Privacy and cookie policy – Protecting your personal details on my website.

I’m Samantha Merry, whose place of business is Shaftesbury House, 20 Tylney Rd, Bromley BR1 2RL United Kingdom, know that you care how information about you is used and shared and I appreciate your trust in me to do that carefully and sensibly. This notice describes my privacy policy and my cookie policy.

By visiting samanthamerry.co.uk (‘the Website’) you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. The website is brought to you by me, Samantha Merry. I believe it is important to protect your Personal Data (as defined in the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU GDPR that came in to force in 2018) and I am committed to giving you a personalised service that meets your needs in a way that also protects your privacy. This policy explains how I may collect Personal Data about you. It also explains some of the security measures I take to protect your Personal Data, and tells you certain things I will do and will not do.

My Information Commissioner’s Office registration for data protection is number ZB445008.

WHAT INFORMATION I COLLECT

The main pieces of information I collect are:

•  Name
• Phone number
• Email address

WHEN I COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION

There are a few occasions when I might collect information from you. These include when:

• Your first call or email me to make an enquiry about my service; or to make an appointment to meet me.
• You give me this information face-to-face if we meet on any occasion.
• You attend your first session and sign our Therapy Agreement.
• You give me via a contact form on our website.
• I will not collect this information from you at any other time.

HOW I COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION

I collect information in the following ways:

• When you give it to me directly.
• When you contact me via my website or by phone.
• I do not collect your data in any other way. I will only ever get it from you.

HOW I PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

I am an experienced counsellor / psychotherapist, fully trained in the importance of maintaining confidentiality. I go to great lengths to keep all your information safe. I invest in the appropriate resources to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. I make sure I manage it in accordance with our legal responsibilities under the above applicable data protection laws and regulations.

However, no internet-based platform, including email, is 100% secure, so I cannot be held responsible for unauthorised or unintended access that is beyond our control. When I communicate via email, there is always the possibility that email platforms can be hacked; or email transmission may not be encrypted when corresponding back and forth. I remain mindful of this and ensure that I do everything in my capability to protect your personal information.

HOW I USE AND PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION

After I have received your information, there are a few ways in which I might use it to ensure I give you the best possible service. They include:

• To help me to identify you when you contact me.
• To contact you to make, confirm, cancel or reschedule appointments.
• To respond to any queries or complaints that you raise.
• If I have a legal obligation to use or disclose information about you for instance, where I am ordered by a court or regulatory authority.
• For any other purpose to which you agree.
• I will not disclose your information to any third party except in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

HOW I KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE AND WHO HAS ACCESS TO IT

I want you to know that I will never sell or pass on your personal information to third parties for their own purposes.

As all therapists are required to keep appropriate records of their client work, your therapist may keep some brief notes of your sessions. The notes are fully anonymised and do not contain any of the information I collect from you, as detailed above. Anonymised notes are kept in a locked cabinet or on a password protected secure computer in accordance with data protection laws.

Each therapist keeps their own notes and they are never shared with anyone, even other therapists with whom they may work alongside.

HOW I RETAIN YOUR INFORMATION

My professional insurance requires that all our records are kept for 5 years after which time they will be destroyed.

HOW I WILL COMMUNICATE WITH YOU

I will only ever communicate with you via email or text message, outside of our face to face sessions.

VISITING THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

My website may occasionally contain links to other websites that I believe may be of interest to you or to Professional bodies. This Privacy Policy only applies to my website, so if you link to another website, I recommend you read the privacy policy of that website before sharing any personal or financial data.

I do not provide any personally identifiable client Personal Data to any third-party websites.

I exclude all liability for loss that you may incur when using any third party websites.

COOKIES

WHAT YOUR RIGHTS ARE

I want to make sure you are in control of how I use and keep your information.

You have the right to:

• Be told how your personal information will be used..
• Request a copy of the information I hold about you.
• Update or amend the information I hold about you, if it is wrong.
• Change your communication preferences at any time.
• Ask me to remove your personal information from our records (see ‘How I Retain Your Information’ above).
• Request an electronic copy of your personal information be sent to you, or another organisation.
• Raise a concern or complaint about the way in which your information is being used.

Further Information

If you would like any more information or you have any comments about our Privacy Policy, please either write to me at Samantha Merry, 7 Shaftesbury House, 20 Tylney Rd, Bromley BR1 2RL, or email me from the Contact page on my website.

I may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time without notice to you, in which case, I will publish the amended version on the website. You confirm that I shall not be liable to you or any third party for any change to this Privacy Policy from time to time. It is your responsibility to check regularly to determine whether this Privacy Policy has changed.

You can ask me for a copy of this Privacy Policy and of any amended Privacy Policy by writing to the above address or by emailing me from the Contact page on my website. This Privacy Policy applies to Personal Data I hold about individuals. It does not apply to information I hold about companies and other organisations.

If you would like access to the Personal Data that I hold about you, you can do this by emailing me from the Contact page on my website, or by writing to me at the address noted above.

I aim to keep the Personal Data I hold about you accurate and up to date. If you tell me that I am holding any inaccurate Personal Data about you, I will delete it or correct it promptly. Please email using the Contact page on my website or write to me at the address above to update your Personal Data.

You can find out more on the UK Information Commissioner’s Office website at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/

This policy last updated on 28th February, 2024.