Body and Mind Therapy:
Confidentiality

Who is a client?

When we refer to ‘clients’ we mean patients (over 18 years old):  individuals who are directly affected by the care, treatment or services that Body and Mind Therapy provides. The core principles within this policy also apply when Body and Mind Therapy provides services to organisations rather than individuals.

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Core principles

This page cannot cover every situation where problems or challenges about confidentiality might come up. However, Body and Mind Therapy will always keep the following core principles in mind and at the heart of our actions when handling service user information:

• Take all reasonable steps to keep information about clients safe

• Make sure we have the client’s explicit consent if we are passing on their information (unless there are good reasons not to, for example, it is necessary to protect public safety or prevent harm to other people).

• Only disclose identifiable information if it is necessary, and, when it is, only disclose the minimum amount necessary

• Get express consent, in writing, if we are using a identifiable information relating to a client for reasons which are not related to providing care, treatment or other services for them.

• Tell clients when we have disclosed their information (where this is practical and possible)

• Keep secure and appropriate records of any disclosure

• Keep up to date with relevant data policies, legislature, and good practice

• If appropriate, we will ask for advice from colleagues, professional bodies, unions, or legal professionals

• Make our own informed decisions about disclosure and be able to justify them.

 

Dr. Kayleigh Darch is Clinical Psychologist, and is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC is a regulator whose main aim is to protect the public. To do this, they keep a register of psychologists that meet their standards for training, professional skills, behaviour and health.

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What is confidentiality?

To Body and Mind Therapy, confidentiality means protecting the personal information relating to our clients. This information might include information a client wants to keep private such as a their health, care needs, or lifestyle.

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Clients should expect any contact with the Body and Mind Therapy team to be treated confidentially. 

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We have a professional and legal responsibility to respect and protect the confidentiality of clients at all times.

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Our standards of conduct, performance and ethics

Body and Mind Therapy works within the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics:

• Promote and protect the interests of service users, parents and carers

• Communicate appropriately and effectively

• Work within the limits of our knowledge and skills

• Delegate appropriately

• Respect confidentiality

• Manage risk

• Report concerns about safety

• Be open when things go wrong

• Be honest and trustworthy

• Keep records of our work

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Consent and confidentiality

Identifiable information is disclosed for a variety of reasons.

 

It can happen when Body and Mind Therapy refers a client to another health and care professional or when a client asks for information to be given to a third party about them.

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It is important that we get the service user’s permission, or ‘consent’, before we share or disclose their information or use it for reasons which are not related to the care or services we are providing for them.

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Consent, for the purposes of confidentiality, means that the client understands and does not object to:

• The information being disclosed or shared

• The reason for the disclosure

• The people or organisations the information will be shared with

• How the information will be used

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Requests from clients for access to the information we hold about them

Clients have the right to see information we hold about them. Any such requests to see this information should be made to kayleigh@bamtherapy.co.uk. An administration fee of £50 for any data requests applies.