Privacy Policy
Exchange Resource is the training and resource division of Therapeutic Counselling Services and is a psychological wellbeing and counselling organisation which provides a range of confidential, professional therapeutic services.
In order for this organisation to provide our professional services it is necessary to ask every user for personal information which we must keep as a record of our working contract with each service user. The organisation only asks you for personal information for legitimate purposes of providing our therapeutic services and limits the information which it records to that which is relevant and limited to the support we provide.
Your personal information is not shared with any other organisation or individual outside of this company and does not leave the jurisdiction of the UK. The information we keep is the minimum amount necessary for providing our services. The information is protected by keeping it in secure electronic files which are only accessible to staff within this organisation who have been given the required authority. Records of your sessions are kept in a specialist encrypted format and only the person who works with you has authority to record and revisit these files. The organisation’s clinical manger and the data controller have access to these files and in special circumstances will examine these records for purposes of quality assurance.
Your data will be stored for 12 months and then archived for a further 12 months after which your data will be deleted from our systems and no record will be retained.
The monitoring of how your personal information is processed, recorded and securely stored is done by the organisation’s Data Protection Officer. This person is appointed to ensure that every person in the organisation adheres to the policies which apply to the security of personal information within Therapeutic Counselling Services and each of its divisions.
If you require legitimate access to your personal information or if you have a complaint about how the organisation records and stores these data, you can contact the Data Protection Officer directly by emailing dpo@thetcsgroup.co.uk or telephoning 03302 020283 and asking for the organisation’s Data Protection Officer.
If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113 or go online to www.ico.org.uk/concerns
Complaints
If you wish to make a complaint about any issue, please get in touch. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and respond within 5 working days.
Phone: 0330 202 0283
Opening up to a counsellor/therapist about your struggles can be the first step to getting help. But it can also feel really scary. You might be unsure about what they're going to do with the information you tell them. Or you might be worried that they will share it with other people. We want to help you understand confidentiality and your rights, so you know how and when your information will be kept private, and how you can access your information.
What is Confidentiality?
Confidentiality is about keeping your information private. It means that when you talk to a counsellor/therapist they shouldn't tell anyone else what you've said.
Information that needs to be kept confidential includes:
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Your name, personal information and contact details
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Details of the struggles you are having
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Anything you've talked about in your appointments
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What's written in your records or notes
You might be worried about what we will do with your information. Your information is kept securely and safely so that it can't be accidentally deleted, lost, stolen or seen by someone else.
If you are still unsure, you can read our privacy policy or ask your counsellor/therapist. They will be able tell you how it will be kept securely.
In some situations, your information may need to be shared without your consent. This is called ‘breaking confidentiality’. It should only happen if:
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There are concerns that you're at risk of serious harm or you're in danger.
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There are concerns that someone else is at serious risk of harm or that they're in danger.
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Someone is told they have to by law.
If the counsellor/therapist does need to tell someone what you've told them, they will always try to tell you first.
Accessing Data
You have a legal right to access personal information held about you by Exchange Resources. You have the right to request:
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information about how your personal data is processed
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a copy of your personal data
You can also:
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request any inaccuracies in your personal data is corrected
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raise an objection about how your personal data is processed
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request that your personal data be erased if there is no longer a justification for it
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ask that the processing of your personal data be restricted in certain circumstances
Should you wish to access your data you can send us an email at dpo@thetcsgroup.co.uk. We will need two-weeks’ notice for these records to be made available to you.