Privacy Policy
At Release Counselling and Therapy for Women we are committed to keeping your personal data secure and confidential.
This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information.
How do we use your information?
We collect information about you to fulfill the services we have offered you. We also use your information to help us develop products and services that you need, and where we have a lawful basis and permission to contact you, we may use it to help us send you relevant and timely information about other help and support that we offer.
How we may process/share your personal information:
We have regular supervision/consultation with other therapists, (psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors) for our own professional development and the wellbeing of clients. We will discuss some personal details in these consultations. You are never identified by your full name in these sessions. Our supervisors are bound by the same professional rules of confidentiality, code of ethics, and rules of GDPR.
If you were referred to us via an organisation, then there may be particular parts of your personal information that will be shared with that organisation. We will make it clear to you at the start of therapy what information may be shared.
Emergencies: If we have reason to believe that you intend to harm another person/organisation (eg. terrorism), or yourself, the law may require that we inform an authority without seeking your permission. In such a situation, the law may require that we share your personal information without your knowledge. We would always endeavour to discuss this with you in advance if possible or appropriate. It is also the law that a judge can require the release of clinical notes without your permission, and we would be bound by law to release them. Again we would discuss this with you beforehand should this occur.
Contact details
Post
113 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XG, GB
Telephone
07954216995
What information we collect, use, and why
We collect or use the following information to provide services and goods, including delivery and third-party referrals:
Names and contact details
Gender
Date of birth
Addresses
Emergency contact details
Next of kin details
Health information (including medical conditions, test results, allergies, medical requirements and medical history)
Dietary information (including allergies and health conditions)
Information about care needs (including disabilities, home conditions, dietary requirements and general care provisions)
Information about work, home and living conditions
Information about support requirements
Payment details (including card or bank information for transfers and direct debits)
Website user information (including user journeys and cookie tracking)
Information relating to compliments or complaints
We collect or use the following information to receive donations or funding and organise fundraising activities:
Names, address and contact details
Payment or banking details and donation history
Tax payer information (for Gift Aid purposes)
We collect or use the following personal information for service updates or marketing purposes:
Names, address and contact details
Marketing preferences
Recorded images, such as photos or videos, where permission has been given
Purchase and donation history
Records of consent, where appropriate
We collect or use the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:
Name, contact information
Identification documents
Financial transaction information
Health and safety information
Criminal offence data
We collect or use the following personal information for recruitment purposes:
Contact details (eg name, address, telephone number or personal email address)
Date of birth
National Insurance number
Copies of passports or other photo ID
Employment history (eg job application, employment references or secondary employment)
Education history (eg qualifications)
Right to work information
Details of any criminal convictions (eg Disclosure Barring Service (DBS), Access NI or Disclosure Scotland checks )
Security clearance details (eg basic checks and higher security clearance)
We also collect or use the following information for recruitment purposes:
Racial or ethnic origin
Religious or philosophical beliefs
Health information
Sexual orientation information
We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:
Names, address and contact details
Relevant information from current or previous investigations
Customer or client accounts and records
Financial transaction information
Information relating to health and safety (including incident investigation details and reports and accident book records)
We also collect or use the following information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:
Lawful bases and data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.
Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are in brief set out below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:
• Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for. You can read more about this right here.
• Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete. You can read more about this right here.
• Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information. You can read more about this right here.
• Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information. You can read more about this right here.
• Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data. You can read more about this right here.
• Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you. You can read more about this right here.
• Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can read more about this right here.
If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month. To make a data protection rights request, please contact us by emailing amy@releaseforwomen.org.uk Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide services and goods, including delivery and third-party referrals are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.
Vital interests – collecting or using the information is needed when someone’s physical or mental health or wellbeing is at urgent or serious risk. This includes an urgent need for life sustaining food, water, clothing or shelter. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object and the right to portability.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to receive donations or funding and organise fundraising activities are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for service updates or marketing purposes are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to comply with legal requirements are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.
Vital interests – collecting or using the information is needed when someone’s physical or mental health or wellbeing is at urgent or serious risk. This includes an urgent need for life sustaining food, water, clothing or shelter. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object and the right to portability.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for recruitment purposes are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims are:
Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Where we get personal information from
• Directly from you
Storage of Information:
Paper
Contact details, personal information, psychometric tests when completed, assessment/history taking notes, occasional email correspondence, some therapy notes, and invoices. All paper files/notes are stored in a locked filing cabinet in a locked office.
Cliniko
This data processor does the following activities for us: Cliniko is practice management software for clinics and allied health practitioners. It helps us manage our counselling service schedule, store treatment records, and created invoices, and take payments via Stripe.
Just Giving
This data processor does the following activities for us: JustGiving is a platform for online giving. Our individual donors donate to our charity through the platform.
Form entries
All information is deleted from the website server after one day. Being fully GDPR compliant we also prevent the storage of IP addresses during submission.
Website
No personal information is stored on our website.
For counselling clients
We are required by our professional insurance company to keep your clinical notes for up to 7 years after we have completed our work together. After this time has passed, we will shred or delete the information. For paper-based notes, these are stored in a locked cabinet and for digital notes, these are stored in Cliniko, a GDPR compliant online counselling system, with two-factor authentication.
Any client has a legal right to request their notes under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Who we share information with
Others we share personal information with, where there is a safeguarding issue:
• Other health providers (eg GPs and consultants)
• Care providers
• Emergency services
• Legal bodies or authorities
• Local authorities or councils
• Relevant regulatory authorities
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us by emailing amy@releaseforwomen.org.uk
If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Last updated
22 January 2025