Privacy Policy

Last updated: 15 August 2023

At PositiveLinks.net, a strong commitment is held towards the protection of your privacy and the assurance of your personal information's security. Within this privacy policy, an outline is provided of how data is collected, utilized, and safeguarded during your website visits or interactions with our services. Only the necessary information is collected to deliver optimal care and support, and your data is never shared without explicit consent.

What data I collect

Depending on the type of service, one or more of the following will be collected:

  • Name

  • Email address

  • Phone number

  • Age

  • Medical conditions

  • Prescribed medications

  • History

  • Session summary

How data is stored*

Client Data: I do not store any personal data on paper. If I have written anything down (usually during an assessment) it is shredded after being scanned and held on my cloud storage and computer, both of which are password protected. A two-step verification is enabled for my cloud storage.

Email: your email address and emails we have exchanged are stored in my email account. My email provider is Gmail, which uses a moderate level of encryption and two-step verification. For sensitive discussions I recommend discussions during our webcam sessions, face-to-face or phone.

Laptop: My laptop is password protected. Session summary notes are kept separate from other personal data and are anonymised.Session summary notes are also stored on my cloud storage which is password protected and requires a two-step verification.

Stripe: Payments are processed using this service. The personal data that is stored is your name, email address, tokenised payment information. My account is password protected and two-step verification is enabled.

Acuity Scheduling: All sessions are scheduled and processed using Acuity Scheduling. The personal data stored here is your name, email address, phone number. Appointment history (dates of appointments).

Zoom: All online sessions are processed using this service. Personal data stored is the event name passed through from Acuity Scheduling and is for upcoming sessions only. You can access updated Zoom security information through their website Zoom.us

*Note: Unfortunately, the transmission of information electronically is never completely secure. Although I will do my best to protect your information, I cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to me electronically; any transmission is at your own risk.

Supervision

As part of my obligation to ensure ethical and responsible practice, I engage in professional group supervision. Members of the group are other mental health professionals who do not have access to any personal data that I hold. During our sessions we discuss client work and I refer to my clients by first names only.

Emergencies/Crises

If your health is at risk (provided I have your consent) I may need to notify an emergency healthcare provider (e.g. Mental Health Crisis Team) and/or person you identified as your emergency contact at your location.

If I become aware of your intent to harm another person or organisation (e.g. terrorism), then I may be required by law to inform the authorities without seeking your consent. In this type of situation, the law may require me to share personal data without your knowledge.

Erasing information for coaching/counselling sessions

After one month of our last session, personal data held including any correspondence via email or SMS will be erased.

Session summary notes will be held for a period of up to seven years from your session appointment. After the time has passed the information is erased.

Your rights as a coaching/counselling client

  • To be informed what personal data I store (i.e. this document)

  • To see what personal data I store about you (free of charge for the initial request)

  • To rectify any inaccuracies

  • To withdraw consent to me using personal data

  • To request personal data be erased (although this may be declined based on the circumstance)

Changes to this policy

I may edit this policy from time to time. If I make any substantial changes I will notify you by posting a prominent announcement on our website.





When you avail to any of our services you will be required to AGREE TO this privacy policy online. This online agreement forms the legal basis of consent. This privacy policy forms part of the contract when using our sevices.