T&Cs & Privacy

Emma Sinclair Psychology

Supporting the well-being and mental health of children and families

Terms & Conditions

Dr Emma Sinclair Psychology: Terms and Conditions

Please take your time to read the following and please do not hesitate to ask me any questions.

Code of Ethics and Professional Practice

As a Clinical Psychologist I follow the standards of the regulating body, the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC), and the Code of Ethics and Practice of the British Psychological Society (BPS). You can read more here: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/meeting-our-standards/ and https://www.bps.org.uk/guideline/code-ethics-and-conduct.

It is my professional responsibility to ensure I work within my skill set, therefore if believe you require a different type of support or a more specialist service, I will discuss this with you and endeavour to signpost accordingly.

It is essential you feel safe and comfortable talking to me, so I take your privacy and data protection seriously. I therefore follow the standards set out by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (2016). My Data Protection and Privacy Policy will be provided alongside this document; please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions about this.

Fees

Sessions fees are £120 per session. Payments are to be made via BACS to the following account:

Emma Sinclair Psychology.
Sort code: 23-69-72
Account number: 31098068

Please use the date of the appointment as the reference. I do not routinely provide invoices, so please do inform me if you need one. Additional costs may be incurred for further work, such as report writing, travel costs or meeting with schools.

Payment must be made within three working days of the session. Outstanding fees must be paid before further services can be offered.

I also accept payment via various insurance companies. Please inform me before our first appointment if you wish to pay via insurance. Please be aware, insurance companies may not always cover the full amount for sessions.

Confidentiality and consent to information sharing

I maintain a confidentiality policy in accordance with The Data Protection Act (1998), British Psychological Society (BPS) and Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulations. In accordance, confidentiality will always be upheld with the exception of: 1) discussions within professional supervision as required by the HCPC and BPS; 2) if I have concerns about risk of harm to you, your child or others; 3) I am required to share information by a court of law. Should I be required to share information with external agencies as per point 2 & 3, I will discuss this with you where possible, in advance.

Please note, I will always encourage transparency, but should your child decline consent for me to share conversations with you, I will uphold their right to confidentiality, unless of course the material shared is a concern relating to risk or safeguarding.

Cancellations, Punctuality and Non-Attendance

A notice period of two working days for cancellation of sessions is required, otherwise the full cost of the session will be charged. The same conditions apply for missed/non-attended appointments. Each session is 50 minutes.

My availability

I work part time in my private practice and have a variety of other roles for the remainder of the working week. Therefore, my availability is limited and I may not be able to respond to communications from you immediately, and I will be able to respond to regular contact between sessions. I will endeavour to reply to any communications within 5 working days.

Sessions can be scheduled weekly or within a timeframe suitable for you. Due to the flexibility I endeavour to offer, and due to my other clinical and academic commitments, there may be rare occasions in which I am not able to offer, or be required to reschedule, an appointment. If this is required, I will make you aware of this with sufficient notice.

In case of emergency

Please note that I am not able to provide a crisis service. In case of emergency where you are concerned about possible or immediate risk to your, mental health, wellbeing or safety, please contact your GP, your local Accident & Emergency Department (A&E) or NHS 111. Telephone support is available from many charities e.g. The Samaritans (24 hours a day 08457 90 90 90), Young Minds (0808 802 5544) and Family Lives (0808 800 2222).

I reserve the right to amend these contract terms from time to time, in which case I will seek to give notice and time for discussion.

Client Agreement

I agree to the conditions of the client contract with the understanding that Dr Emma Sinclair is bound by the laws of confidentiality and safeguarding. I agree for my personal details to be kept securely as set out by the data protection and privacy policy:

Signed Date

……………………………………………………………………. ………………………

Data Protection and Privacy Policy

I, Dr Emma Sinclair, aim to be as clear as possible about how and why I use the information I gather

about you/your child. I understand that by choosing to work with me you have placed a great deal of trust in me. I take your privacy and data protection seriously, and my data protection policy is outlined here so that you can be confident that your privacy is protectped.

This policy describes the information that I collect when you arrange appointments with me and when we work together, and how I manage this information. This information includes personal information as defined in the General Data Procession Regulation (GDPR) 2016.

If your questions are not fully answered by this policy, please do not hesitate to contact me, Dr

Emma Sinclair, at emma@emmasinclairpsychology. If you are not satisfied with the answers from me, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk

I, Dr Emma Sinclair, use the information I collect in accordance with all the laws concerning the protection of personal data, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the GDPR 2016. As per these laws, I, Emma Sinclair, am the data controller. If another party will have access to your data I will tell you who they are, what they are doing with your data and why I need to provide them with that information. An example of this is when I might refer you/your child to another professional, which I would discuss with you first. The only exception to this is if I consider that by informing you there may to be a risk of harm to you, your child or your family.

