Opal Psychology Ltd.'s
Privacy and Data Storage Notice
We understand how important it is to keep your personal information safe and secure. We take our
responsibilities very seriously. As such, we have taken steps to make sure your personal information is cared
for in the best possible way, and we review this regularly.
Please read this privacy notice carefully, as it contains important information about how we use the personal
and healthcare information we collect on your behalf.
Our contact details and who we are:
Opal Psychology Ltd. is an independent Clinical Psychology Practice, specialising in delivering Clinical
Psychology services to clients on behalf of individuals and organisations. Our service specialises in working with
children and families.
We also provide clinical supervision services to other healthcare professionals.
Our Postal Address is: 59 Dukes Wood Avenue, Gerrards Cross, SL9 7JY
Our Email Address is: chloe@opalpsychologyltd.co.uk
You can contact Dr Chloe Taylor at the above email address if you want to find out anything further about
how we keep or use your information. This can include if:
• You have any questions about how we hold your information.
• You require access to your information, or wish to make a change to your information.
• You wish to make a complaint about the information we hold about you.
• You have any other query relating to this policy and your rights as a client of Opal Psychology
Ltd.
What type of information we hold:
As part of working together with you and your child, Opal Psychology Ltd. will hold personal data to facilitate this
process. The information we may hold on you falls into two categories, Personal Data and Special Category Data.
Although we need to hold both categories of information in order to deliver our service to you, we may ask for
your written signature to acknowledge you have been made aware of our data policy and the requirement for us
to hold Special Category Data.
Data collected may include:
• Identity and Contact information such as your child’s name and date of birth, guardian’s names,
current address, contact details (such as email and phone number).
• General information such as the organisation that may have referred you to our services (if relevant),
and information on session number and attendance.
• Financial and Transaction Information to allow us to process payment such as bank account
information. We are required to keep information payments received for our financial records. This will
include the details of the payee (such as name and title), the date paid, and amount of the transaction.
• Special category information (only where necessary and appropriate) such as reason for referral, GP
details, other professionals involved and contact details, personal demographics such as age, gender,
sex, ethnicity, medical history, type of therapy offered, questionnaire data, correspondence from
yourself or third parties, information regarding text, email, or voicemail communications, drawings,
diagrams, or images created/provided as part of therapeutic work, and any consent forms.
We will hold brief notes on sessions held with Opal Psychology Ltd, along with any consultations undertaken with
your child’s network. Any paperwork sent to us regarding your child’s care from other providers (this may include
information sent by you or others regarding your child’s GP, CAMHS, Social Care, Education, or services not
otherwise mentioned) will also be securely stored.
Any information provided to and by Opal Psychology Ltd. is subject to this privacy policy
How we get the information and why we have it:
How do we collect your data:
Information will be collected from your sessions with Opal Psychology Ltd., and through any correspondence sent
to us by yourselves, or your child’s network (as detailed above). The information collected will be in accordance
with the laws for the protection of personal data. This includes the Data Protection Act 2018, and the General
Data Protection Regulation 2016.
Chloe Taylor is the data controller for the information collected and her contact details are listed above.
Why do we collect and hold this information:
Personal data is collected in order to fulfil the contractual obligations of undertaking a psychological assessment
and/or intervention. We lawfully process the data because it is in our ‘Legitimate Interests’ as Clinical
Psychologists to do so. We require the information in order to assess risk, give professional advice, carry out an
assessment, write a report or deliver a psychological intervention. Any data collected is used solely for the delivery
of a therapy service to you and remains confidential and securely stored.
Special Category Data is lawfully processed for the purposes of ‘the provision of health or social care or treatment.’
Under GDPR legislation.
We will process all personal data shared with us for this purpose only and do so in a lawful, fair, and transparent
manner. If you have any questions about the information we collect and hold, you are welcome to contact us for
further information.
Withdrawing consent:
In line with GDPR, by entering into a contract with Opal Psychology Ltd., you are consenting to us processing
your information as laid out above. You are free to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting Dr Chloe
Taylor.
How we store your information:
The data we hold on you is securely stored either physically or electronically. All physical data is secured in
locked storage when not in use. Where possible, paper copies will be scanned and saved securely on electronic
databases, and in this case, originals will be safely and securely destroyed immediately. All electronic media is
secured by password access and restricted access on a local cloud service, and where possible encrypted.
Your data is held in the United Kingdom. We do not store personal data outside the EEA. All data storage
services used are fully GDPR compliant and available on request. In the unlikely event of data being lost or
compromised we will tell you what has happened unless you have stated that you do not wish to be contacted
by us.
Any data relating to enquiries, that do not later develop into confirmed work are deleted after 6 months. Your
information collected during work with Opal Psychology is kept only for the time necessary to provide the
therapy service requested. Outside of this, we will hold a client record which includes yours and your child’s
details for contact purposes, reports and correspondence from Opal Psychology Ltd., invoices, and session notes
for a period of 7 years, and for children 7 years after they reach the age of 18, following the end of treatment
to comply with legal obligations. After this date, all data will be securely deleted.
What we do with the information:
Your data and information are kept confidential within Opal Psychology Ltd. at all times. Any employees and
associates of Opal Psychology Ltd. are required to work to strict professional and contractual codes of
confidentiality.
In order to provide you with a safe and effective Clinical Psychology service, we may share relevant data with
other health, Education or Social Care professionals involved in your case, but we will make sure you are aware
of this.
If we become aware a person may be at risk of serious harm, including yourself or your child, we are legally
obliged to share this information under safeguarding legislation and professional practice guidance. We will always
endeavour to make you aware of this in advance unless this would risk placing yourself or others at increased
risk of harm.
If we become aware of your intent to cause harm to another person/organisation, the law may require that we
inform an authority without seeking your permission. In such a situation, the law may require that we share your
personal information without your knowledge. You are welcome to contact Opal Psychology Ltd. if you would like
more information on this.
We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties that help us to deliver our services within the
legitimate interests of running a company (e.g. Accounts, tax returns, invoices and receipts). This will only be
data relevant to the task and will never include special category data.
All chartered Clinical Psychologists are required to undergo formal supervision. As part of this, it may be necessary
to discuss aspects of your Personal or Special Category data with the supervisor. This supervisor will also be a
qualified and registered healthcare professional operating under the terms of confidentiality laid out in our
professional codes of practice.
The Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) and The British psychological Society (BPS) regulate and
inform our professional practice. You can find out more about our professional and legal responsibilities on their
respective websites:
• www.hcpc-uk.org.uk
• www.bps.org.uk
In the unlikely event of Dr Chloe Taylor’s death, or serious injury, a named colleague would be able to access the
contact details to notify clients. This will be a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist in independent practice, bound
by the same strict GDPR and confidentiality codes.
Your Data Protection Rights:
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
• Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
• Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is
inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
• 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 the right to object to the processing of your
personal data in certain circumstances.
• Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave
us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to
respond to you.
Please contact us using the contact details included at the top of this policy if you wish to make a request.
How to complain:
Opal Psychology is committed to safeguarding your data. If you are unhappy with the way we have handled
your data, we would appreciate the opportunity to support you directly and would therefore encourage you to
first contact our data handler Dr Chloe Taylor at chloe@opalpsychologyltd.co.uk in the first instance.
If you do not feel able to, you can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO’s address
and contact number are:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113