to Carina Wardle, 3 Mill Bridge, Skipton, N.Yorks BD23 1NJ