Policies

The information about confidentiality in no way contravenes your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation May 2018 to access personal data that The Wellbeing Therapy Hut holds on you. The Wellbeing Therapy Hut keeps confidential records and statistics about its clients. All records are kept securely and are only seen by authorised The Wellbeing Therapy Hut personnel. These records are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation May 2018. Some of the information we may collect is classified as sensitive personal data and we can only use such data where we have your explicit consent. This data may include racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, criminal proceedings and offences. Your personal and sensitive personal data will only be used in order to provide the service to you and for managing and quality assuring the service. Records are kept for up to a period of 7 years and are then destroyed.

The Wellbeing Therapy Hut recognises that on occasion, our clients may wish to exercise their rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (May 2018) and make a subject access request in respect of their personal information held by The Wellbeing Therapy Hut. Often during counselling, information is provided by more than one individual. In these cases, The Wellbeing Therapy Hut will only release information if consent has been given by all of the individuals involved.

If you wish to make a subject access request, please read the section 'Your rights and managing your own data' in our privacy policy for full details on how to do this.

Confidentiality

The Wellbeing Therapy Hut counselling is a private and confidential form of help. We hold information about each of our clients and the counselling they receive in confidence. This means that we will not give your name or share any information about you to anyone outside the organisation. However, there are exceptional cases where The Wellbeing Therapy Hut might ethically or legally have to give information, such as if we have been requested by a coroner inquest or subpoenaed by court to provide this - then we would have to do this by law. We will discuss any proposed disclosure with you.

If you come with a partner or your family, the counsellor may suggest seeing each of you individually. It is important for you to know that what is said in those individual sessions will be confidential and not shared with your partner or family.

1.1 The Wellbeing Therapy Hut (TWTH) understands that many of the people who use its serves have subjects that they want to discuss and that some of this information maybe confidential. There are instances however, in which it is necessary to breach confidentiality. In some case this is compulsory, e.g. when required by law, and in other cases a breach of confidentiality can be at the discretion of the worker or the organisation subject to senior management approval. TWTH respects the privacy of our service users and promotes an ethos of trust within the organisation.

1.2 Reasons for a Confidentiality Policy

The reasons for having a confidentiality policy are many and varied but relate to the philosophy and principles which guide the work of WTH. This policy should be seen as an integral part of ensuring that WTH provides a safe environment where individuals and organisations are treated with respect and dignity. The main reasons for producing a policy are:

to provide practical guidelines which will add credibility to WTH and instil confidence in it;
to protect WTH, its staff, users and volunteers;
to comply with possible contract requirements;
to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, when processing personal information;
to comply with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to detail the basic standards that staff and volunteers should adhere to that can be incorporated as part of normal working practices.

2. Confidentiality and access are an assumed and reasonable right in the context of TWTH.

The overriding aim of this Policy is to protect and promote the best interests of individuals and The Wellbeing Therapy Hut, and any question concerning confidentiality should be answered by reference to this principle.

If confidentiality or access cannot be assured, the individual or organisation should be made aware of this when this becomes known.

Users/volunteers will be made aware of the confidentiality policy and of their right to complain.

2.1 Scope

Principles of confidentiality relate to information concerning individuals and organisations within and outside TWTH.

The terms "individuals", "organisations" and "users" are used throughout the text: they should be read to mean all those who come into contact with TWTH including service users, clients, staff, volunteers, voluntary, statutory and private sector organisations and so on.

TWTH recognises that employees and volunteers gain information about individuals and organisations during the course of their work or activities. In most cases such information will not be stated as confidential and colleagues may have to exercise common sense and discretion in identifying whether information is expected to be confidential. This policy aims to give guidance but if in doubt, seek advice from the director

2.2 Working with people unable to provide consent

There may be times when someone is unable to provide explicit consent to TWTH with regards to confidential information. For people over 16 years of age, in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and for a young person under the age of 16, in line with the Non-Instructed Advocacy Policy, best interest principles will apply. When making a best interest decision, the following factors should be taken into account:

a presumption of capacity that everyone has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise
the right for individuals to be supported to make their own decisions - people must be given all appropriate help before anyone concludes that they cannot make their own decisions
the ascertainable past and present wishes and feelings of the person concerned, and the factors the person would consider if able to do so;
the need to permit and encourage the person to participate, or to improve their ability to participate, as fully as possible in anything done for, and any decision affecting them;
the views of other people whom it is appropriate and practicable to consult about the persons wishes;
best interests - anything done for or on behalf of a person without capacity must be in their best interests.
whether the purpose for which any action or decision is required can be as effectively achieved in a manner less restrictive of the persons freedom of action - as long as it is still in their best interests.

