To provide psychology appointments at The Skin Psychologist Ltd I must collect and process some of your personal information. This privacy notice is a statement of how I will manage that information and sets out your rights and how to exercise them following General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The confidentiality of your information is important to me. I will follow GDPR and comply with UK data protection law, including the Data Protection Act (2018).
The personal information that I collect includes your: full name, date of birth, sex, home address, email address, phone number, next of kin, and your General Practitioner’s name and address.
If you are making a health insurance claim, I will also need to know which company you are insured by, your membership number, and the pre-authorisation code. At your initial consultation and therapy appointments I will need to make process notes that may include sensitive information (e.g. your personal and medical history) that you report. The abovementioned information is indeed protected by GDPR and may be further protected by the British Psychological Society code of ethics and the standards set by the Health and Care Professions Council.
I collect and process your full name, date of birth, sex, contact details including those of your next of kin and GP as well as your health insurance information (if applicable) as yourregistration details using the website www.theskinpsychologist.com. I need this information so that I can provide you with psychology appointments in a professional and responsible way.
Process notes are made privately and confidentially from what you say during your appointments so that we can build a helpful joint understanding of how I can best apply one or more of the therapy approaches I am trained in to your needs with continuity of care.
I may also receive personal information about you in a referral from another healthcare professional so that I am informed of your potential interest in attending psychology appointments at The Skin Psychologist Ltd. I use advanced email security (i.e. end-to-end encryption and security protocols that utilise industry best practice).
I may also use some of your information in accounting and billing/invoicing, when taking payments, in tracking financial obligations to me, and in filing tax returns for the services provided. This also applies to clients who are psychologists attending The Skin Psychologist Ltd for supervision. Once financial relationships are concluded the relevant information will be held until no longer required by HMRC. I do not hold credit card details.
Under the UK GDPR, the lawful basis I rely on for processing your information is legitimate interests. The information I ask for is what you and I might reasonably expect to be asked for by a healthcare provider offering psychological therapy to clients who often have both physical and mental health needs.
The basis for processing any special category information such as your: current or former physical or mental health, contact with healthcare services, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or marital status, is also that of legitimate interests.
I will keep your information safely and securely stored. If you make an enquiry via www.theskinpsychologist.com, email, or text, I will keep that correspondence only whilst your enquiry is active.
Any correspondence you send to me whilst you are in receipt of services from The Skin Psychologist Ltd will be deleted/ destroyed 30 days after we stop working together. Process notes made during your appointments will also be deleted/ destroyed 30 days after we stop working together.
Any notes which may have been kept on paper for these purposes will be shredded within this time frame. Please note however that I am required by law to hold some data (e.g. named invoices) for accounting and tax purposes which may be three years or longer.
Under data protection law, you have rights including your right of access meaning that you can request copies of data that I hold on you and I must provide it within 30 days, free of charge. You also have the right to the rectification of personal information that you believe is inaccurate and to the completion of information that you think is incomplete.
Furthermore, you have the rights, in certain circumstances: to ask me to erase your personal information, to ask me to restrict its processing, to object to its processing, and to ask that I transfer it to another organisation or indeed to you.
I note that you are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, I have 30 days to respond to you. Please contact me using the details at the top of this privacy notice if you wish to make a request.
If you have any concerns about my use of your personal information or are unsatisfied with how I have dealt with a request from you in relation to your rights, please do let me know.You can contact me using the details at the top of this privacy notice with any data protection queries that you may have.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office and their website is: https://www.ico.org.uk. Making a complaint will not affect any other legal rights or therapy that you may have at The Skin Psychologist Ltd.
I may update this privacy notice to ensure that it remains accurate. If any changes are made that result in a material difference to how I process your personal information I will provide you with the updated version. This privacy notice was last updated on 05/01/2024.
Please note that psychologists do not offer an emergency service. If you require emergency medical or emotional support, please attend your nearest 24 hour accident and emergency (A&E) department.
For 24 hour emotional support, please call Samaritans on 116 123. You can also use the following link to find a 24/7 crisis help line with your local mental health trust in England.