Privacy Policy

This privacy notice is subject to ongoing review and change.

Last updated: 12th December 2020

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including if you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact claire@auroracounselling.co.uk or write to Aurora Counselling Services. Alva, Clackmannanshire. FK12

This privacy notice sets out how Aurora Counselling Services (“we”, “our” and “us”) uses and protects personal information that you give Aurora Counselling when you visit or use Aurora Counselling Services website and other services that refer or link to this privacy notice. This privacy notice may be supplemented by additional privacy statements, terms or notices provided to you.

Any personal data provided by you to us through any means (verbal, written, in electronic form, or by your use of our website) will be held and processed in accordance with the data protection principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation for the purposes for which you have given consent, to provide the services you have requested from us.

We are committed to preserving your privacy.

How we collect your personal data

We may collect your personal data in the following ways:

• From you directly (face to face, by email, mail or telephone)
• From data that you provide online via an enquiry form (your name, contact details, e-mail address and message) on the Aurora Counselling Services website.
• From your interaction with and use of online services including the Aurora Counselling Services website.

What information we collect

We may collect the following information:

• Your name
• Contact information such as an email address, postal address or telephone number
• Your availability
• Issues affecting you and other details necessary to process your request
• At an initial appointment we will ask about you about the issues that are affecting you. This could include personal, social, medical and/or financial circumstances. We may also ask about your background and family history. We need this information to manage the service we provide to you.
• Anonymous details of your visits to the Aurora Counselling Services website via Google Analytics including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data.

We use your information to:

• Keep internal records
• Allow us to perform and improve the services you have requested
• Respond to any queries submitted via the website, email, mail or telephone
• Ask you for feedback on your experience of counselling with us
• Ensure that content from the Aurora Counselling Services website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer
• Fulfil administrative and legal obligations
• Notify you about changes to our service

Who we share your data with

We will not share any information about you with any other organisation or person, except in the following situations:

• Consent – We may share your information with professional carers or others whom you have requested or agreed we should contact.
• Serious harm – We may share your information with the relevant authorities if we have reason to believe that this may prevent serious harm being caused to you or another person.
• Compliance with law – We may share your information where we are required to by law or by the regulations and other rules to which we are subject.

How we keep your information safe

• All information you provide to us is stored as securely as possible.
• Paper forms and correspondence are kept in locked filing cabinets on our premises.
• Electronic records are stored on our own on-site computer server, all access to which requires password-protected authentication, or by reputable service providers using secure internet ‘cloud’ technology.
• Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your information using industry-standard protocols and encryption, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to us via email, including forms completed on our website which are transmitted by email; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
• Your identifiable personal information is kept separately from any session notes and other descriptive material.
• Client notes and other documentation are destroyed 6 years after the end of counselling.
• Personal contact details are destroyed/deleted after 6 years of no contact or updates.

Visitors to the Aurora Counselling website - Analytics

When you visit auroracounsellingservices.co.uk we use a third-party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns.

We do this to find out such things as the number of visitors to the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website.

Cookies

This site uses cookies – small text files that are placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience. In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information for things like shopping carts, and provide anonymised tracking data to third party applications like Google Analytics. As a rule, cookies will make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others.

The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. We suggest consulting the Help section of your browser or taking a look at the About Cookies website which offers guidance for all modern browsers

We may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on your browser or the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. They help us to improve our site and to deliver a better and more personalised service. Some of the cookies we use are essential for the site to operate. If you continue to use our site, you agree to our use of cookies.

Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.

Links to Third Party websites

As we want your experience of the Aurora Counselling Services website and newsletters to be as informative and useful as possible, we provide a number of links to websites operated by third parties.

Please be aware that we do not have any control over third party websites and that such third-party websites may send their own cookies to users, or otherwise collect data or solicit personal information.

We cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such third-party websites and so these are not governed by this privacy notice. We encourage you to review each third-party website’s privacy policy/notice before browsing and interacting with the website in question.

Your rights under data protection laws

• Your right of access: You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
• Your right of rectification: You have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate.
• Your right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to restriction of processing: You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to object to processing: You have the right to object to processing if we are able to process your information because the process forms part of our public tasks, or is in our legitimate interests.
• Your right to data portability: This only applies to data you have given us. You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us from one organisation to another, or give it to you. The right only applies if we are processing information based on your consent or under, or in talks about entering into a contract and the processing is automated.
• You can read more about all of these rights here.
• At all times, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office which enforces data protection laws: https://ico.org.uk/.

If you withdraw your consent for us to hold and process your data while you are receiving counselling, your counselling would have to end.

If you wish to exercise any of these, please email claire@auroracounsellingservices.co.uk and we will explain at that time if they are applicable or not. We will inform you in writing following receipt of your written request and if necessary, seek additional information from you about your request, including proof of identity.

Security

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted online or through the website. Any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Changes to our Privacy Notice

We may amend this Privacy Notice from time to time to take account of changes to our processing and regulatory changes. We encourage you to review it from time to time.

Your contact details

Please help us keep our records updated by informing us of any changes to your e-mail address and other contact details.

Queries and concerns

If you have any queries or concerns about our processing of your personal data, please contact claire@auroracounsellingservices.co.uk