Privacy Policy

Introduction

Mindbridge Therapy is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how your personal data is collected, stored, and used when you engage with our therapy services. We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Angela is the Data Controller for the purposes of GDPR. An ICO registration number will be added once registration is complete.

Confidentiality

All information shared in your sessions will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared in the following situations:

• With your consent — when you have provided written authorisation for information to be shared with another professional, e.g. General Practitioner
• Legal duty — where a disclosure is required by law, e.g. court order
• Safeguarding — you disclose information that indicates that yourself, a child (under 18 years) or another vulnerable adult could be at risk of significant harm. As a professional I have a legal duty to inform relevant agencies. However, wherever possible I will discuss this with you prior to any information being shared with others.
• Supervision — I may need to ask a hypnotherapy supervisor for some support.

How we store your data

Your confidentiality is taken very seriously. Records are stored in a locked cabinet if they are in paper form, or as password protected encrypted files if stored digitally. They can only be accessed by Angela.

Data retention

In line with the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) guidelines, written records are kept securely for 8 years after the last interaction with an adult client, and up to the age of 25 for a child under 16 when last seen (or 26 years for 17–18 year olds).

Due to the sensitive nature of our work, insurance requirements do not allow the deletion of data before the minimum time for holding said data.

Your rights

Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — you have the right to request a copy of the information held about you within 30 days of your request.
• Erasure — you can request deletion of your data, though this is subject to insurance and legal retention requirements.
• Objection — if you see us outside of sessions, to protect your privacy we will not initiate an interaction, however you may acknowledge us and we will be led by you.

Why we collect your information

Your personal data is collected to help improve practice and to provide you with safe, effective therapy sessions. We only collect information that is necessary for the provision of our services.

Sharing with other professionals

We will only discuss information about you with other health and social care professionals with your written consent.

Third-party services

We use Acuity Scheduling for online booking. Acuity Scheduling processes your name, email address, and appointment details in order to manage bookings. Their privacy policy governs how they handle your data. We do not share your data with any other third parties.

Changes to this policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please get in touch via email at Mindbridgehypnotherapy@gmail.com or by phone on 07803 108268.