Privacy Policy

Updated and reviewed: 06.12.23

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I work as a sole trader and Play Therapy UK (PTUK) is my professional organisation.  

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What information do I gather, where is it stored and how is it used?

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a.  Your personal contact details (your name, address, phone number and email address)

I will only use this information to contact you in order to report on the progress and results of your child’s therapy and to arrange for meetings. 

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b.  Your child’s age, sex, ethnic background, history (as shared by you and -where applicable – your child’s school) and why they have been referred for play therapy

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I will use this information to prepare for the therapy sessions and to write progress reports for you and the referrer.  Progress reports will only be shared with other agencies at your own or the referrer’s request and only with your explicit permission. The only exception to this rule would be made if instructed to do so by a Court of Law. 

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c.  Measures based on the results of questionnaires

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You, the person who referred your child for play therapy, your child him/herself and (where appropriate) the child’s school will fill in these questionnaires. I will use the questionnaires to assess how severe your child’s issues are so that I can decide whether play therapy is an appropriate intervention and if so, how many sessions your child is likely to need.

I will also use the questionnaires after therapy has started in order to track progress and at the end of therapy to see what changes have happened. 

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d.  The activities your child does during the sessions.
 
I use this information to review your child’s progress and to write progress reports for you and the referrer.  Progress reports will only be shared with other agencies at your own or the referrer’s request and only with your explicit permission. The only exception to this rule would be made if instructed to do so by a Court of Law. 

The above information is stored in your child’s file. Your child has:

• a paper file, which is stored in a locked filing cabinet at my home address

• electronic files, which are stored on an encrypted computer at my home address: a Microsoft Office Word file, as well as a file in Fortuna, a highly secure PTUK system for data gathering (for more information see below)

Play Therapy UK
As said above, Play Therapy UK (PTUK) is my professional organisation.  It applies Play Therapy UK’s de facto standards in gathering information about your child and their play therapy activities to check the quality of therapists’ service, and to update the clinical evidence base (see below) and other research projects which are aimed at improving the quality of therapists’ practice for the benefit of the children they work with.  All information is gathered anonymously.  

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The clinical evidence base is kept in a secure computer database (Fortuna) managed by PTUK.  It is used to compare the results of therapy with a child’s characteristics (such as their age, sex, ethnic background and the condition they have been referred with), the number and type of sessions and the therapy activities that have taken place.  Doing this helps to set guidelines of good practice, and to identify any areas of risk or where further investigation (through research) is needed.  All the information recorded is anonymous so that a child cannot be identified in any reports that are produced. When information is analysed and reported on, it is based on groups of a minimum number of 200 cases and does not identify any child.

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Play Therapy UK therapists have to re-register each year. They do this by providing the following information via Fortuna.

• Your child’s age, sex, ethnic background and the condition they were referred with          

• Measures they have taken based on information from questionnaires

• The therapy activities carried out by the child during the sessions

 

Your name and contact details and those of your child are not passed on.  

Fortuna 
Fortuna is a highly secure system provided by Play Therapy UK for me to record your and your child’s data. Name and address data of yourself and your child/children are only processed by me for communication purposes. They are not processed by Play Therapy UK except, if relevant, for the repair of the system. Neither are they released by Play Therapy UK to any other organisation or person.

 

Supervision and quality assurance 

Like all practitioners on the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists, managed by Play Therapy UK and accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, I must have a set number of hours of clinical supervision.  I make a verbal report on each child to my clinical supervisor who is a senior, accredited play therapist as well as a senior social worker. Your child’s progress, including their problems, what they do in the sessions, any significant themes in their play and anything else that is relevant may be discussed.  My clinical supervisor assesses and reviews my work by providing support and advice, identifying any problem areas and, if necessary, suggesting action to be taken.  

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Notes may be taken by my supervisor. If these notes contain your or your child’s name, she will mark them as confidential and store them securely.  

Your rights
You have a right to see any information I hold about you or your child. Please just ask.
For further details about information stored by PTUK, please contact:  The Registrar & Data Controller, Play Therapy UK/PTI, The Coach House, Belmont Road, Uckfield TN25 1BP, United Kingdom, Phone: +44 (0) 1825 761143

Petra’s Data Protection Register Number: ZA283200
Play Therapy UK Data Protection Register Number: ZA107748