1. Why do I need to collect you/your child’s personal data?

I need to collect information about you and your child so that I can:

know who you are and so communicate with you in a personal way. The legal basis for this is a legitimate interest.
provide services to you that are appropriately tailored to your/your child’s age and needs. The legal basis for this is the contract, by signing my Terms and Conditions.
verify your identity so that I can be sure I am dealing with the right person. The legal basis for this is a legitimate interest.
contact you when necessary. The basis for this is legitimate interest.
refer you/your child to other services if necessary. The basis for this is legitimate interest.
so that I can communicate with other services who know you/your child, e.g., your child’s school, if necessary. The basis for this is legitimate interest.

2. What personal information do I collect and when do I collect it?

For me to provide you and your child with the appropriate psychological services, and carry out the above tasks, I need to collect the following information:

· Your first name and surname

· Your date of birth

· Your email address

· Your child’s first name and surname

· Your child’s date of birth

· Your child’s address

· Your child’s school

· Your child’s GP surgery

I collect this information directly from you.

This information is needed in order to ensure that I can create a plan for our work together that takes into account your child’s age and your concerns, and so that I can contact the necessary professionals (such as school, GP) if I have concerns about your, or your child’s safety.

In keeping with the British Psychological Society Code of Practice, I prioritise the safety of you and your child, therefore, I also take the parental date of birth so that, if necessary, I can provide enough identifying information for me to be able to provide to other services who may be able to support you. I would only ever do this without your consent if I was concerned that informing you would negatively impact on your safety or the safety of your child/other members of your family. Aside from safety, I will only share your personal information with others, and contact others (e.g., school) with your clear agreement.

My website, www.emmasinclairpsychology.com is provided by GoDaddy and uses cookies to gather information about visitors, which is studied through Google analytics in order to ensure the website is functioning well. I do not identify you or any other individuals from this information.

3. How do I use the information that I collect?

I use the information I collect from you in the following ways:

· To communicate with you as necessary about appointments and the work we are doing together.

· Where payment is through an insurance company, or when an invoice is requested, invoices are created with the claim reference number, and the child/young person’s name, address and DOB.

· To carry out the tasks listed in section 1.

4. Where do I keep the information?

I keep this information in the stores described below.

4.1. On my personal computer.

Access to my computer is password protected. The hard drive is encrypted. The system is backed up to an encrypted external hard drive.

4.2. Electronic Tablet

I take hand written notes during appointments on an electronic tablet which is GDPR compliant. These notes are taken for my benefit in order to aid my memory, plan sessions and ensure I am providing the best possible treatment. The content may be shared in my supervision, where identifying information is not shared. It will not be shared outside of this or used for any other purpose, other than when I am concerned about risk. (Please see section 2 above, and section on confidentiality in my Terms and Conditions).

5. How long do I keep the information?

In accordance with Clinical Psychology best practice guidelines, your child’s notes are kept for 7

years after their 18th birthday, therefore, until they reach the age of 25. Client files will be reviewed

regularly, and those reaching the age of 25 will be deleted. The term “notes” includes paper notes such as the Child Information Form (names, DOBs, address, GP, school etc), received correspondence, session notes summary, and electronic information such as written correspondence, invoices etc.

6. Who do I send this information to?

Information sharing is on a need-to-know basis. Other than in situations where I am concerned

about risk and safety, information will be not shared without your consent.

If I am emailing something with personal information, for example a report about your child, this will be sent password protected and the password will be sent to recipients separately via a different method, such as face to face, phone call or text.

7. How can you see all the information you have about me/my child?

You can make a subject access request (SAR) by contacting me, Dr Emma Sinclair. I may require

additional verification that you are who you say you are to process this request. I may withhold such personal information to the extent permitted by law. In practice this means that I may not provide information if I consider that providing the information will not be in your best interests.

8. What if the information I hold is incorrect?

If this is the case, please contact Dr Emma Sinclair.

9. How can you have your information removed?

If you want to have your data removed, I have to determine if I need to keep the data (as per the above explanations). If the information you would like deleted is not necessary for me to fulfil my professional obligations, I will delete this information without undue delay.

10. Will Dr Emma Sinclair send emails and text messages to me?

As part of my routine practice, and ensuring I can communicate with you effectively, I may communicate with you each by email, text and/or phone.

11. What is the procedure if there is a data protection breach.

I will inform you if there has been a breach of your data and I will discuss what steps have been taken to manage this data breach. This data breach will be logged in my data breach log. Steps will be taken to understand how the breach took place, and prevent it from happening in the future. I will inform the ICO if necessary.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me

Emma Sinclair Psychology

Supporting the well-being and mental health of children and families

Terms & Conditions

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