PRIVACY POLICY
What data will I hold?
If you complete the website contact form, we will collect the necessary information to allow us to answer your query. This information will be held electronically for booking and administrative purposes only and will not be shared with any third party services. Once the query has been dealt with we will delete electronic messages within 7 days.
If you make an appointment with Casselden Psychology services we will keep a record of your name, contact details and appointment details for administration purposes. Your contact details will be stored in my Protonmail contact list, which is a highly encrypted service which is GDPR compliant.
New clients will be asked to fill out a self- referral form to gather relevant information regarding your current difficulties and hopes/ expectations from the service, as well as details regarding your GP and emergency contact information. This information will help to make sure that Casselden Psychology services is the correct one for you, and for risk management purposes. Any information collected from this stage onwards, including session notes, will be stored electronically in a password protected file.
How will my data be stored?
All client information will be stored electronically in a password protected file.
Casselden Psychology Services uses a Protonmail email address. Protonmail is GDPR compliant and a highly encrypted email service. Protonmail servers are encrypted which means that data cannot be accessed by others, including Protonmail.
It is important to note however that I have no responsibility for how you store or protect emails you send or receive from me, or how you dispose of notes that you take during our sessions together.
During our sessions I may take some notes about the content of the session. Any notes recorded will be factual records only. Notes will be kept electronically in a password protected file, and stored securely in accordance with GDPR (2018). These notes will only be viewed by me and will not be shared with any third parties. It is a professional requirement that notes are stored for 7 years, after which time they will be destroyed. Any paper notes taken during the session will be shredded after the session ends.
Can I access my records?
You have the right to request access to your records. If you make a data request there will be an admin fee and I may request additional proof of identity. Notes will remain confidential except in where there is a legal requirement to share them such as a court order.
I take no responsibility for notes that you choose to take during our sessions, how you decide to store them or who you share information regarding the content of our sessions with.
Who might information be shared with and why?
Our relationship is a professional one and any information that you share with me will be maintained in accordance with the codes of conduct and legal requirements of my profession. Effectively this means that any information that you share with me will be kept confidential except in the following circumstances:
If I consider that there is a risk that you may harm yourself or someone else.
When disclosure if in the public interest to prevent a miscarriage of justice or where there is a legal duty, e.g. a Court Order.
When there is need-to-know information for another health provider, such as your GP
In the exceptional circumstance where I may be considering breaching confidentiality, you will normally be consulted first. Where I have concerns about your immediate safety, I will contact your named next of kin and/ or your GP. Where possible I will let you know that I am planning to do this and will only share information relevant to the immediate emergency.
If concerns arise about a disclosure relating to acts of terrorism, vulnerable adult or child protection issues or drug trafficking, confidentiality will be breached, and such disclosures will be passed onto the relevant authority without delay. Due consideration should be exercised before disclosing anything of a previously unreported criminal nature, as I am legally bound to contact relevant authorities.
As a Clinical Psychologist I am required to engage in regular clinical supervision, in order to ensure that I am providing the best care possible to my clients. I will discuss my cases in supervision but I will not share any personal identifying information regarding individual clients. My clinical supervisor will be bound to the same confidentiality requirements as I am.
FAQS
HOW LONG DOES EACH THERAPY SESSION TAKE?
Each therapy session is 60 minutes long, unless there is a clinical reason why this may not be suitable. You have the right to end a session early, and you are not obligated to give a reason for this, although you will be charged for the full session.
Usually during treatment we would recommend having a session approximately every two weeks, as this gives enough time to practice skills and complete any home tasks that we have agreed on in previous sessions, while being frequent enough to keep focus and maintain momemtum for change.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO HAPPEN DURING THERAPY?
Psychological therapy is a collaborative process where we will work together to make sense of your current difficulties. It can usually be divided into three main areas:
Assessment. This is the information gathering stage where you and your therapist will discuss information which is relevant to your current difficulties, as well as information about your life in general. A core aspect of this stage is getting to know your therapist and developing an environment where you feel safe and comfortable.
Formulation . This is where you and your therapist use psychological models to help make sense of your current difficulties, increasing our understanding of how these have developed over time and what might be keeping them going or making them worse for you right now.
Treatment. Based on the individual formulation which you and your therapist think is most helpful in making sense of your difficulties, you and your therapist will agree a treatment plan for your difficulties and set achievable goals for you to work on. This may tasks such as building new skills and behavioural experiments.
I AM NOT SURE IF THERAPY IS FOR ME, HOW CAN I TELL?
There is no right or wrong time to access therapy, and it can be a valuable tool at any stage. In general however, people are more able to make long term, meaningful change when other areas of your life are generally stable. If you are in crisis it is unlikely that you will be able to make best use of the sessions and it may be that other services are more appropriate at this stage, and your therapist may signpost you on to relevant services in your area.
Sometimes people worry that their problems are not 'severe' enough to warrant seeing a therapist. Your difficulties are as valid as any one else's and if you are struggling with an issue it can be helpful to discuss this with a professional in a safe environment. Interventions can be brief or long, and you can decide how many sessions you commit to, if any.
CAN I BRING SOMEONE WITH ME?
If you are nervous about coming along to therapy, do not worry- that is totally normal! Most people feel a bit nervous at the start, but your therapist will try to make you feel comfortable. If you would like to bring someone for support that is entirely up to you, however we would ask that they wait in the waiting area for you rather than coming into the therapy room. This will allow you to talk freely and confidentially to your therapist during your session.