Privacy Statement
&
Your Rights
In this practice, I take your privacy and the confidentiality of your information seriously. This is an important part of creating a safe and trusting therapeutic space.
1. What information is collected
When you engage in therapy, I may collect personal information such as your name and contact details, as well as information shared during sessions. This may also include relevant background history, reflections, and clinical notes that support the therapeutic process.
Information is only collected to the extent that it is needed to provide safe and effective therapeutic support.
2. How information is used
Information is used for the purpose of providing therapy, supporting continuity of care, and ensuring that the work remains safe and appropriate over time. This may include reflecting on themes and patterns that arise in sessions as part of the therapeutic process.
3. Clinical notes and documentation
Clinical notes are kept at a minimal but clinically meaningful level. They are not intended to be full transcripts or detailed accounts of sessions, but brief professional summaries that support safe and effective therapeutic work.
Notes typically focus on:
- key themes and patterns that emerge in the work
- relevant relational, personal, or systemic context
- significant clinical observations relevant to the therapeutic process
- risk or safety-related information where relevant
- agreed focus or direction for ongoing sessions
The purpose of clinical documentation is to support continuity of care, professional reflection, and accountability, rather than to record everything that is said in sessions.
This approach aligns with a systemic and experiential way of working, where the therapeutic process is primarily held within the session itself, and written notes serve as a support to that process.
4. Retention of records and destruction
Client records are kept securely for a period consistent with professional and legal requirements in Aotearoa New Zealand. After this period, records are securely destroyed.
Records are stored securely in accordance with professional and ethical standards and are protected from unauthorised access or misuse.
5. Confidentiality
What is shared in therapy is confidential. This means your information is not shared with others without your consent.
There are, however, important limits to confidentiality.
6. Safety and limits of confidentiality (important information)
In this practice, I work with individuals, couples, families, and groups, including where there are concerns around safety, distress, or risk. A systemic approach allows us to understand safety not only as an individual issue, but within the wider context of relationships, environments, stressors, and available supports.
Where safety concerns arise, these are first explored within the therapeutic space in a collaborative and careful way. Where appropriate, initial safety-related discussions or consultations may be undertaken in an anonymised form (for example, during professional consultation or supervision) to support careful assessment and appropriate response.
However, there are clear limits to confidentiality where serious safety concerns are present.
If there is serious concern about risk of harm to yourself or others, or where the safety of a child or young person is at risk, I may need to seek consultation and/or involve appropriate external services. This may include GPs, mental health services, Oranga Tamariki, or the Police, depending on the nature and level of risk.
Where possible and appropriate, this would be discussed with you first. However, in situations where there is imminent or serious risk, I may be required to share relevant information without consent in order to support safety and meet professional and legal obligations in Aotearoa New Zealand.
7. Working with other professionals
Where it is helpful and with your consent, I may collaborate with other professionals involved in your care, such as GPs, mental health services, or social supports. This is always done in a way that aims to support your wellbeing while maintaining confidentiality as far as possible.
Where professional supervision is used, no identifying information is shared.
8. Group work and confidentiality
Where group therapy or group-based work is offered, confidentiality is an essential condition of participation.
By participating in group work, clients agree that:
- all information shared by other group members during sessions is strictly confidential
- this includes both identifiable and non-identifiable (anonymised) information
- group members are not permitted to share any information about other participants outside the group setting, in any form
This confidentiality agreement is a required condition of participation in group work. Continued participation is based on agreement to uphold these confidentiality boundaries.
Group confidentiality is essential to creating a safe, respectful, and trusting therapeutic environment. Breaches of confidentiality may result in a review of group participation.
9. Recording of sessions
Sessions are not routinely recorded.
Recording of sessions is only permitted where there is explicit, informed consent from all parties involved. This consent is discussed in advance and documented prior to any recording taking place.
Consent to recording is entirely optional, and declining does not affect access to therapy or the therapeutic relationship.
Where recording is agreed, it is used only for agreed therapeutic purposes and stored securely in line with professional and privacy obligations in Aotearoa New Zealand. Recordings are not shared with third parties without explicit additional consent and are retained or deleted in accordance with agreed terms and relevant professional requirements.
10. Online communication and video sessions
Where therapy is provided online, sessions are conducted using secure video platforms, which may include Microsoft Teams, Jitsi Meet, Google Meet, or Brave Talk. These platforms are used depending on practical needs, accessibility, and the nature of the work.
No online platform can guarantee complete confidentiality, and clients should be aware that all digital communication carries some level of privacy risk. This may include risks related to internet use, device security, and the limitations of third-party communication systems.
By engaging in online sessions, clients acknowledge and accept these inherent limitations of digital communication. Clients are also responsible for ensuring they attend sessions from a private and secure environment, using a trusted device and secure internet connection.
From my side, reasonable steps are taken to protect privacy and confidentiality. This includes conducting sessions from a private professional workspace and using secure personal systems for all clinical work, in line with professional and ethical obligations in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Wherever possible, I use platforms that balance accessibility and security, selecting tools based on clinical appropriateness and client needs. However, each platform has its own privacy terms and limitations that are outside my direct control.
Online communication is used only for scheduled therapeutic sessions and is not a crisis or emergency service. If there is immediate risk or crisis, clients are expected to access local emergency services in their region.
11. Your rights
You have the right to:
- request access to the information held about you
- request correction of information if you believe it is inaccurate
- know what information is collected about you and how it is used
- be informed about the limits of confidentiality and how these apply in practice
- receive clear information about the services you are engaging in
- withdraw consent for aspects of your care where consent applies (for example recording or sharing information with other professionals, unless there are legal or safety obligations that require disclosure)
- participate in decisions about your therapy, including its focus and direction
- decline or pause any aspect of the therapeutic process that is not required for safety or legal reasons
- end or pause therapy at any time
- expect your information to be handled in accordance with privacy and professional standards in Aotearoa New Zealand
- raise any concerns about your privacy or care directly with me
- make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Aotearoa New Zealand if you are not satisfied with how your information has been handled
If you have concerns about how your information is handled, you are welcome to raise this directly with me. You also have the right to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in New Zealand.
If something is unclear or you would like further explanation, you are welcome to discuss this at any time during the work together.