Attending to your own privacy
With some strict legal exceptions in extreme cases (discussed when we contract to work together), everything we discuss in therapy is completely confidential.
For your own safety and peace of mind, please consider aspects of privacy from the client’s standpoint. If you wish to keep the fact that you have therapy sessions private and you have my number in your phone, you may wish to enter it under a different name than Ian Pittaway Therapy. Your technology devices with a listening capacity have the ability to break your confidentiality without your knowledge or consent. There is evidence, for example, that Apple contractors have listened in to private conversations and activities through Siri. This article gives more detail, and shows you how to protect your privacy. As your therapist, I neither own nor use any such devices. If you do have voice-activated technology, I strongly advice you turn it off during sessions.
Privacy policy for the website
My website address is: https://ianpittawaytherapy.uk
No personal data is collected by me from visitors to this website. This being the case, and because users are not tracked for any commercial purpose, this website can be used with or without cookies. Disabling cookies in your browser will have no effect on the function of this website.
The author of this website can be contacted at contact@ianpittawaytherapy.uk
Privacy policy for clients
Some data is collected from clients during the first telephone conversation, such as name, email address and telephone number. Other personal data, necessarily to the process of psychotherapy, is collected during the first session. I make brief notes after every session, kept in a confidential safe place, which only I see. These notes may be seen upon request by an individual client once an agreement form has been signed.
Other aspects of privacy and data are outlined in a detailed document which is emailed to clients before the first session. We both sign and keep a copy.
The above policies are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).