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Privacy Policy

What information do I collect about you?

I collect, store and process personal information about you to enable me to run my practice in a safe and ethical way. It is necessary for me to do this so that I can track the progress of our work together or take it to my own supervision for reflection and guidance.   

 

All information is collected and processed under the lawful basis of “Legitimate Interests” for the purposes of health and social care, under UK (English) law. 

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All psychotherapy or supervision session notes are encrypted and password protected and kept separately to your contact details.

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I am legally required to collect and retain certain financial information (e.g. about payments made for sessions) for tax/auditing purposes, and these records could also be passed unaltered onto HMRC or other financial institutions when required.

 

I will keep personal information about you and our sessions together for 3 years following the date of our last session, at which point it will be securely deleted. This timeframe may be extended under certain circumstances where it is in the public interest to do so (e.g. safeguarding concerns), in which case notes could be kept for up to 7 years.

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You have the right to view this information, which will be provided within one month of request and to ask for changes to be made. You also have the right to object to me holding and processing information about you, although I may need to retain certain information for legal and financial purposes (e.g. to comply with HMRC).

 

Please note that your name and contact details (only) may be passed on to my appointed Clinical Executor so that you are informed should I be seriously incapacitated and/or unable to attend a session or communicate directly with you.

 

Finally, I am registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).  If you have any concerns or questions about the contents of this privacy notice, please discuss them with me first; or, if not satisfied, with the ICO: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/


About Cookies
Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information. This information is used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. For further information visit


www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org


How to disable cookies
My website will ask for your cookie preference on your first visit. You may choose to opt out of non-essential cookies. However, this may affect your browsing experience.


You can generally activate or later deactivate the use of cookies through a functionality built into your web browser. To learn more about how to control cookie settings through your browser:

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  • Click here to learn more about managing cookie settings in Mozilla Firefox;

  • Click here to learn more about managing cookie settings in Google Chrome;

  • Click here to learn more about managing cookie settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer;

  • Click here to learn more about managing cookie settings in Safari;

  • Click here to learn more about managing cookie settings in Microsoft Edge.

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If you want to learn more about cookies or how to control, disable, or delete them, please visit All About Cookies for detailed guidance. In addition, certain third-party advertising networks, including Google, permit users to opt-out of or customise preferences associated with your Internet browsing. To learn more about this feature from Google, click here.


Cookies I use
(a) authentication – I use cookies to identify you when you visit the website and as you navigate our website.
(b) status – I use cookies to help us to determine if you are logged into the website.
(c) security – I use cookies as an element of the security measures used to protect user accounts, including preventing fraudulent use of login credentials and to protect the website and services generally.
(d) analysis – I use cookies to help to analyse the use and performance of the website and services.
(e) cookie consent – I use cookies to store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies more generally.


I use Google Analytics to analyse the use of the website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google’s privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.


Other websites
My website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website so when you link to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.


Children’s Privacy
My website is a general audience site, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. Visiting Our Websites from the EEA.

 

Changes to my privacy policy
I keep this privacy policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated on 29th January 2025.


How to contact me
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or my information-handling practices,  please contact me by email at russell@russellcowanpsycotherapy.co.uk

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