Privacy Notice for Ed Magee
This Privacy Notice was last reviewed in February 2025.
Please note, changes to wording have been made to help make it easier to read and understand.
The purpose of this Privacy Notice is designed to notify you of how you can expect me to use your personal data when you enter into a counselling relationship with me.
You can find the general privacy notice for counselling@unit12 on http://www.cau12.com/privacy-notice.
This privacy notice has been written in a way that I hope is clear and easy to understand. However, in order to keep it concise I might refer to terms or situations which are not immediately obvious to you. If you come across anything that you would like to have explained, please do contact me by emailing janilcecounselling@gmail.com and I will do my best to provide further clarification.
As a counsellor I highly value your right to privacy. As such I will only use the personal data that you entrust us with for the purpose which it was given to me. I adhere to the current UK data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679 - GDPR) and Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR).
I am registered with the information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under the number: ZB413427
This privacy notice covers the following points:
What personal data I collect
The purposes of processing your personal data
The legal basis for processing your personal data
How I store your personal data
Who I share your personal data with and why
How long your personal data is retained
Your rights around the use of your personal data
How to contact the authority if you have concerns
What personal data does counselling@unit12 collect?
The details collected at the time of your initial contact with me will be used throughout the counselling relationship to communicate with you in relation to appointments. As a reminder, these details include:
Your name
The name and age of a child or young person you are applying on behalf of
Your preferred contact information, i.e. your email address or a telephone number
The reason that you are seeking counselling
When you begin your counselling journey with me, I will collect additional personal data as part of my registration process and to ensure that the arrangement and work together can be carried out. This information includes:
Details relating to your general physical health, e.g. level of fitness, amount of alcohol you consume on a weekly basis
Details relating to any medically diagnosed conditions relevant to the counselling work
Details relating to your current emotional state
Details regarding your sexual orientation, preferred gender pronoun *
Details regarding your nationality *
Age(s) of and relationship of significant others, e.g. parents, siblings, children, partner *
Please note, some of the above personal data (marked with an asterisk (*)) is collected on an optional basis, as it is not essential to carry out the counselling work but can be helpful within it.
You will also be required to sign a Working Agreement (contract) for the type of counselling appointment you undertake, which will also contain
Your signature
Your address
The name, address and contact telephone number of your GP surgery
The name, contact telephone number or email and relationship to you of an emergency contact
Once the counselling work has begun, a record of your sessions will also be kept, in addition to the above-mentioned personal data. This means that I will take brief notes during your sessions, to help the counselling agreement run smoothly and serve to aid memory about the work, as is standard professional practice. These notes are available to you to view at any time upon request and are anonymised as much as practically possible to protect your privacy.
(Additional information regarding supervision can be found in the section “Who I share your personal data with and why”.)
The purposes of processing your personal data
As might reasonably be expected, the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR both state that personal data can only be collected and used if there is a legal reason for doing so.
The below table will hopefully help show you which legal condition I am relying upon when using your personal data.
| What data |
What it is used for |
Legal condition | Legitimate Interests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name and/or contact details | Communications - e.g. booking appointments, facilitating video call counselling sessions etc. | Performance of contract | N/A |
| Issuing invoices for payment | Performance of contract | N/A | |
| Execution of counsellor’s professional will | Explicit consent | N/A | |
| Emergency contact name and/or contact details | Communication should an emergency with you arise during a counselling appointment | Legitimate Interest | To aid in meeting our safeguarding requirements. |
| Health information, e.g. details relating to current emotional state | Session notes |
Performance of contract | N/A |
| Details relating to sexual orientation and nationality | Provision of counselling service | Legitimate Interest | To aid in the counselling work, so the performance of the contract. |
| Details of significant others |
Provision of counselling service | Legitimate Interest | To aid in the counselling work, so the performance of the contract. |
| Name and/or contact details of other therapists | Referrals | Explicit Consent | N/A |
How I store your personal data
How I store your personal data depends on the type of record that I hold the personal data on.
Paper records, such as signed working agreements or session notes will be stored in secured filing cabinets contained in areas with access restrictions.
Electronic records, such as your contact details, are stored in a number of different systems, including those listed in the section “Who I share your personal data with and why”. As far as is reasonably practical, these systems have been carefully selected on grounds of the security they enforce. All systems are set up with unique username and strong password combinations and utilise access controls to restrict unauthorised access.
Who I share your personal data with and why
Confidentiality is at the heart of all we do as a counselling practice. As such, we do our best to ensure that your personal data is kept safe and secure. However, there are instances when your personal data may need to be shared with third parties. Below is a list of third parties that you can expect your personal data to be shared with, and in what situation.
