Privacy Policy for therapeutic services
This policy should be read in combination with the more generic policy about my website available here, as ‘we’ collect data via the website separately to information I may gather during therapy sessions. The information below refers to therapy based information.
As part of therapy I collect information about you. The primary method of collection is via therapy sessions however sometimes information is collected because you send a SMS or email or because you provide me with information, photos, videos, artworks, questions or writing you have undertaken at home. Irrespective of the collection method all information I collect will belong in one of two categories; personal information or confidential information. I treat these two types of information very differently…
Personal information
Personal information is your name, date of birth, phone number, email address, physical address, gender, a photo of yourself (if provided) and the name of your emergency contact person and their contact details.
This personal information will be retained by me until I close my therapy service or until you instruct me, in writing via email, to delete it. Personal information is stored on my 3 apple devices, an iPhone, an iPad and a MacBook. It will be stored in a program called “contacts” and shared between these three devises via iCloud. When I close my business I will delete all this information from those devices. At the time of writing Apple policy stated the deleted information will be retained for 30 days and then permanently deleted.
Confidential information
Confidential information is everything else you tell or share with me. All case notes I take during a session and all information (except video) you send me is retained in a program called “Noteful” and this information will be retained only while I am actively working with you. Confidential information is Not shared between devices, and is retained only on the ipad (my note taking device). When I cease working with you, no matter what the reason, I will delete all confidential information soon after we finish working together. (usually within 7 days). You have 30 days from the date I delete your confidential information to retrieve that information after which time it will be permanently and irreparably deleted as per Apples (icloud) retention policy.
Confidential information – Video information
On occasion I may ask you to video interactions between yourself and others to assist you in strengthening the relationship. If you send this to me, it will be stored on my ‘icloud’ drive until I have reviewed it, usually with you during session. To review it I will copy it from iCloud and place it on my laptop’s desktop so we can review the video, often frame by frame, together during session. This copy is deleted from the laptop at the end of the session, and the original is deleted when it has been reviewed. No video is retained for any other reason and all videos are treated in the same manner as all other confidential information and deleted when services conclude.
Times when my service may not be the right service for you
I am a sole operator and have very strict boundaries on my work practice. I have no other staff and as such I DO NOT offer crisis or emergency counselling. You should find and use an alternative, or additional, service if you need assistance during a crisis. In Australia lifeline offers after hours support and can be contacted on 13 14 11.
Also I do not keep notes or records that can be considered useful for court, nor do I write letters or reports for court. If you believe you might relay on the information you provide to me in court at any time in the future, you should keep your own records in relation to these matters, or find a counselling service specialising in legal practice.
Mandatory reporting and safety concerns
If during the course of our journey together I become concerned for your, or another’s, safety (for any reason) I will attempt to contact you in the first instance and, if this does not allay my concerns, I will contact the person you have named as your emergency contact person and PROVIDE THEM WITH DETAILS OF MY CONCERNS. If they are unresponsive I will contact the police and PROVIDE THEM WITH DETAILS OF MY CONCERNS. By accepting counselling services you are consenting to this process.
Your Rights
You have the following rights:
The right to be informed
I inform you via this policy!
The right of access
You can view all and any information I store by simply requesting to do so.
The right of rectification
You can request I change information I retain, mostly I am likely to ‘just make the changes’, however if we disagree I will document the disagreement, for example if I have written “history of abuse as a child” and you don’t agree it was abuse I will write next to “history of abuse” “patient does not agree this was abuse”
The right of erasure
You can request I delete information about you. You need to do this in writing via email, and refer to which information you wish me to delete. If you request I keep no ‘confidential information’ about you, then it will become your responsibility to recall where we are in the therapeutic process each week, and you are likely to have to remind me of information previously provided during sessions. If you request I delete ‘personal information’ we will no longer be ale to work together as this requires me to delete contact details.
Data Storage practices
I store, and backup, all data using iCloud, a service provided by Apple, and I use Apple devises in my daily practice. Please refer to Apple’s privacy policies for further information on iCloud and iCloud security. The devices I use all have a pass-code. All of these devices can be locked remotely (in the case of loss) or deleted remotely (in the case of theft). I keep these devices safe at all times (I cannot afford to loose them!) and I am the only person who can access these devices. The devices I use are: Apple MacBook; Apple iPad mini, and Apple iPhone. If you have any questions about my data storage practices that are not answered here, please feel free to discuss this with me, or send me an email on: michael@mwallistherapy.com
Notes made during therapy;
For most people it is important to know I retain as little information as I can to be able to provide quality therapy. I usually have a genogram (a family tree) for each individual I interact with because this gives me a ready reference when you are talking about family members. I will usually keep some notes about ‘special events’ (births death and marriages), traumatic events and ages. I will tend to retain stories that you tell me I may need to recall in future sessions. If you choose to send me information including notes, photos, artwork or any other articles I will store them within the program ‘Noteful’ and the originals deleted. Videos will be used as detailed above. Only at your request will I store videos within ‘Noteful’ . Providing confidential information is solely at your discretion as part of the theraputic process. Notes made during therapy sessions, and information you send me in relation to therapy are always treated as confidential information and, as such, notes taken during session will be deleted when we cease therapy, or on your request. This information is permanently deleted 30 days later (according to Apple policy as of 2023).
