If you’ve been hearing people talking about changes to GDPR recently, you might be wondering whether there’s anything you need to do.
The short answer is yes. There have been some important legal updates affecting therapists, particularly if you have a website. That includes your counselling privacy policy, cookie consent and complaints information.
Rather than trying to explain all the legal details myself, I invited Daragh MacLoughlin from WebHealer onto the Good Enough Counsellors podcast. Daragh spends his days helping therapists create and maintain professional websites, so he’s in a great position to explain what has changed and what therapists should be thinking about.
If you’d like to listen to the full explanation, you can access the podcast here:
If you would like to subscribe to the podcast, click here.
The two biggest changes
According to Daragh, there are two areas therapists should pay particular attention to.
1. Complaints procedures
Many therapists will now need to update their website policies to explain how clients can make a complaint if they are unhappy with the service they have received.
2. Cookie consent
If your website uses cookies, the rules around consent have changed.
Rather than simply informing visitors that your website uses cookies, websites now need to obtain consent before non-essential cookies are placed on a visitor’s device. Depending on how your website has been built, this may mean updating your cookie banner or the way consent is collected.
It’s not just about ticking a legal box
One of the things I really liked about my conversation with Daragh was that he reminded us that GDPR isn’t simply about complying with regulations.
When someone visits your website, they’re often thinking about sharing some of the most personal parts of their lives with a complete stranger.
Clear privacy policies, complaints procedures and cookie notices all help to show that you take your professional responsibilities seriously. They won’t be the reason someone chooses you as their therapist, but they can help to build trust before they’ve even made contact.
When did you last review your website?
If you haven’t changed your policies to reflect these changes, now is the time to review them.
But if you’re like me, you would probably far rather spend your time helping clients than trying to interpret changes in legislation. The good news is that you don’t have to become a GDPR expert yourself.
Policy Diary is an economical online service designed specifically for therapists. It works with any website, not just websites built by WebHealer. Rather than giving you a generic template, it asks a series of questions about your practice, such as your professional body, how you work and how long you keep client records.
It then creates all the necessary GDPR policies tailored to your practice:
- Privacy Policy
- Cookie Policy
- Date Retention Policy
- GDPR Compliance Statement
- Special Category Data Policy
As regulations change, or as your practice evolves, Policy Diary helps keep your website and GDPR policies up to date, so you don’t have to worry about keeping on top of every legal change yourself.
Policy Diary costs £24 a year and, if you use my code GEC999, you’ll receive free installation on your website (worth £9.99), making it even easier to get everything set up. Click HERE to get started.
And if you’re thinking about creating a new therapy website, the same code also gives you £50 off a new WebHealer website.
I’ve also written a comprehensive guide to GDPR for counsellors in private practice, which I’ll be updating to reflect these latest changes. You can read it HERE.
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