Anna Stephenson Art Therapy
Anna Stephenson Art Therapy
HCPC & BAAT Registered Art Psychotherapist
Working as an Art Psychotherapist, I will need to gather some information about you to understand how best to support you and make sure we are working together safely and effectively.
It is a legal requirement for Art Psychotherapists to work in line with General Data Protection Regulations (May 2018). GDPR is a law that protects your personal information and gives you rights over how it’s used. It means I have to handle any information you share with care, keep it safe, and be clear with you about what I do with it.
The Privacy and Data Policy for my practice has been created in line with the professional guidance of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) and the legal requirements of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) which is required when handling sensitive and personal information.
What information will I collect?
Full name
Contact details (address, phone number, email)
Date of birth
GP details
Names and contact information of next of kin/emergency contact details (only used for emergency contact)
Reasons for seeking art therapy
Medical history
Social interactions and support networks
Strengths, interests, and goals for therapy
I will also ask you to sign a therapy consent form if you chose to go ahead with art therapy with me, to make sure you understand what the therapy involves and for insurance purposes.
I will keep brief notes of the therapy sessions to help me think about our work together and facilitate our sessions. I may record:
Date, time, and duration of each session
Brief session notes
Brief description of art making in session
Progress and review summaries
Any safeguarding
For children and young people, I will additionally record:
Names of parents/carers and significant people in your life/family members
School contact details (if relevant)
Experiences and observations related to school
Date, time, and content of communications with parents/carers, professionals
To support the effectiveness of therapy and my professional development, I may occasionally ask you to complete evaluations about your experience. These responses are stored securely and confidentially.
Why will I collect this information?
This information helps me provide effective and safe therapeutic support and to comply with professional and legal obligations.
I seek informed consent for information to be collected, stored, and used in the following ways:
I will only store information relevant to the therapy you have requested.
In some cases, I may need to share information to protect vulnerable individuals.
To provide safe, ethical and effective therapy.
To communicate with the client (e.g. appointments, invoice for sessions).
How will I use this information?
Clinical Supervision
Art therapists are legally required to attend clinical supervision to ensure safe and ethical practice. I regularly attend clinical and peer supervision, to anonomousy discuss workload and images made in sessions. Supervisors are trained and knowledgeable about respecting confidentiality.
With your consent, I may take digital photographs of your artwork for supervision purposes. These images are stored in a password-protected folder and deleted immediately after the supervision session.
Confidentiality
My aim is to create a space where you feel safe, respected, and informed at all times.
As your Art Therapist, I have a duty of care to support your wellbeing while keeping the things you share with me private.
When there’s a clear reason to protect you or someone else from serious harm I am legally required to breach confidentiallity. If I ever need to share something with another professional, I will always try to:
Keep any shared information to a minimum—only what’s needed for safety or legal reasons.
Involve you in decisions wherever I can.
Safeguarding
The law requires that Art Therapists disclose information in the following circumstances:
I am concerned that you (or someone else) may be at serious risk of harm. I may have to pass this information onto Sheffield Safeguarding Hub, your GP or the Police.
I receive information relating to terrorism or money laundering, which I am legally obligated to report.
I am required to do so by a court order.
In these rare situations when I may need to share information, I will aim to discuss concerns with you before doing so. I will document:
What was shared
Why it was necessary
Who it was shared with
If the child is under 18, I will also aim to involve parents/carers, if it is safe to do so, before sharing information.
I do not use your data for anything else other than what I have already stated.
How will I store this information and protect it?
All digital and paper records of our therapy work are stored using a secure, encrypted system and are backed up on a password-protected hard drive which is stored in a locked cupboard.
Your telephone number may be stored in my business phone which is passcode protected and identified only by your client number.
Please note that your name will appear in bank transactions when paying for sessions. If you pay for my services via bank transfer, this information becomes part of my buisness and banking records.
Email communication is stored and processed by your and my email providers. I will use your email address to contact you about therapy sessions, and to send invoices, receipts, or payment reminders.
How long will I store your data and how will I dispose of your data?
Adults: Notes will be kept for up to seven years after therapy ends.
Children: Notes will be kept until the client turns 18, and then for an additional seven years.
Emails and texts will be deleted as soon as they have served their purpose.
If you request any session summaries/reports, they will be treated as session notes and kept for the times indicated above.
How long will I store your art making and how will I dispose of your art making?
All of your art making will be stored securely and confidentially.
At the end of therapy, you may choose to take your art making home.
If therapy ends unexpectedly, I will store the art making for up to three months, after which it will be securely destroyed if not collected.
How can you access this information?
You have the right to know what data I hold about you, ask for changes to be made to it and ask for it to be deleted (in most cases). If you'd like access your data, please let me know. I will try to explain anything unclear.
Access may be refused in two cases:
If releasing information is likely to cause significant harm.
If the information was given in confidence by someone else (consent from that person would be required).
It is recognised that therapy is most effective when children and young people are granted a sense of privacy. Therefore, I agree in advance with parents/carers that session notes remain confidential.
Art therapists are required to act in the child’s best interests when deciding what, if anything, to share with parents or carers. Parents can, however, request access to records about themselves (e.g. notes from meetings they attended).
What are your rights?
To access, correct, or delete this data.
To withdraw consent (though this may affect therapy provision).
To raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
You are free to share your own experiences of therapy with anyone you choose.
What if my therapist suddenly becomes able to work?
Should I suddenly become unable to work, there is a system in place where a trusted professional colleague will have access to contact details (stored securely and anonymously) to pass on information to clients.