Your Privacy Matters

This privacy policy contains information about how and why I collect personal information. How it is used, and the circumstances in which I may disclose it to others.

How do I keep your information secure? 

This policy may be reviewed and updated from time to time.  However, I will advise if any amendments are made to this policy.  Should you have any queries regarding this policy, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me by email.

Who I Am

My name is David S Pender. I am a DBACP counsellor, and this is my website: www.counsellorsinreading.com. I reside and practice in the United Kingdom. As such, this policy and the work I carry out are subject to the laws of England and Wales and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) under European Union law.

Information Collected and How it is Used

Personal information, including but not limited to your name, contact details, and notes on the work we do together, may be collected for communication and counselling.  If you do not wish to provide certain information, this may impact our ability to work together. 

Email addresses and phone numbers may be stored on my mobile phone and personal computer from the initial point of contact until we cease working together. I endeavour at all times to keep information secure.  Upon the cessation of our work together, all digital communications and information will be deleted.

Paper records of our work together are kept in a locked file for 5 years, after which they will be destroyed.

Sharing Information

I do not share your information with third parties except for certain circumstances, namely where you express intentions to harm yourself or others; there is a risk of harm to a child in your care, you disclose involvement in criminal activities such as but not limited to money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism. I am required to by court order.  In such circumstances, I will notify you of my intention to share your information with other parties unless it is not possible or safe.  I also do not receive any information about clients or potential clients from third parties.

Under professional practice and the ethical codes, I undertake regular supervision as required with a clinical supervisor to ensure I maintain high standards of professional practice.  This means I will need to discuss work I undertake with clients with my clinical supervisor from time to time; however, all cases are kept anonymous, and no identifying or personal information is provided.  My clinical supervisor is an accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy and follows the same professional and ethical protocols.

What rights do you have over your data?

Under the terms of GDPR, you have the following rights:-

The right to access

The right to rectification

The right to be forgotten

The right to restrict processing

The right to object to processing

For the right to data portability

You have the right to complain to a supervisory authority

You have the right to withdraw consent

These rights are subject to limitations and exceptions. You can learn more about your rights under GDPR by visiting https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/.

If you wish to exercise any of your rights regarding your personal data/information under the GDPR, don’t hesitate to contact me directly by email in the first instance to advise.

How long do I retain your data?

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so I can automatically recognise and approve any follow-up comments instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profiles. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Where we send your data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any information you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Contact forms

Information shared via this site’s contact form may be stored on my personal computer and mobile phone. All efforts are made to ensure that all information transmitted digitally is kept confidential and secure. If your enquiry by contact form does not lead to instructing me as your counsellor, any communication between us will be deleted.

General Internet Data

Cookies

This website uses cookies. Cookies are small text files saved on your computer or mobile phone when you browse websites. Cookies enable websites to remember when you have visited and make marketing more efficient.  Cookies do not collect any personally identifiable or sensitive information (unless you permit them to do so), nor do cookies pass on any personal information about you to third parties.

If the settings on your browser enable you to accept cookies, this and your continued use of the website are taken as consent to the use of cookies on this website.  If you do not wish to accept cookies or wish to remove cookies, please check your browser’s help section for information on how to do this.  However, you may find that some functions of this website do not work as expected.

Third-Party Cookies and Function

This site includes functionality provided by third parties, for example, if a video from YouTube is embedded into a post.

Cookies and Data From Social Networks

The privacy policies of social networks will vary from platform to platform and depend upon the privacy settings you utilise on these networks.  I use Instagram and LinkedIn networks.  Would you please check their privacy policies for how they work and protect your information on these platforms?

LinkedIn Privacy Policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

LinkedIn Cookie Policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy