Safeguards

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is very important in counselling and it’s essential for you to feel safe when talking about very private and sensitive issues. Under normal circumstances nothing you share with me will be taken outside of the service without your explicit consent.
I am committed to respecting your privacy and your culture and I work in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, which does not allow me to breach confidentiality unless I am required by law to do so, or seriously concerned about a risk to your health and safety or that of others, in which case I may need to consult an outside professional.  It is only in extreme and exceptional circumstances that I would do this without your consent and would always aim to discuss this with you first.  All counsellors are required to regularly discuss and assess their work with their clinical supervisor, where care is taken not to identify individual clients.   I would also request that you do not share any of my personal details or private email addresses with anyone else, without my consent.
Privacy Policy
Offload online counselling respects clients' privacy and to this end will not sell, exchange, or release your personal information (name, e-mail address, mailing address, credit data, emergency contact information, etc.) without your prior consent. Your information is not shared with any other third party or company outside of billing. I am committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures are in place to safeguard and secure the information I collect online. All records are removed from my computer at the end of our work together and transferred to an encrypted folder on an external hard drive and stored, with any paper records, in a locked filing cabinet for six years. You may request details of personal information which I hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please send an e-mail. If you believe that any information I am holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please email me and I will amend any information found to be incorrect. This policy is effective from November 2008 and any updates will appear on this page.
Technology issues
My computer is regularly checked to ensure that it is stable and virus-free.  Technological problems are sometimes inevitable. If there is a delay in receiving a response from me, please be assured that I am doing everything I can to resolve the issue as quickly as I can. If in doubt, please don't hesitate to contact me again.  
Misunderstandings
Virtual relationships obviously work differently from face-to-face ones. There are no facial expressions, body language cues or tone of voice to pick up on, so it’s harder to work out how someone is feeling. When working online, words become more important than when face to face, so please bear in mind that it can be easy for misunderstandings to occur, so if you are confused, upset or unsure about anything then please feel you can check it out with me and I will do the same.  Online  counselling can feel like having a close relationship with someone, but from a safe distance.  For some people, online counselling helps them to feel more open than in a face to face situation and they may occasionally find themselves saying things that they later regret, so don’t rush – re-read what you’ve written before you press ‘send’. 

Your security

Although email messages can be vulnerable to interception the risks can be greatly reduced by using Safe-mail.net encryption and a password for entry to your computer which you change frequently.  All confidential counselling correspondance must use your Safe-mail email account and it is important that you make appropriate security arrangements for storing any copies that you may keep on your personal computer, especially if other people can access it (at work, at college, or at home, for example) and any hard copies that you may wish to generate.

Health & Safety
I advise you not to spend too long in front of a computer screen for Health and Safety reasons and please remember to take regular breaks.