Your privacy is a top priority, when in person and in any notes or data kept. This service is committed to always being a good custodian of your personal information, handling it in a responsible manner, and securing it with industry standard administrative, technical and physical safeguards. I take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.

Business name and address: selfconnect, 15 Woolgrove Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 0AS.

Contact: hello@selfconnect.co.uk

How I gather your personal information

• Information that you provide by emailing me via the selfconnect.co.uk website and via various therapy directories and platforms (BACP, Counselling Directory, Psychology Today) to request information about my service

• Email at hello@selfconnect.co.uk

• The pre-therapy questionnaire form and contract

• Brief session notes

• For online therapy, I use the Google Meet platform. No recording takes place. The invitation is sent to your email via Google / @gmail.com, which is linked to hello@selfconnect.co.uk.

Storage and management of personal information

Your information is securely stored.

When making contact, your email address is received, this is stored within a locked computer that only has access by the owner of selfconnect.

When you provide your completed forms and contract, for hard copies, these are stored in a file in a locked office, that only has access by the owner of selfconnect. Any digitally received forms are stored in a locked computer, and a printed copy is arranged.

Notes from your private and confidential sessions are kept in a file in a locked office, that only has access by the owner of selfconnect. These notes have no identification of your name or any contact details.

Your pre-therapy questionnaire and brief sessions notes are kept for as long as we are working together. After therapy has finished, I will retain these documents for a further five years in case you decide to return to therapy with me, and which is also a requirement of my indemnity insurance, and then after which the documents will be destroyed. No-one will gain access to this information during the time your information is kept.

Text communication is deleted immediately while emails are purged on a quarterly basis. After therapy has finished, your phone number will be deleted from my smart phone.

Visitors to our website and social media platforms

When someone visits the selfconnect website, we use a third-party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting the website. You can read the Google Analytics privacy notice here.

Squarespace is the content management system for the selfconnect website - find out about Squarespace privacy policy here.

If you fill in a form on the selfconnect website, this is linked directly to an email account held by the owner of selfconnect. Data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent on and held in a locked and password protected computer and email account.

There are some links to websites of other organisations within the selfconnect website, this privacy notice does not cover how that organisation processes personal information. We encourage you to read the privacy notices on the other websites you visit.

selfconnect has a presence on various social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin. If you engage with us via these platforms we will not usually collect or store your personal data. Where we are collecting personal data for future use, we will let you know and provide you with details about the intended use. To find out how these companies use your data and how you can control the way they use your data please refer to their privacy policies, which should be available on their websites.

What is your email address, phone number, address and other personal information provided used for?

Email is the primary communication tool used with you. The first contact is by email and is used to respond to enquiries and provide information. Information can be shared by you within email, this is stored as mentioned above. You may on occasion be contacted by email to advise of any admin requirements.

Your phone number is requested to be provided once you complete the required forms. If agreed to, this can be used as a form of contact for admin requirements, using text. It is not used for any other purpose.

Your address is requested to be provided once you complete the required forms. The only time this would be used is if for any legal requirements due to concerns of safety or harm.

Your doctors details are requested to be provided once you complete the required forms. The only time this would be used is if for any legal requirements due to concerns for your safety or harm to your wellbeing.

Any notes made from your sessions may be used verbally within supervision sessions, held monthly. Only your first name would be used.

Sharing your information

We will not share your information with any third parties unless:

• it is as part of our duty to protect a child, a vulnerable adult, yourself or the public

• for the prevention and detection of a crime or the assessment of any tax or duty

• we are required to do so by any court or law or any relevant regulatory authority

Attending any talks, workshops, webinars or events

If you attend any talks, presentations, webinars, workshops or events hosted or attended by selfconnect, and you provide your contact details in order to be contacted, this can be arranged, and information stored in the same way as above.

Photography and filming at any of these would first request your consent in order to take and use these images fairly and lawfully. We would ask you to complete a form.

Testimonials

Testimonials, as a short paragraph or sentence, to summarise your experience of working with Chrissy Norwich, which may help illustrate this to others looking for therapy, may be requested, or may be offered to be provided. Consent to share this information publicly will be obtained if doing so. (This would potentially be shared via the selfconnect website or social channels). You will also be able to confirm if you wish to remain anonymous, if you are happy for your name to be used - either first name only, or first and last name, and perhaps your age.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.

Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.

Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

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, in certain circumstances.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), you have rights as a data subject which you can exercise in relation to the information we hold about you. You can read more about these rights on the ICO's website.