PRIVACY POLICY (MAY 2026)
This policy is written for the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act) and to meet GDPR law (this includes any documents referred to in it) and it lets you know how your personal information is being collected, stored, and shared and this is line with EU General Data Protection Regulations. It explains how, when and why I will use your personal data and the reasons in which a disclosure may be made to others and also how I keep your data secure.
Counselling by Jane & Animal Assisted Therapy is a trading name for JHupston Ltd and I am registered with Information Commissioners Office (ICO). This business is registered in conjunction with my other business Pet Assist Animal Care.
I make every effort to keep all information confidential. Your personal information is stored securely and confidentially. Data is collected for legitimate business reasons and your consent is required in order you receive the service.
I am fully committed to keep my web sites maintained and user friendly.
May I reassure you that I never sell, or give clients email addresses to any other companies for marketing.
You will be given a copy of this Privacy Notice to sign, this is simply to acknowledge you have received a copy of this policy. You will also receive an information leaflet and a copy of our signed counselling agreement & The Pragmatic Tracker consent.
THE PRINCIPLES OF HOW AND WHY I GAIN YOUR INFORMATION
To ensure compliance with GDRP, I Jane Hupston will ensure that your Personal Data will be:
Handled and Processed lawfully, in a fair and transparent way.
Taken only for legitimate reasons.
Only necessary, accurate, and relevant information will be taken.
Is kept up to date and is processed with your data security in mind.
I am the data protection officer, so if you wish to view and amend or delete your personal details I hold, then please email me at janeminder@hotmail.com or phone me on 07792847171.
COLLECTING YOUR INFORMATION
Using the contact form on the website gives me your contact details and tells me that you require further information on the services I offer.
Contact made by letter, email, telephone or at the assessment or any other person detail records and correspondence may be kept, for 7 years after we cease to work together.
My website is pretty straightforward and the only place data from you will be collected is through the contact form – which is SSL protected so fully encrypted, as is the rest of my website.
THE STORING OF YOUR YOUR PERSONAL DATA
Personal data collected by the contact form via my Hotmail site will be sent to my email address or will be stored on the server inside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). THIS site is encrypted and has SLL padlock in situ.
By visiting the site and submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. Your information will be treated as necessary to ensure its treated as securely as possible and in accordance with this privacy policy.
Data is mainly stored in a paper format, in a locked cabinet. Your phone number is kept on my mobile, which is password protected.
Your identifiable information is kept separately from any session notes and are linked by a unique number.
HOW LONG WILL I STORE YOUR DATA FOR AND HOW WILL IT BE DISPOSED OF?
I will keep any notes for 7 years as required by my Indemnity Insurance Policy.
I will delete your phone number from my mobile within 3 months after our work finishes.
USES OF THE INFORMATION
I will provide you with information, on my service, on your request, which I feel you need, or where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes.
To carry out my obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.
I will advise you regarding any changes to the service I offer.
Existing clients will be contacted by electronic means or by letter to the addresses you provide.
OUR DISCLOSURE
I may disclose your personal information to third parties for the following reasons:
I have duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply terms of use; or immediate risk of substantial harm to self or any others; or for legal reasons, or a court order for disclosure.
This also includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations in the case of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
Under no circumstances, I will NOT process your personal data for any marketing purposes.
This site may contain links to and from the websites to other partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you access these sites by the link I provide, please understand I do not accept liability or responsibility for you visiting or their website safety, or the policies they provide.
IP ADDRESSES AND COOKIES
The site may record statistical data about our clients’ browsing actions and patterns, but this does not identify you or any individual personally.
This information about your general Internet usage may be by using a cookie file, which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. These Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. Using cookies helps improve the site and helps me deliver an improved and a more personalised service. They help estimate the visitor’s usage and size of audience and can recognise returning customers.
If this is, so a pop-up window warning if cookies are being used will appear. If you wish not to accept cookies, you can activate this setting on your browser. However, access certain parts of our site may be inaccessible.
Please see below in NOTES section for any third-party information
CLIENT PRIVACY POLICY
The following personal details will be taken and recorded when you enquire or at the assessment of your needs:
Name & Age – This information helps me get to know you and the age range of client I am seeing.
Address, email, & telephone number – for contacting you.
Doctor – In case there is a risk I may need to make contact (or to other agencies). I will always discuss this with you in advance if there is a need to do this.