Where such decisions of capacity are in question, a meeting will be held with family, friends or/and professionals, the details of the meeting will be recorded by the staff member, with all notes kept in the individual’s personal file. The notes will be dated,

with clear rationale as to why the decision was made, who was present and a date for the next review.

The decision of mental capacity and ability or not to provide consent will be reviewed annually or, in the situation of someone being unwell, the staff member will review capacity once the person is in a better health situation, in line with the MCA principles above.

Staff and volunteers need to be alert to differences of opinion between those who are consulted; the possibility of conflicts of interest and any religious and cultural factors.

3. Why information is held
In line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018, WTH will only hold information if it is required in order to deliver a service or is a requirement of law or a funder. The TWTH Data Protection Policy, Privacy Statement and Advocacy Privacy Statement give detail to all staff, volunteers, users of our services and the general public on why and how we collate and use any personal information.

4. Duty to disclose information

Staff should be aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Safeguarding Adults / Children legislation. Staff will discuss confidentiality with all new service users and give clear examples of where confidentiality would be broken relevant to the service. For example, if a young person told of plans to abscond, that would place a duty on the advocate to inform an appropriate member of staff.

If a member of staff feels that they may have to disclose confidential information they must bring this to the attention of the director. If it is decided that the information must be disclosed the member of staff will firstly inform the service user and allow them the opportunity to disclose the information, if the service user is unwilling to do this the member of staff will bring the information to the attention of the appropriate person. If it is not possible to contact the service user prior to disclosure they will be informed of that disclosure has taken place as soon as possible after the event.
A full record of this process and any action taken should be entered on the service user’s file.

There is a legal duty to disclose specific information including:

Information around child abuse or exploitation will be reported to MASH (Sutton’s Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub), Police, LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) or Social Care teams on individual cases of suspected or identified child safeguarding concerns;
Drug trafficking, money laundering, acts of terrorism or treason will be disclosed to the police.
In addition, if an illegal act is believed to have taken place, or that a user is at risk of harming themselves or others, this must be reported immediately to the appropriate authorities, as above, and the director advised.
Refer to the TWTH Privacy Statement statement for further details on why and how we hold information.

5. Withholding Information from a service user

There is a general duty to disclose to the service user complete details of all communications concerning them. There may be, however, exceptional circumstances in which this would not be in their best interests. Such a situation must be justifiable and must be discussed with the director at the time or, if this is not possible, as soon as it is reasonably practicable after the decision is taken. This justification must show that either:

providing such information would have, or has a realistic potential of being detrimental to the physical or emotional well being of the person concerned; or
providing such information would have, or has a realistic potential of being detrimental to the physical well being of a third party; or
providing such information would have or has a realistic potential of interfering with the fair and proper investigation or adjudication of an alleged complaint.

The intention of this is to prevent serious harm, or unjustified interference in proper investigation or adjudication. It does not provide a rationale for denying service users access to information except in highly exceptional circumstances.

5.1 If information is withheld, the following principles will apply:

A clear reason for withholding, such as age, capacity or TWTH has a legal duty to withhold information.
Where possible, this will be discussed with the parent/guardian and social worker.
The decision of this withholding will be recorded and kept on the personal case file. Refer to the Non-Instructed Policy and Advocacy Privacy statement for further details on withholding information.

6. Breach of confidentiality

All staff and volunteers are under a general duty to keep confidential all information about partners. Staff and volunteers should not;

∙ Knowingly or accidently disclose information about a service user

∙ Discuss confidential information where they can be overheard

∙ Leave confidential documents unattended

Staff and volunteers are required to keep all written information including access to any of the TWTH’s electronic systems confidential.

This confidentiality can only be compromised when:

∙ The service user has expressly (by their usual means of communication) authorised disclosure

∙ The service user may have waived the duty of confidentiality by having disclosed particular information to third parties themselves. Nevertheless, WTH staff and volunteers must act prudently to ensure that they themselves do not disclose further information or disclose information to other people.

∙ Where the service user lacks capacity to give or withhold consent for the disclosure of confidential information, such disclosure may be justified taking into account the considerations listed in the section working with people unable to provide consent, section 2.2.

