Privacy Policy

I (Michaela Addis) understand how important your privacy is. I take care to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws (GDPR, 2018) and the ethical guidelines of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) and the National Hypnotherapy Society (NHS). These guidelines have been set up to protect your confidential material and ensure that your therapist (Michaela Addis) always conducts themselves with professionalism and integrity.

In order to provide you with the best service possible, I will hold your personal contact details and records of your therapy sessions. Please find below important information about how this information will be held and used.

Your personal information

I will collect and store your personal data securely in accordance with data protection laws. At the point of booking your initial consultation or when booking onto a relaxation session or workshop, you will be asked for your personal contact information, for example your name, address, email address and telephone number and you may also choose to share details of the issues you are looking for help with.

Your contact information is stored electronically and securely using password protection  and can only be accessed by me.

In order to be able to fulfil my duty of care to you, in your initial consultation or first treatment session, I will ask you for contact information for your GP and elected Emergency Contact person. These details will be stored securely and will only be accessible to me. This does not apply to relaxation sessions or workshops.

This personal information will be held for the duration of your therapy after which it will be deleted from my database.

Please note that I will need to keep your client record for 2 years after the end of your therapy, so that I can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your clinical notes and treatment.

I will never pass on your contact details to any third party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research and will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the therapy service I am providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments and collect payment for sessions.

You may receive emails from Awaken Therapy for review purposes or to inform you of offers or additional services you may be interested in. You will also be subscribed to the monthly newsletter. You can opt out of these emails at any time.

Your payment details

All payments are made through BACS transfer, via a secure payment link sent via email/text or directly via the website. Anonymised payment details are recorded in my financial income reports. These reports will only hold your initials and unique client reference number. The HMRC requires that I retain this information for 5 years after the end of the financial year.

Your therapy sessions

Everything that you discuss with me is confidential. Confidentiality will only be broken if there is concern about your safety, the safety of someone else or I am instructed to do so by a Court of Law. I will always endeavour to speak to you about this first. Further details can be found on the NCPS or NHS website.

During remote working (as part of the initial consultation, for example) I will ensure that I am conducting online and telephone sessions in a quiet, private and confidential setting. I have selected video calling platforms that offer end to end encryption to ensure maximum privacy. Please note however that I cannot be held responsible for any breaches that occur due to failures in this technology.

I discuss my clinical work with a supervisor. This is to ensure that I am offering you the best service possible and that I am working in a safe and responsible way. These conversations are bound by confidentiality and you will only be referred to by initials.

I keep notes of each session. These are anonymised and held securely. These notes are for my use only and help to keep a track of everything that is being discussed. They will only be shared with your consent or if I am instructed to do so by a Court of Law. In line with industry guidelines, these notes will be kept securely for up to 2 years after your therapy comes to an end. After this time, they will be confidentially destroyed.

If your sessions are paid for or arranged via a third party, (e.g. your employer, a friend, or a family member), other than payment requests, invoices or receipts, information related to your therapy will not be shared. Details about your sessions will remain confidential between us, unless there is a concern about your safety, the safety of someone else or I am instructed to do so by a Court of Law. Any other information can only be shared if you provide your written consent.

Your communications with me

If you use the contact form on the website, send an email, text or WhatsApp message, only I will have access to it.

All phones, tablets and laptops used to respond to your emails are encrypted, fully protected with anti-virus software and password protected.

Data Usage

I will use your email address and telephone number to contact you about your appointments. I may also contact you directly via email in order to share information with you that is pertinent to your therapeutic process.

Your phone number will also be used to issue appointment reminders via text message. 

You may receive emails from Awaken Therapy for review purposes or to inform you of offers or additional services you may be interested in. You will also be subscribed to the monthly newsletter. You can opt out of these emails at any time.

Your rights

Any personal data retained by me is kept in accordance with the GDPR, 2018.

Under these guidelines you have the following rights

1. The right to request access to your data

You can request to view the information that I hold about you (contact details, appointment logs etc.) at any time. If during therapy you would like to see your session notes, please let me know. Should you require a copy of your notes after your therapy has come to an end you can make this request by emailing ki@awakentherapy.co.uk or calling 07747 361799.

1. The right of rectification

At any point during your time using my service or during the 2 years thereafter, while I retain your records, you have the right to request amendments to your contact details or session notes. This right can be exercised either by speaking directly to me or by contacting me in writing.

1. The right to be forgotten

You can request that I delete and confidentially destroy the information that I hold about you and your sessions at any time. This request can be made by contacting me at ki@awakentherapy.co.uk. 

Instances where I would not be able to comply with your request are as follows:

1. a) It is necessary for me to retain these records in order to continue providing an effective service
2. b) I am compelled to retain these records by a Court of Law
3. c) I require these records in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims

Consent

When you book your first session with me, you will be asked to sign a contract to confirm that you consent to the storage and processing of your personal data for the purposes of providing therapeutic services. 

For relaxation sessions and workshops, you are confirming your consent by making a booking.

You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time and can do so by emailing me at ki@awakentherapy.co.uk. 

Breaches of data protection

In the event of any breach of my data protection policies, I will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours and will seek to rectify this immediately.

Raising concerns

Should you have any concerns about my data protection practices, you can raise these directly with me. You can also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

Policy created: 31st March 2022 (Latest update: 14th August 2024)