As a Member, Prospective Member, Events Registrant, Prospective Events Registrant, Service Provider to us or our Members, or a User of our website, your privacy is very important to us. We only collect, process and retain information about you that you have given us and that we need to provide our services.
This Privacy Policy explains what we do with your personal data. Please read it and ensure you understand it. If you are using our website, community platforms or online events as a Member, Prospective Member, Events Registrant, Prospective Events Registrant, Service Provider, or accessing our website, community platforms or online events as a User to use our services for any other reason, it is considered that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.
Please note, this Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with the Privacy Policy from our community platform provider, who is currently Circle. We reserve the right to change platform provider at any time, in which case we will notify you via email.
What is ‘personal data’?
Personal data is any information relating to an individual who can be identified directly or indirectly, e.g. your name, location, an online identifier or other data specific to your identity. It may include ‘special category data’ relating to racial or ethnic origin, gender or sexuality, political opinions, religious beliefs, membership of a trade union, physical or mental health and criminal records and allegations.
What is ‘processing’?
Processing covers everything we do with your personal data. It includes the automated or manual collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction of personal data.
Why we process your data
Your data is collected to allow the Counsellors’ Staffroom to provide our membership and events services, to contact you and enable interaction with our Members or Events Registrants, or, with your permission, external social networks and platforms.
Where we process your data
Your data is processed at the Counsellors’ Staffroom team’s UK home addresses because the team work remotely. If you are not based in the UK, this will mean your data will be transferred to the UK for processing.
We do not sell or share your data with any other business. However, as a small business we rely on software providers to help us manage the services we provide. The table below provides details of the software providers we work with, why we work with them, how long they state they retain your data and links to their own Privacy Policies for you to access to ensure you are comfortable with how they manage your data. Please be aware these software providers may transfer data outside the UK.
| Service | Data requested | Managed by | Purpose | Company location | How long is your data retained? | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter sign-up | Name and email address | Mailerlite | Email platform to manage our mailing list | Dublin, Ireland | Indefinitely, unless you unsubscribe, request data removal or you have not engaged with email contact for 2 years+ | Mailerlite Privacy Policy Policy states compliant with GDPR regulations. Mailerlite’s data storage centre is based in the EU. |
| Community and events services | Name, location, Postcode, email address, practice details | Circle | Community platform provider | New York, New York, USA | For as long as they deem necessary for the purposes of their business, unless you unsubscribe, or request data removal | Circle European Privacy Policy Policy states data will be transferred out of the EEA/UK, ‘to countries that comply with European regulations or safeguards such as standard data protection clauses adopted by the European Commission’. |
| Payment information | Name, address, credit card details | Stripe | Providing payment services | San Francisco, California, USA | For as long as they deem necessary for the purposes of their business, unless you unsubscribe, or request data removal | Stripe Privacy Poilcy Policy states data will be transferred out of the EEA/UK, ‘to countries that comply with European regulations or safeguards such as standard data protection clauses adopted by the European Commission’. |
| Contact form / Find a therapist or supervisor form | Name and email address and the reason you are seeking support | Formspree | Form creator to send us your query and contact details via email | San Antonio, Texas, USA | Retain form data for up to 7 years, unless we receive a request to remove it | Formspree Privacy Policy Formspree state they are a global company. Formspree state they are fully GDPR compliant and they rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as a data processor. Please see https://formspree.io/security/ for details. Please be aware that encrypted Formspree data may be transferred to the USA or other global locations. |
| Website data analytics | Anonymised website data not linked to personal data or IP address | Vercel | Website host and analytics provider | San Francisco, California, USA | Fully anonymised click and page visit data is held indefinitely unless removal is requested | Vercel Privacy PoilcyAdditional information for users in the UK/EEA Vercel do not hold any data on end users. All data is anonymised web traffic data. |
| Email/phone services | Your name, email address and the evidence that you send us for verification and the details of any other email you send to the Counsellors’ Staffroom email addresses. If you use our website forms, or leave a message on our phone system (Google Voice) and/or gmail will store your name, email address and the content of your message. | Gmail | Email and phone provider | California, USA | Counsellors’ Staffroom may retain email messages and voice messages and data on our email system indefinitely, unless we receive a request to remove it or we decide to remove data due to limited storage capacities. | Google Privacy PolicyPolicy states comply with GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 regulations. |
| Practice management software | Name and email address for eligible Counsellors’ Staffroom members who subscribe to Kiku’s services via the Counsellors’ Staffroom membership. Kiku will also request additional personal data to provide their services as detailed in their Privacy Policy. | Kiku | Practice software provider | County Durham, UK | Kiku and Counsellors’ Staffroom will transfer minimal password-protected personal data between them for the purposes of confirming eligibility for, and providing, the service. This data will only be transfered if you subscribe to Kiku’s service via the Counsellors’ Staffroom. Your data will be held for the duration of the Agreement between Kiku and Counsellors’ Staffroom and for up to 7 years afterwards. If you subscribe to Kiku’s services they will keep your data for up to 7 years, unless the law prescribes a longer period, as per their Privacy Policy. | Kiku Privacy NoticesPolicy states comply with GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 regulations. |
How long do we hold your data for?
