Safety Measures

Protecting your personal files and keeping the therapeutic communications between us private and confidential are an important part of the therapy process. I am committed to keeping communications private and safe between us and hope that you will do the same. Below are some safety measures for you to consider before we get started.

 

Will you be using a family, work or private computer for your online therapy communications?

 

Family/Shared Computer

Password protecting your personal files can help towards keeping your personal information private and confidential from family members that share the same device. Ensure that you close or sign out of each browser after its use. Consider setting up a personal password through our our email communications ('hushmail' offers full encryption form end to end). You can also use a memory stick (USB) to store documents to transfer or safely store documents.

 

Work/Business Computer

Before we connect for your therapy session. consider whether your work environment is suitable. for privacy and confidentiality purposes. Even if you have a private room or office, your employer my still be able to find out what you have been accessing o your computer through software programmes such as 'Keylogger' which can log key strokes and monitor your online movements. Ensure that all communications between us are private and confidential.

 

Private/Personal Computer

Communications through private computers can also be compromised through privacy leaks and cyber attacks. Ensure that your firewall is switched on and that an anti-virus software has been installed and up to date. You can do this by going to your systems control panel>system>security settings and check your device settings. You can also download free software programmes such as: Axcrypt or Veracrypt that offers encryption on your computer to protect sensitive files and personal data.

When you save files these may also be saved onto your hard drive that may go unnoticed, when you decide to sell or replace your computer, deleting your information from your device can prevent others getting their eyes on it!