CONFIDENTIALITY in Counselling with Pauline Matthews

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I will take all measures possible to ensure that confidentiality is observed, and will not divulge any identifying information that you have given me without your consent.

However, I am required by UK law to act on information received about suspected child abuse, or if you are planning an act or terrorism. In this case I would take further instructions from my supervisor.

Any personal information I have received from you is kept on my personal computer until our contract is ended, when it is then removed.
If any content of your contact with me is used in our supervision sessions it will be kept anonymous.

Even before the internet, when private notes might be typed on a computer, other family members might have found a copy of the notes. You might want to "delete" material from your computer, and only keep printed notes in a secure place, if this might be a concern in your household. Even after deleting files on your computer, there are other storage places on your computer which retain copies of the deleted files. If you are not aware of how this happens, check with someone knowledgeable about computers, and have them show you the "cache" files and also the "history" files on your directory. Always think about "what could happen" if others, who have access to your computer, might see copies of your work.

If you are using a computer at work, or in an Internet cafe to communicate with me, make sure it is as private as possible. In this case I would urge you to use a Hotmail account and logoff carefully after use.
Many companies have a policy on using work computers to send private emails. The management have the right to access all information being stored on that computer.