∙ It may be necessary to disclose confidential information in order to prevent serious harm to the service user or others e.g. a threat of suicide, self harm.

∙ It may be a legal requirement, such as during a criminal investigation or by order of the court, that confidential information is made available to investigating authorities.

∙ When someone discloses something about drug trafficking or terrorism.

6.1 Actions to Disclosure

∙ If a staff / volunteers suspects abuse or violence towards the person by another, they should refer to the Safeguarding Adults or Safeguarding Children and Young People Policies

∙ If this does not constitute a possible safeguarding referral, support the person to disclose the information to the appropriate person where possible

∙ Raise the matter with the director

∙ The director should be notified before the information is disclosed to a third party, where possible.

Employees, volunteers and service users who are dissatisfied with the conduct or actions of other colleagues or WTH should raise this with the director using the grievance procedure, if necessary, and not discuss their dissatisfaction outside of WTH. All breaches of confidentiality will be investigated, recorded and kept within a secure folder. Individuals whose personal details are compromised will be notified in a timely manner in line with ICO regulations.

Employees and volunteers accessing unauthorised files or breaching confidentially will face disciplinary action. Ex-employees breaching confidentiality may face legal action.

7. Safeguarding

∙ If an investigation into an allegation is being undertaken, the general obligation of confidentiality described above will be qualified by a need to protect the individual receiving or seeking advocacy support or other members of the public.

∙ If that individual has capacity relevant to the issue then he/she must be informed at the outset that confidentiality may not be absolute and there may be circumstances, such as an investigation into abuse, in which confidential information may have to be made available to the investigators, be they police or social services. TWTH policy on Safeguarding Adults or Safeguarding Children & Young People must be followed.

This policy is to be read in conjunction with the following policies/documents:

Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures
Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures
Data Protection Policy
Privacy Statement
Mental Capacity Act 2005

Domestic violence

Violence and abuse is an issue for many people who come to The Wellbeing Therapy Hut for help with their relationship. We know from our experience that in this situation, working with couples or family members together may not be safe. If this is so, the counsellor will help each person to get individual specialist support from The Wellbeing Therapy Hut or another agency.

Privacy

Please switch off your mobile phone during your counselling sessions as it can create an unhelpful distraction and interruption.

Unauthorised electronic recording

In order for you to work safely and effectively with a counsellor, it is important that the privacy of the work is respected. Please do not attempt to record your counselling session using any device or app. If it is found that recordings have been made covertly, counselling services for the individual responsible will be discontinued immediately and The Wellbeing Therapy Hut reserves the right to seek legal advice regarding possible further action.

Occasionally a counsellor, for example, one who is undertaking a training course, will be required to tape or electronically record a counselling session. Some counsellors regularly use audio or video recording in their work and in these circumstances, you will be asked to give your written consent for this to happen. The consent will specify all the ways in which the recording will be used (for example training, supervision or research) and will specify how and when the recording will be destroyed.

Reports and client records

Occasionally The Wellbeing Therapy Hut is asked by our clients or by external agencies such as Social Services or the NHS to write reports on the progress made in counselling. We are not normally in a position to do this because of our duty of confidentiality to our clients and because The Wellbeing Therapy Hut counsellors are not trained in the specialist areas of diagnosis or social work assessment. However, we can in some circumstances, and on receipt of written consent from the client(s) who attended counselling, provide brief information about the dates and number of sessions attended.

In addition, we are also asked by clients, their solicitors, the police and the courts for access to the client records. This information is not normally shared unless legally required to do so. Where we are legally obligated to provide client records to Court or Coroners, for example, we will do so.

Codes of ethics and practice

All The Wellbeing Therapy Hut counsellors and supervisors are required to comply with the code of ethics and practice that is appropriate to the work they undertake.

Relationship & Individual counselling is covered by the NCPS's Ethical Framework for Good Practice.

In addition, The Wellbeing Therapy Hut personnel must comply with The Wellbeing Therapy Hut’s practice policies and guidance which both complement the external codes and set specific organisational standards for ethical working. Please ask your counsellor if you would like to know more about this.

All our practitioners in training have been assessed as competent to work with their clients on a wide range of issues. As with all our counsellors, they are in ongoing professional clinical supervision for the work they undertake. This assists them to offer you maximum help and support. If you would prefer not to be seen by a practitioner in training, please let the centre know.