Session notes: Notes are usually taken but kept to a minimum. These notes remind me of anything I may want to discuss with you and any risks, and my actions/techniques used may be noted.
Emergency contact in case anything happens to you within our session, for instance if you become suddenly ill and I needed to contact someone.
Family and network available to you
Sensitive Personal Data (“Special Category Data”) This information helps me to get to know you and make an initial assessment of your circumstances including any history of depression, anxiety, or other issues. Some of the sensitive personal data including ethnic origin, religious beliefs and physical and mental health will only be used to provide a counselling service in accordance with legal obligations. Sensitive personal data is stored as part of your clinical notes which are anonymised with a unique code. Your personal information links to your clinical notes using a unique code. This code is stored in a separate location and password protected.
Allergies to pets – to check you won’t react to cats or dogs I keep on the premises.
HOW I SHARE YOUR DATA
Consent – I may share your information with other professionals whom you have requested or agreed I should contact. However, your data will not be shared with anyone else unless I am subpoenaed by court.
My service is confidential, however if you or anyone is at risk of harm, I may have to report the information on to the relevant authorities. (This would be discussed with you first). This will include if there is any risk of child abuse, money laundering, or in the interests of terrorism. By providing an emergency contact, you consent to me contacting them in an emergency.
When I provide counselling to any individual, I have to have regular supervision to discuss my work, with a suitable qualified Counsellor. This is to keep my clients safe and to help with ongoing training needs. This data shared in supervision is anonymised.
Photos may be taken of your interactions with the therapy pets. These may be shared on my website or on Social Media. Please say if this is not something you agree to. I will blur out your face for your privacy unless you say different.
PRIVACY POLICY CHANGES
Any changes to this privacy policy will be updated on this page and if and when appropriate, you will be notified by e-mail or text.
CCTV please note the use of CCTV and a Ring doorbell will be in use outside of my office and home. No audio recordings will be recorded within the therapy room.
RIGHT TO ACCESS
You have the right to view your personal information, free of charge, in an electronic or paper format. You also can ask me to amend or change any incorrect information about you.
RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
You have the right to ask me to erase any information that I hold about you. This includes your information no longer relevant to original purposes, or if you wish to withdraw consent. This does not include information I have a legal obligation to retain.
DATA PORTABILITY
As the client, you have the right to receive your personal information which you previously provided, and also have the right to transfer that information to another party. For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, the data “controller” is Jane Hupston.
DATA PROTECTION ACCOUNTABILITY
If you wish to complain about how your data is handled, in the first instance contact, Jane Hupston, who is the Data Controller at Counselling by Jane. I am registered with the ICO, should you need to contact them for any reason.
Tel: 077928471711
Email: janeminder@hotmail.com
Please note cctv may be recorded on a continuous, three day loop, (not kept indefinitely). This is for my safety. I do have a ring doorbell at my front door which will pick up any movement on my driveway. This is not shared with anyone, but may be shared to the police if crimes are committed, or is requested by police.
NOTE:
My website www.counsellingbyjane.org is a WordPress website. WordPress.com (owners of the WordPress platform itself, may collect their own data for the general use of the website or information on cookies, commenters on my pages, without my direct knowledge. WordPress may collect their own data. To find out more on how to manage and delete cookies, visit aboutcookies.org. For more details on advertising cookies, and how to manage them, visit youronlinechoices.eu (EU based), or aboutads.info (US based).
WORKING ONLINE / TELETHERAPY
• Video sessions using zoom and WhatsApp are (encrypted). When is a session on the telephone or online, you are responsible for your confidentiality in the environment you are in.
• Social media – Your welcome to look at and follow my business pages on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/counsellingbyjane/ and Instagram, and Im also on Linkedin. Please note this is public so whatever comments you write will be in the public domain and are not confidential. I do not accept friends requests from clients.
• Please be aware my email via Hotmail is not encrypted, so be careful what you share. I can protect documents I send, but I cant be responsible for what you share. You could password protect what you send.
I have read and understood and agree to all aspects on these 4 pages of this document ‘Private Policy’ Jane Hupston has written, for the purpose of providing Counselling and Animal Assisted Therapy.
I give my consent for Jane Hupston to share my information with my Doctor or Health Care Professional, should any risk be identified to myself, or others, or for reasons listed in this policy or the Counselling contract.
