Privacy notice.
I respect your privacy and take care with the information you share. I am responsible for the personal information held by My Balanced Mind.
You can contact me at sam@mybalancedmind.co.uk with questions or requests about your information.
What I collect and why
When you contact me, I collect your contact details and anything you choose to share so I can respond and discuss working together.
If you become a client, I also keep information relevant to your therapy, including session notes. This may include sensitive information about your health and wellbeing.
I use information to respond to enquiries, arrange appointments, provide therapy and maintain necessary practice records. My legal grounds include taking steps towards or fulfilling our agreement, complying with applicable legal obligations, and legitimate interests in managing the practice and handling complaints or claims.
I use sensitive health information where necessary to provide therapy, under the health or social care condition of UK data protection law and my duty of confidentiality.
Storage and online sessions
Emails and therapy notes are stored within Google Workspace. Access to my practice records is restricted to me, and I use two-step verification.
I use Microsoft Teams for online sessions. Sessions are not recorded or transcribed.
Google and Microsoft handle information when providing their services. Their privacy and data-processing terms explain their arrangements, including any processing outside the UK and relevant safeguards.
Confidentiality
I discuss my work in supervision without identifying clients.
Information may need to be shared where required by law or where necessary and lawful to address a safeguarding concern. We will discuss the limits of confidentiality when we begin working together.
How long I keep information
I normally keep therapy records for 12 months after our work ends, then securely delete them. Relevant records may be kept longer where necessary to deal with a complaint, legal claim or legal requirement. I review retained information and delete it when it is no longer needed.
If an enquiry does not lead to therapy, I delete the enquiry correspondence once it is clear we will not be working together.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you can ask to access your information, correct inaccuracies, request deletion, restrict its use or object to certain uses. You may also have a right to receive information in a transferable format.
Contact sam@mybalancedmind.co.uk to make a request or raise a concern.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.
This notice will be reviewed when the practice’s arrangements change.