| Recipient of data | Reason for sharing data | Type of data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Email provider |
In order to be able to communicate with you. | Whatever personal data you include in an email; including information such name and contact information and, in the case of the initial enquiry, details regarding the reason that you are seeking counselling. |
| Working agreements and Forms | To securely collect your contact information and facilitate the start of the therapeutic process. | Name and contact information. |
| Emergency Contact information. | ||
| GP surgery contact information. | ||
| Client health data. | ||
| Customer Relationship Management System |
In order to store your contact information securely, should it be needed. | Name and contact information. |
| Emergency Contact information. | ||
| GP surgery contact information. | ||
| Client health data. | ||
| Accountancy services |
To manage my financial accounts, I use an
accounting track payments and organise
spreadsheets. Additionally, should you pay your counselling fees by bank transfer, please not that your name will be visible to the bank and our accountants. |
Name and contact information. |
| Website provider | To allow you to submit an inquiry and learn about the services I provide. | Name, contact information and reason for seeking counselling if supplied using the website’s Contact Form. |
| Video call software |
I use Zoom meetings or Team meetings. It is a secure and encrypted service and is free for you to access. | Your name as you enter it when you join the meeting. |
| Counselling supervisors | In accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework, I attend regular supervision sessions with a trained Supervisor. To protect your privacy and confidentiality, you will only be referred to by your first name, and any details related to your therapy will be anonymised as much as possible. | First name only – to protect your privacy. |
| General details relating to your therapy sessions. | ||
| Relevant details from your therapy sessions if an emergency or safety concern arises. | ||
| Emergency services | If an emergency occurs during a counseling session or a safeguarding concern arises, I may need to contact emergency services and share your personal data. Whenever possible, I will seek your consent before doing so. Please note, where possible, we will always seek to get your consent prior to contacting the emergency services. | Name and contact details – to help the emergency services identify you. |
| Details regarding your safety or a serious crime you have disclosed, if legally required to do so. | ||
| GP Surgery | If I become concerned about your well-being or safety during a session, I may request your consent to contact your GP on your behalf. | |
| Other contacts or services, e.g. parents/carers, social workers, schools, local authorities etc. | If a child or young person discloses information related to a safeguarding concern, it may be necessary to contact their parent or carer, or, if they are in care, the relevant organizations overseeing their care. Whenever possible, consent from the child will be sought in advance, depending on the nature of the concern. | Name and contact information |
| Details relating to the safeguarding concern that has been disclosed. | ||
| Other therapists | If I am unable to provide the necessary help, I may ask for your consent to refer your contact information to another therapist. | Name and contact information. |
| General information relating to the reason you are seeking counselling. |
||
| Executors of a will and related service providers | In the unlikely event of my death or incapacity to work, your personal data will be managed by the executor of my will to inform you. | Name and contact information. |
How long I retain your personal data
The length of time your personal data will be retained depends very much on the type or personal data it is and the reason that it is collected and used.
Your personal data will be held for the lengths of time outlined below:
| What data |
Retention period |
|---|---|
| Personal data relating to working agreement, including name, contact information, emergency contact information, GP surgery contact information, health data. | For up to 12 months after the conclusion of our therapeutic relationship. |
| Personal data relating to working agreement, including name, contact information, health data. | For up to 7 years, to meet the requirements set by my counseling insurance provider, Holistic Insurance Services. Details of children and/or young people will be retained for 7 years after they turn 18. |
| All personal data relating to financial records, including name, contact information. | Legally, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) requires me to retain financial data for up to 5 years after the end of the counseling relationship. |
Your rights relating to your personal data
Your personal data belongs to you. As my client you entrust your personal data to me, so that I can provide you with the therapeutic help that you are seeking, but you retain certain rights over your data and how it is used.
Below are a list of your rights and how you can exercise them.
The right to be informed
In a nutshell, this is your right to know how and why your data is being collected and used by me. I hope that this Privacy Notice provides you with that information. Should anything be unclear though, please do not hesitate to contact me by email on janilcecounselling@gmail.com.
The right of access
You have a right to know what data I hold on you. As the controller of your data, I am required to respond to any request that you make to see the data I hold within 30 days of you making such a request. This is commonly referred to as a Data Subject Access Request. If you would like to see the data I am relating to you, please either email janilcecounselling@gmail.com or speak to me if you have started your counselling work with me already.
Please note, while it may sound contradictory, to properly protect your privacy I may be required to request additional personal data to verify your identity before providing the personal data to you if you email me with a data subject access request. This is in an effort to stop other people claiming to be you from getting access to your personal data.
The right to rectification
You have the right to ensure that any personal data that you have provided me with is correct. As such, if your circumstances change, for example you get a new contact telephone number, or wish to change your preferred method of contact from telephone to email, please do provide me with the up-to-date information and I will correct your records immediately.
Please note, there may be circumstances when we are not required to follow up on you exercising your right for rectification. Full details about this right can be found here:
www.ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-your-data-corrected
The right to erasure
This right allows you to ask me to delete the personal data I hold on you. However, there are certain instances when I would not be able to honour your request, including those where I am under legal obligations to retain the data, for instance the HMRC requirement for our financial records to be held for 5 financial years.
Also, please note, while you are actively engaged with the counselling work, I would not be able to delete the personal data that I hold on you, as this is required by me to fulfil my side of the working agreement.
The right to restrict processing
Related to your right to erasure, you have a right to restrict how I use the personal data that you have provided me with. This right is closely linked to your right to erasure, and also has some restrictions as to when it can be exercised.
If you would like more information about this right, you can find some here:
https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-limit-how-organisations-use-your-data
The right to data portability
Should you wish to move from using me to another therapist, you have the right to request that we make the personal data I hold on you available in a format that is easily accessible and machine-readable. Specifically, this right applies to data we hold electronically. Should you wish to exercise this right, please do contact us via email at janilcecounselling@gmail.com.
The right to object
Another right that is similar to both the ‘right to erasure’ and the ‘right to restrict processing’ is your right to ask us to stop using your data at any time. This again does only apply in certain circumstances, so please do contact me at janilcecounselling@gmail.com to discuss this exercising right.
Also, you can find additional information here:
https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/the-right-to-object-to-the-use-of-your-data
Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
We do not profile you or make any automated decisions regarding you in any way. As such, while this is a right you have, it does not apply to the services we provide.
How to contact the authority if you have concerns
If you have any concerns around the use of your personal data, I would prefer it if you would address these with me first. You can either contact me by email at janilcecounselling@gmail.com or, if you are a current client, you can speak to me.
However, if you do not feel that I am providing you with a satisfactory response, you are also entitled to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
You can contact the ICO via their website: https://ico.org.uk