Your story
It is important to understand that I write a blog and that I will often use personal stories to explain behaviour or ‘ways of being’ to others. The stories I tell are a compilation (made up of the many fragments of different peoples stories) of stories I have heard in my 30 years of practice. Some of these stories will sound familiar to you because you know your story so well, but they are never your story. They are always a compilation. You might find it difficult to believe but your story is often more common than you think and the familiarity of the story I may write is (unfortunately) due to the prevalence of hurt and abuse in our society. For this I am sorry. My blog is about raising awareness of this unfortunate fact and (hopefully) providing potential solutions so the hurt and abuse declines in the future. If you are concerned about this please talk to me so we put your mind at ease.
Regards
Terms of Use for counselling services
This policy is about how we will work together when engaged in the counselling process. It should be read in conjunction with my general Terms of Use policy which relates to how we work together when you engage with my websites; Website Terms of Use
Do not engage in counselling if you do not agree to all of the terms stated on this page.
These terms of use outline the manner in which I provide therapeutic services and are quite informal in their presentation – please discuss any concerns or thought you may have after reading.
Fee for service
Counselling Services are provided on a fee for service basis, with payment required within 5 working days following a session. This means I will see the payment in my account by the following session as sessions are normally weekly.
The standard sessions fee is $120 AUD. If your expendable (net) income (individual income) is under $40,000 once you have paid rent/mortgage (for the house in which you reside only)/board then your fee for each session is halved – $60.
The process of assessing income is your business, I do not want to know your finances. In your application you will let me know the fee you will be paying. You can, of course, pay more if you like!
Sessions are 45 minutes.
If you need to cancel a session it must be cancelled by SMS by 7am on the morning of the session date. Failure to do so results in the whole fee becoming payable for the missed session.
Unpaid fees will result in future session cancellation, and two consecutive cancellations will result in service termination. This includes, as per privacy policy, deletion of all confidential information. The session time will then be reallocated to another person.
Representation in court
I do not support the adversarial nature of the legal/court system and do not provided reports or support letters. If you believe you may need to resort to court proceedings I suggest you contact a counsellor that has an interest in legal matters. In matters concerning child abuse I support the adversarial nature of court whole heartedly.
Confidentiality
Please read the Privacy Policy above. I am committed to total confidentiality and the only people who should know about our interaction is you and I. Please note I am a mandated reporter – I report adults who are currently or potentially harming children.
Out of working hours contact
There is none. My goal in providing therapy is your well-being, to be available for this purpose I must first look after my own well-being; an essential part of this is knowing my own limits. As such I take a very strong stand on my personal time. While I encourage you to sms me 24/7 questions or worries in regard to your therapy, I want to advise you I will not read those SMS’ until it is my ‘work time’ (at time of writing, this is Wednesday and Friday mornings only).
I am NOT a crisis service
I will respond to threats of harm (self or other) by contacting your contact person or the authorities as explained in my privacy policy. If you believe self-harm/suicide/threatening others may be a part of the therapeutic process you should discuss this with me before beginning therapy. You may find an alternative counselling service is better equipped to assist you or, with my agreement, I may arrange an alternative provider who will take responsibility for the management of the risks associated with harm behaviours and is willing to work in partnership with me. I am happy to work with other agencies where required but this must be discussed before therapy begins or as soon as the issues becomes salient.
Out of therapy contact
While my attachment based approach means that I will relate to you in a manner that is similar to a friendship, please keep in mind the relationship remains a therapeutic friendship. As such there are two important differences: 1) I will not interact with you outside of the therapeutic environment except for a nod or a polite social interaction if we were to meet in person and you initiate the social ‘nicety’. 2) My role is to assist you to develop a deep understanding of yourself, ‘warts and all’ and this may, at times, feel hurtful.
If you feel hurt by interactions during counselling…
It is never my intention to cause you pain from which you cannot recover. Recovery is always the goal and if I say something it is because I believe you will be able to live through what I have said and then to recover. This is the goal of therapy. Sometimes I make mistakes, humans are very difficult to predict! For this I apologise and hope you can find it in yourself to talk to me about your pain so I can support you through and help you to recover. Hurt left unresolved is always destructive.
If you raise your hurt with me, I will always respond with compassion and kindness. You have nothing to fear in confronting me with your upset or anger.
A final word about therapy with me…
Finally I very much appreciate the trust you place in me by undertaking therapy; I will do my best by you for in the limited time we have together and will work hard to help you succeed in life.