PRIVACY

Wholistic Counselling Services respects the privacy of our clients and seeks to protect their personal information. For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual.

Wholistic Counselling Services is committed to maintaining our clients’ trust and privacy. We recognize the sensitivity of personal information.

Access to raw data will only be permitted to the Wholistic Counselling Services team and those working for them. Anyone working for Wholistic Counselling Services will only collect and use your information to administer, support, improve and obtain feedback on our services and to detect and prevent faults, breaches of our network security, the law or our contract terms. We will also use all this information to assess what Wholistic Counselling Services products and services may be of interest to individuals and to personalize our service and marketing. Information from clients is not to be used for any other reasons.

Clients are not to be discussed with anyone not employed by Wholistic Counselling Services in any way that can identify them as an individual. 

All paper work for Wholistic Counselling Services clients is to be kept in a secure location.

All online correspondence with clients by Wholistic Counselling Services is only allowed on secure computers.

Except where the law requires, anyone working for Wholistic Counselling Services will not pass on, sell or rent your personal data to any third party. The only exceptions occur where the third parties are simply working on our behalf as our subcontractors or administrators (such as companies that process credit card payments), our professional advisers, or if the data is required to be disclosed by law or to a regulator.

Any agreement between the counsellor and client about confidentiality may be reviewed and changed by joint negotiation. 

All Wholistic Counselling Services staff may use or disclose information without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:

1. Child Abuse: If a staff member has reason to believe that a child has been, or may be, abused, neglected, or sexually abused, he/she must make a report of such.

2. Adult Abuse: If a staff member has reason to believe that an elderly or disabled person is in a state of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, she/he must immediately report such.

3. Health Oversight: If a complaint is filed against your therapist with their respective state licensing board, they have the authority to subpoena confidential mental health information from Wholistic Counselling Services.

4. Judicial or Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information about your diagnosis and treatment and the records thereof, such information is privileged under state law and it will not be released by Wholistic Counselling Services, without written authorization from you, your personal or legally appointed representative, or a court order. The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or where the evaluation is court ordered. You will be informed in advance if this is the case.

5. Serious Threat to Health or Safety: If a staff member determines that there is a probability of imminent physical injury by you to yourself or others, or there is a probability of immediate mental or emotional injury to you, they may disclose relevant confidential mental health information to medical or law enforcement personnel.

6. Abuse or Sexual Exploitation by Therapist: To report client abuse or sexual exploitation by a previous therapist to the appropriate licensing board.

Any breaches in privacy by Wholistic Counselling Services staff will result in instant repercussions for the individual’s continued employment with Wholistic Counselling Services.

1. WHOLISTIC COUNSELLING SERVICES RESPONSIBILITIES

1.1. Wholistic Counselling Services will use best endeavours to ensure that all advice, comments, information and therapy will be provided with appropriate skill, care and sensitivity. However, we cannot be held responsible for any actions or inaction by you directly or indirectly on the basis of what we provided. 

1.2. All Counselling advisors responding to you via Wholistic Counselling Services Website(s) are fully qualified counsellors and therapists.

1.3. Though all reasonable care shall be taken by Wholistic Counselling Services to ensure that the text of sessions is kept confidential,  Wholistic Counselling Services shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special or other damage resulting from third parties interception of online sessions.

1.4 Wholistic Counselling Services reserves the right at its sole discretion to terminate the provision of therapy at any time if ongoing treatment is considered inappropriate for any reason.

1.5 Wholistic Counselling Services, its agents and therapists will use best endeavours to ensure that their computer systems are protected from viruses and other potentially destructive programs

2. PERSONAL DATA AND INFORMATION

2.1 Wholistic Counselling Services shall treat all information between you and Wholistic Counselling Services therapists as confidential except as stated in our privacy policy that can be accessed at:

https://www.wholisticcounsellingservices.co.nz/privacy-and-security

2.2 Clients are not to be discussed with anyone not employed by Wholistic Counselling Services in any way that can identify them as an individual. For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual.

2.3 All Wholistic Counselling Services staff may use or disclose information without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:

1. Child Abuse: If a staff member has reason to believe that a child has been, or may be, abused, neglected, or sexually abused, he/she must make a report of such.

2. Adult Abuse: If a staff member has reason to believe that an elderly or disabled person is in a state of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, she/he must immediately report such.

3. Health Oversight: If a complaint is filed against your therapist with their respective state licensing board, they have the authority to subpoena confidential mental health information from Wholistic Counselling Services.

4. Judicial or Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information about your diagnosis and treatment and the records thereof, such information is privileged under state law and it will not be released by Wholistic Counselling Services, without written authorization from you or your personal or legally appointed representative, or a court order. The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or where the evaluation is court ordered. You will be informed in advance if this is the case.

5. Serious Threat to Health or Safety: If a staff member determines that there is a probability of imminent physical injury by you to yourself or others, or there is a probability of immediate mental or emotional injury to you, they may disclose relevant confidential mental health information to medical or law enforcement personnel.

6. Abuse or Sexual Exploitation by Therapist: To report client abuse or sexual exploitation by a previous therapist to the appropriate licensing board.