Is psychotherapy really confidential?
Psychotherapists registered and accredited with national bodies such as
BPC are required to adhere to a code of ethics and practice which requires a particularly careful
approach to confidentiality. Issues you discuss with your psychotherapist at Mindmatters are governed
by these codes of ethics and practice. All verbal and written information, which you share with us,
is carefully protected to ensure no-one else has access to it.
Ros adheres to the following codes of professional ethics and practice:
Mindmatters is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and complies with their regulations. This means
that personal information is stored securely and confidentially, and is not made use of for marketing purposes. Except in unusual
circumstances, we will only contact you in reply to your direct enquiry.
Is there research evidence that psychotherapy works?
Talking therapies are understood to be effective in treating a wide
range of psychological problems, sometimes in conjunction with suitable medication. There is research
evidence that psychodynamic psychotherapy and Mentalization Based Therapy are effective in treating
depression, anxiety, eating disorders and some personality disorders.
Diversity
Mindmatters undertakes not to allow individual or social prejudice about age, ethnicity, race, nationality, disability,
social, economic or immigration status, lifestyle, gender identity or gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religious or
cultural beliefs to adversely affect the way we work and relate. Please ensure that we are aware of any special needs or requirements.
|
|
Data Protection Regulations (Storing and Processing of Data) - May 2018
On the 25th May 2018, the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
are coming into effect and therefore Mindmatters is required to obtain written consent from
clients and supervisees to hold and process your data and, if and when necessary, to contact
you. Mindmatters needs to store your data to be able to carry out standard administrative
tasks and to ensure that you receive the benefits of your therapeutic or supervisory
relationship. We would like to assure you, that we will never give, sell or rent the data
that we hold to other organisations to be used for their own business. Mindmatters counts on
you to help us to comply with the new regulations.
The information held about you, gathered in the course of your involvement
with the Mindmatters may include your name, address, date of birth, telephone number(s),
email address, video conferencing contact details, agreed fee, GP name and address,
appointment times, date your involvement started and date your involvement closed. In
exceptional circumstances and where applicable, we also may hold copies of any letters that
might be sent either to you or another helping professional involved in your care
(e.g. a GP) in the course of your involvement with Mindmatters. We do not keep copies of
any emails, text messages etc but instead routinely delete these within one month of
them being sent.
We take all necessary steps to protect your privacy; it is a matter that we
take great care of. If you would like information about how Mindmatters protects your
privacy please ask for further details.
In cases of crisis or emergency, we may need to involve other professionals
or organisations to provide services to you. For example, in the unusual circumstance where
we are unexpectedly unable to provide appointments, and unable to contact you about a
cancellation, we have two clinical executors who would, under those circumstances only, have
access to your data. Our clinical executors are chosen with care and are practising
psychotherapists/Jungian analysts. In those unusual circumstances, they would then be
responsible for contacting you about the situation and to make suitable arrangements for
you. Under those circumstances, we require them to safeguard your personal information with
the same degree of care that we do.
During the course of your involvement with Mindmatters Therapy, you may be
making online payments, and may have allowed your name to be part of the payment reference.
In this instance your name appears on our online bank statements. If we have exchanged
messages online or by phone then your name, email address(es), phone number(s) and
video-conferencing address are stored on dedicated equipment (computer, tablet and phone).
Each of these pieces of equipment are password protected.
If you would like to change your details or have a copy of the information
that Mindmatters Therapy holds about you, please ask. To give Mindmatters Therapy your
consent to hold and process your data, and (when necessary) contact you by email, telephone,
or post, you will be asked to sign and date a simple form and return it to us. This would
usually happen at the beginning of our work together.
After the conclusion of our work together, your data will continue to be
stored securely (usually for seven years before being safely deleted). In some circumstances,
your data may be retained for a longer period of time before secure deletion. It is not
usual practice for a therapist or supervisor to contact a client or supervisee for any
reason following the conclusion of our work.
|