About Me

 

Privacy Notice

 

Silva Counselling collects and processes personal data of people we work with to carry out our functions. Our Privacy Notice details our commitment to being transparent about how we collect and use your data and to meeting our GDPR obligations.

Your privacy is very important to us 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 us. We 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.

 

Introduction

The policies and information described in this document refer to this website only. Any data processed by the company outside of the website will be covered in a separate working agreement and contract.

This document covers our policies regarding how this website collects, stores, and uses any personal data we may hold or gather.

Any reference to “We” or “Our Company” refers to interactions with the website, and not any larger policies our business may hold.

By accessing and using our website you are indicating that you agree with the policies set out in this document. If you do not accept or agree to these policies, please stop using the website immediately.

 

This website may collect the following data from you:

Information you provide by filling in forms on the website. This includes, but is not limited to, enquiry forms, newsletter signups, and other engagements with the site.

Details of your visits to our website, in the form of analytics data. This includes, but is not limited to, location data and traffic data.

General user information via cookies.

Please see our separate Terms and Conditions Policy; Certain restrictions govern the use of this website.

Please see our separate Cookies Policy: Cookies used on our website are a way for websites to remember information about you.

We reserve the right to update this document at any time without prior notice.

 

Who are we?

 

‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/ organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is Suzanna De Silva who is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office: fgwejhwsHFEW 

 

What information we collect:

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The GDPR states that we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which we are processing your data.

The GDPR also makes sure that we look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to us appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for us processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between us and you).

When you contact us with an enquiry about our counselling services, we will collect information to help us satisfy your enquiry.

This will include your contact details, such as telephone number, email address, social media data and other personal details that you have disclosed at this stage. However, should you decide not to proceed with counselling those details will be deleted and erased, when the purpose for which they were provided for is no longer applicable.

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We will keep a record of your enquiry and personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely on the data controllers desktop and secure cloud services. They are password-protected and are not shared with any third party. Any paper documentation and clinical notes will be stored in a locked filing cabinet in the data controllers personal office in accordance with the BACP Guidelines.

 

Your mobile number will be stored on an independent works phone but will not display your full name. This phone is pin protected and used primarily to send scheduled appointments and reminders. 

 

While you are accessing counselling, rest assured that everything you discuss will be in confidence, unless information is subpoenaed by court OR if you or anyone you tell us about is at risk of harm, we may be required to breach confidentiality, OR you ask us to refer you to another service and give us permission to provide limited information.

 

We try to be as open as we can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. You have a right to ask us to delete your personal information, to limit how we use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that we may hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at www.ico.org.uk/your-data-matters

 

 

How your information may be shared or used.

 

Data collected will not be sold or used for any unethical purpose.

Our website does not share information with third parties for advertising purposes

Your data will be kept for the duration of our work together.

However, when our work together has finished, all data except for brief personal details and session notes (which will be stored separately for up to 5 years in accordance with BACP regulations) will be deleted or securely disposed of.

Any other websites linked from our website are not governed by this policy document. We have no control and accept no responsibility for content found on third party websites.

 

Why we collect personal data

This is so we can that we can contact you and make arrangements for further connection for a working agreement which will be covered in a separate contract and provided separately at the time of uptake. It is also so we can keep you safe if we are conducting online counselling and we are concerned about your safety.

To comply with the recommendations of our professional body and insurance company.

 

The lawful basis on which we use this information.

To collect and use data you share, we must show the ICO that we have a lawful basis to do this. We also need to tell you what this lawful basis is.

We have determined that ‘legitimate interests’ is the most appropriate lawful basis for both personal (article 6) and special category data (article 9).

See the ICO website for more details.

 

Your Rights

 

You have the right:

 

to be informed about what information we hold

to access the information, we hold – you can request this in writing at any time. We will provide you with the information within one month.

to have any incorrect information rectified – you can request this verbally or in writing.

to have your records erased (in the defence of any legal claims, we may decline to do this citing the lawful basis of legitimate interests)

to restrict processing (we may decline to do this citing the lawful basis of legitimate interests)

to object to processing of your data (we may decline to do this citing the lawful basis of legitimate interests)

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Access to your information

You have the right, through the Data Protection Act 1998, to access information held about you. The access request may be subject to a nominal fee to meet our costs of providing you with the information which will be £20.

 

How to contact us

If you have any queries or comments regarding this privacy policy, please contact us via the contact details on this website.

 

If you have any concerns about how we have used your data please contact; The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF – Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate).

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Cookie Policy

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This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them. 

What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are used to store small pieces of information. The cookies are stored on your device when the website is loaded on your browser. These cookies help us make the website function properly, make the website more secure, provide better user experience. We analyse how the site works and where it needs improvement.

How do we use cookies ?
Our website uses first-party and third-party cookies for a number of purposes. The first-party cookies are mostly necessary for the website to function the right way, and they do not collect any of your personally identifiable data.
The third-party cookies used on our websites are used mainly for understanding how the website performs, how you interact with our website, keeping our services secure, providing you with a better and improved user experience and helping speed up your future interactions with our website.

What types of cookies do we use?
Essential: Some cookies are essential for you to be able to experience the full functionality of our site. They allow us to maintain user sessions and prevent any security threats. They do not collect or store any personal information. 
Statistics: These cookies store information like the number of visitors to the website, which pages of the website have been visited etc. This data help us understand and analyse how well the website performs and where it needs improvement.
Functional: These are the cookies that help certain non-essential functionalities on our website. These functionalities include embedding content like videos or sharing contents on the website on social media platforms.
Preferences: These cookies help us store your settings and browsing preferences like language preferences so that you have a better and efficient experience on future visits to the website.

How can I control my cookie preferences?
You can prevent the setting of cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser (see your browser Help for how to do this). Be aware that disabling cookies will affect the functionality of this and many other websites that you visit. Disabling cookies will usually result in also disabling certain functionality and features of this site. Therefore it is recommended that you do not disable cookies.
You can set your browser not to accept cookies. Visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org/ to find out more