The Counsellors’ Staffroom website and community platforms may retain personal data for a longer period whenever the Member, Prospective Member, Events Registrant, Prospective Events Registrant, Service Provider or any other User has given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn, or if we are obliged to retain personal data for a longer period for the performance of a legal obligation or we are ordered to by a relevant authority.
Once the retention period expires or you have asked us to remove your data from our systems, personal data shall be deleted. This means that the right to access, erase, rectify or port data cannot be enforced after the retention period has expired.
We take appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorised destruction of all data held on the Counsellors’ Staffroom website and community platforms. While we do our best to protect your personal data, please remember that no information sent over email or the internet is completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of the information you provide us. The hosting and data management companies who we work with are companies who explicitly state they ensure your data is processed and stored in line with privacy laws and regulations.
The legal basis for processing data
We adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (UK-GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
The Counsellors’ Staffroom website may process personal data relating to our Members, Prospective Members, Events Registrants, Prospective Events Registrants, Service Providers or any other Users accessing our website or services if one of the following applies:
- You have given your consent for one or more specific purposes.
- Provision of data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with our Members, Prospective Members, Events Registrants, Prospective Events Registrants, Suppliers or other Users and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof.
- Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.
- Processing is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Counsellors’ Staffroom.
- Processing is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Counsellors’ Staffroom.
- Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Counsellors’ Staffroom or by a third party.
The Counsellors’ Staffroom will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of personal data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.
Members and Events Registrants
As a Member, Prospective Member or Events Registrant or Prospective Events Registrant of Counsellors’ Staffroom we ask you to provide mandatory data such as:
- your full name, phone number and email address.
- details of your counselling or psychotherapy qualification and/or professional membership(s) including paperwork, to verify that you are qualified or in the process of qualifying to a recognised industry standard at Level 4 or above.
This data allows you to access our Membership and Events services.
If you fail to provide the data we have requested to verify that you meet our Membership & Events Registration Criteria within a reasonable timeframe of initially registering with our community, we reserve the right to delete your data in line with our Membership & Events Terms and Conditions.
When completing your profile as a Member or Events Registrant in our Community spaces you may choose at your discretion to provide further data including information about your work and specialisms. You may also include ‘special category data’ such as:
- information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, mental or physical health, sexual or gender identity or other lived experience.
It is your choice whether you provide this data and how much detail you provide.
Third-party content
As a Member of our community you may publish content in our online communities for the information or use by other Members. Please be aware that you are responsible for any third-party personal data that you have obtained, published or shared on the Counsellors’ Staffroom community platforms. If you choose to publish any third-party data in the Counsellors’ Staffroom community platforms or events spaces, you confirm that you have the third party’s consent to provide the data to the Counsellors’ Staffroom. If you don’t have this consent in writing, please don’t publish the content.
Purchases
When you purchase a membership, event or other product from the Counsellors’ Staffroom website or community space your payment information is submitted directly to the payment processor, who is responsible for the use and security of your information.