Feedback: compliments, concerns and complaints

If you'd like to pay us a compliment or share a positive experience you've enjoyed with The Wellbeing Therapy Hut, please fill in our contact form.

If you feel we haven't delivered a good experience, we operate a formal complaints procedure. We welcome feedback and if you have a concern or complaint, we will always take it seriously as it allows us to improve the service we offer you.

If you have a complaint about a therapist, please inform the director, using the email info@thewellbeingtherapyhut.co.uk. If this needs to be escalated or the complaint is about the director, please contact the NCPS.

The following terms and conditions apply to all sections and pages under the thewellbeingtherapyhut.co.uk website. Additional terms and conditions may also apply to other services provided by us and these are set out below and/or will be explained or made available to you if you use these services.

If you wish to find out more about how The Wellbeing Therapy Hut handles personal data, confidentiality and privacy in respect of our services, please read our service information page. This also sets out how The Wellbeing Therapy Hut handles reports and client records, our codes of ethics and practice. You should also take the time to read our privacy policy, which details the personal information we collect from you, how we use it, how we keep it safe and how you can manage and access your own personal information.

Please read these terms and conditions carefully. They govern our relationship with you in relation to this website. By using or accessing any part of this website or otherwise indicating your consent, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, please do not continue to use this website.

We may modify these terms and conditions by posting an updated copy of them on this website from time to time. You should refer to this page in future to review the current terms and conditions. By continuing to use this website you agree to the amended terms and conditions.

The website to which these terms and conditions apply and for which we are responsible is The Wellbeing Therapy Hut.org.uk.

Content on this website

All information on this website is provided as a free resource and may not be used for commercial purposes of any kind without our prior written consent.

Unless otherwise stated we own the copyright and any other intellectual property rights in all material on this website and in our publications (or are licensed to use the same). Materials include, but are not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance, graphics, photography and documents on this website, as well as other content such as articles and other text.

Permission to use content from this site is not granted. No part of the material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from The Wellbeing Therapy Hut. The Wellbeing Therapy Hut grants the user the right to use the material by downloading, storing and making copies for private use only.

None of the above grants any person the right to copy or substantially include any of the material in a published work, whether consisting in physical, electronic or whatever form, without prior written consent from The Wellbeing Therapy Hut.

Written requests to use the information available on this website should be emailed to info@thewellbeingtherapyhut.co.uk.

Material on The Wellbeing Therapy Hut.org.uk and may be changed, terminated, or updated without notice. The Wellbeing Therapy Hut may make improvements and/or changes in the services provided via this site at any time without notice.

We retain the right, without any obligation, to modify, update, withdraw or deny access to this website at any time and without notice. If the need arises, we may suspend access to this website or close it down indefinitely.

Outbound external links on this site are not under our control and we are not responsible for the contents of any linked site, or any links contained within that linked site. We are providing these links as a convenience and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by The Wellbeing Therapy Hut.

Your use of this site

You may not use this website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and conditions. In particular, but not exclusively you are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from this website any material:

That is threatening, defamatory, obscene, indecent, seditious, offensive, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence, in breach of privacy or which may cause annoyance or inconvenience.
For which you have not obtained all necessary licences and/or approvals.
Which constitutes or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law of or infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party, in any country in the world, or
Which is technically harmful (including, without limitation, computer viruses, harmful components, corrupted data or other malicious software or harmful data).

We shall fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or locate anyone posting any material in breach of this section.

Liability

The Wellbeing Therapy Hut uses reasonable care in compiling and presenting the information on thewellbeingtherapyhut.co.uk. The Wellbeing Therapy Hut does not assume liability for any errors or omissions in the content on this site, including, but not limited to, typographical errors, inaccuracies, outdated information, or broken links.

This site and all information within it are provided on an "as is" basis without any warranties of any kind, express or implied. The Wellbeing Therapy Hut expressly disclaims liability for errors or omissions in the information found on this site.

Availability of this website

Whilst we try to ensure that this website is available 24 hours a day we are not liable if, for any reason, the site is unavailable for any period of time.

We make no warranty that this website is free from defects, viruses or anything else which may be harmful or destructive or that any defects and viruses that do arise will be corrected. We do not guarantee that this website will be compatible with all or any hardware and software that you may use.

How this website uses cookies

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POLICIES

Confidentiality

6. Breach of confidentiality

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