Nightingale Therapy: Our use of client information and data
Linda K. Berkeley is the sole trader, therapist, and data controller at Nightingale Therapy. I am registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and my registration number is ZA274676. Nightingale Therapy wants to offer the best possible service to clients. To achieve this, we need to assess our effectiveness and be mindful of feedback by collecting information and data about clients, what happened during therapy, and the outcomes.
What information is collected by Nightingale Therapy?
We collect personal data (e.g. name, address, date of birth, age, GP details, next of kin), the results of questionnaires, information about your reasons for coming to therapy, about the therapy you receive, and what happened during the sessions in the form of clinical notes. This information comes primarily from what you have told us but may come from other sources (e.g. GP, midwife, insurance company, Employee Assistance Program) if we have your consent to speak with them or they have referred you to us.
How is this information stored?
All data and information collected is subject to the strict rules of confidentiality, in accordance with Acts of Parliament, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Health and Social Care Act 2001.Additionally, all data and information collected is subject to the 2025 UK Data and Information Act and is called the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. It received Royal Assent on June 19, 2025. The General Data Protection Regulation has been kept in UK law as the UK GDPR.
Most of the information (written , video and/or audio recorded) is stored on a computer that is securely electronically locked with two separate passwords when the premises are vacant. The paper information is stored in a filing cabinet that is securely locked when the premises are vacant. The premises are secured with approved door and window locks fitted with a fully functional security system, including sensors on all doors and windows, that is maintained by a security company recognised by the insurers of the premises. This security system is always on when no one is on the premises.
Information and data will be kept for a period of seven years after therapy has ended and if the client is under the age of 18 at the time therapy took place, for 7 years after their 18th birthday, as is common practice in therapy, and/or until it is no longer necessary to keep it. E.g. if an electronic record is made of the results of questionnaires, that questionnaire is shredded in a robust cross-cutting shredder.
How is this information used?
This lets us monitor your progress and the effectiveness of our service for you. This information may be shared with other health professionals involved in your care (e.g. a midwife, GP). However, we would not share information with other health professionals without your consent, except in circumstances where there is a risk you might harm yourself or someone else, particularly a child, or commit a crime.
This is also explained in our Confidentiality Policy. This applies to discussing your issues with anyone who telephoned or emailed us – we would not discuss you with anyone we did not have your consent to talk to, apart from the above exceptions. In practice, this means that if we do not have your consent to speak to someone about you, we would say we do not know you to the person who telephoned or emailed.
The information is sometimes shared with a supervisor. All therapists, regardless of their experience or qualifications and whatever framework they practice in, who are registered members of a governing body, have supervisors. Linda K. Berkeley is registered with and subscribes to the values and ethics of the following organisations: BPS, BABCP, BACP, Addiction Professionals (formerly FDAP), and the APA. I attend regular supervision with qualified supervisors.
Whenever a client is discussed in supervision, the client’s material is anonymised, and the minimal amount of identifying information is given. Supervisors are also therapists who are registered members of one or more of the above or other governing bodies and often have many years of experience as therapists. The purpose of supervision is to provide an overview of the therapy and the therapist’s performance, helping the therapist to find the most helpful alternatives for clients to enable therapy to progress.