Policies
Confidentiality
What you tell me in a session is private, with a small number of limits. This page says what those are, in plain English.
A working draft — not legal advice
This is a working draft for me to review. It is not legal advice. Safeguarding, insurance and data protection should be checked by a qualified person before I rely on this with the people I support.
What I keep private
I treat what you tell me in one-to-one or group peer support as private. I do not gossip, and I do not share your story for other people’s entertainment or marketing.
Sessions are not NHS clinical notes. I am not writing a medical file, a diagnosis or a care plan. I may keep brief records so I can remember what we talked about and be a decent peer next time. There is more about that on records and data.
Where the limits are
There are times I need to share something, rather than keep a dangerous secret. In plain terms, that includes:
- A serious risk of harm to you, or to someone else
- A child or young person who may be at risk of harm
- Situations where the law expects information to be shared — for example in connection with terrorism or money laundering
The fuller picture, including what I will actually do, is on the safeguarding page. This page and that one are meant to say the same thing about the limits.
Online sessions
Support is held online only. I have not named a particular platform yet, because I have not settled on one.
A private space on your side helps a lot, if you can manage it — somewhere you are less likely to be overheard. I know that is not always easy. I will do what I can on my side too.
I do not record sessions unless we have both agreed to it beforehand. The default is no recording, from either of us.
Groups are a shared space. I need people in a group not to pass on other people’s stories outside it. I cannot control every living room, so I will say this plainly at the start, and I need to take it seriously if it is broken.