Working with Service Providers
Please note, any contact between Members/Prospective Members, Event Registrants/Prospective Event Registrants, Service Providers and other Users of our website or services is not covered by this Privacy Policy so we recommend you ensure you are happy with how they collect and use your data before entering into any work with them.
Service Providers
If you are a Service Provider to Counsellors’ Staffroom we collect data relating to you and/or the services you provide to enable us to in turn provide our Members and Events Registrants with services. This data includes your name, contact details for the service you provide, and information about that service.
Third-party content
As a Service Provider you may publish content on our website for the information or use by Members or Events Registrants. Please be aware that you are responsible for any content you publish and any third-party personal data that you have obtained, published or shared on the Counsellors’ Staffroom community spaces or other platforms. If you choose to publish any third-party data on the Counsellors’ Staffroom platforms, you confirm that you have the third party’s consent to provide the data to the Counsellors’ Staffroom. If you don’t have this consent in writing, please don’t publish the content.
Prospective Member/Prospective Events Registrant/Prospective Service Provider
If you are considering becoming a Member of Counsellors’ Staffroom, an Events Registrant or a Service Provider to us and you sign up to our mailing list to be informed about Counsellors’ Staffroom website changes, service and product information and marketing, we collect your name and email address only.
Contact us/Find a therapist or supervisor
For reference for all Users of the Counsellors’ Staffroom including Members/Prospective Members, Events Registrants/Prospective Events Registrants, Service Providers, or Users who are not affiliated with Counsellors’ Staffroom who are using our website for the purpose of our Contact Form or our Find a therapist or supervisor service.
If you use our ‘Contact Us’ page or contact us through our ‘Find a therapist or supervisor’ page, we collect your name, email and any details you provide in your message.
When you complete our Contact Form or our Find a Therapist or Supervisor Form with your data, you authorise this website to use these details to reply to requests for information, quotes or any other kind of request as indicated by the form.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on your computer by your web browser. The file is added once you agree to store cookies on your computer or device, and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow sites to respond to you as an individual. Cookies also enable sites to tailor our operations to your needs, likes, and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
The Counsellors’ Staffroom website does not collect cookies.
Data Analytics
Data analytics are used by websites to gain insights into how visitors use the website and improve its functionality.
Counsellors’ Staffroom uses Vercel Analytics to host our website and provide data analytics for these purposes. Vercel anonymises their data so information on page visits and clicks is not associated with any visitor to the Counsellor Staffroom’s website’s personal data or IP address. You can read more about how Vercel uses cookies and datahere and specific detail about how they process data from the UK here;
User data protection rights
You may exercise certain rights regarding your data processed by the Owner. In particular, you have the right to do the following:
- Withdraw your consent at any time. You have the right to withdraw consent where you have previously given your consent to the processing of your personal data.
- Object to processing of your data. You have the right to object to the processing of your data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent.
- Access your data. You have the right to learn if data is being processed by the Counsellors’ Staffroom, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the data undergoing processing.
- Verify and seek rectification. You have the right to verify the accuracy of your data and ask for it to be updated or corrected.
- Restrict the processing of your data. You have the right, under certain circumstances, to restrict the processing of your data. In this case, the Counsellors’ Staffroom will not process your data for any purpose other than storing it.
- Have your personal data deleted or otherwise removed. You have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of your data from the Counsellors’ Staffroom website.
- Receive your data and have it transferred to another controller. You have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on your consent, on a contract which you are part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.
- Where personal data is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in the Counsellors’ Staffroom or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Counsellors’ Staffroom, you may object to such processing by providing ground(s) related to your particular situation to justify the objection.
- Should your personal data be processed for direct marketing purposes, you can object to that processing at any time without providing any justification.
How to exercise these rights
Any requests to exercise these rights can be directed to the Counsellors’ Staffroom Data Controller Helen Bennett through our Contact Form or by email at contact@counsellors-staffroom.co.uk. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the Data Controller as soon as possible and always within one month.
If you wish to raise a complaint about how we have collected, stored or processed your data you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office via their complaints process.
Latest Update: 21 February 2023