Disclaimer This website does not contain medical advice. It is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your professional healthcare provider for medical advice. Always seek the advice of a medical professional or qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medicalcondition. Never disregard or delay seeking medical advice or treatment because of something you may have seen on this website.
Who we are Somatic Way is a service that offers Counselling, Psychotherapy and Somatic Education. Our website address is https:/ somaticway.ie . The website and business is run by Stephen Cooke. You can contact Stephen Cooke ( who is the appointed Data Controller) directly at somaticway@gmail.com . What personal data we collect and why ? Data is collected when we make contact through phone, email, web or in person. The types of data and information collected include Contact information Personal information Medical information Browsing information The basic amount of information is collected to allow for an effective level of service. In Somatic Movement Education it is used to understand a clients movement pattern and to develop a plan to improve clients movement. In Counselling and Psychotherapy it is used to understand a clients current situation and detail interventions (where relevant). Contact Forms & Contact Information When you contact us we collect relevant information to get in contact with you. This includes , name, physical address , phone number and email address. We do not share this information with any third party providers. For phone contact we ask your permission to store your first name and surname initial on a mobile phone. It can be removed at any time. Analytics & Browsing information When you access or use our online services, we automatically collect the following information about you via google analytics. The information is used to understand who is visiting the site and optimising content. 1) Log information about your use of the service, how you navigate to and around the website. 2) Device information is the information collected about the device you are using to access our services, for example hardware model , operating system, mobile network information etc. Cookies ( small text files that work in the browser to collect and gather information) are employedby Google Analytics to allow browsing Information to be analysed. These can be turned off in your settings but these can effect your service. We do not have any control over third party cookies. Client Counselling information & Medical data Any client information in relation to counselling sessions and medical data taken during your appointment is collected in an intake form and stored securely and the information is not identifiable. Information is stored for seven years to comply with the insurance policy but is freely available at any time by contacting Stephen Cooke at somaticway.ie . Counselling and Psychotherapy information collected includes: contact details, date of birth, GP and emergency contact details. Medication and description of presenting issues. Basic notes are kept of any follow up sessions. These are kept very brief and factual. Somatic Education information* collected includes : current movement issues , previous injuries, current pain state and observations around posture and movement. *Any information that is gathered in the Somatic Movement Education intake form and during thefollow up sessions, is solely to help understand the clients movement patterns. Somatic Movement Education is not a replacement for proper medical care. Clients are advised to seek proper medical attention first. Data Storage No data by which you could be identified by a third party is stored electronically. The written information is held in separate locked filing cabinets. No identifying information is held together. How long is the data held for and rights over your data You can request that we delete any personal information that might be stored when you make contact. For information taken during appointments, this data needs to be held for the seven year period to comply with insurance policy but you can have access to a copy of the information collect and your notes at any time with by contacting Stephen Cooke at somaticway@gmail.com. Your rights to the data Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) individuals have the following rights: Obtain details on how their data is held and processed by an organisation; to have access to their data and have incorrect and incomplete data corrected; have data erased if their is no legitimate excuse to holding it; to obtain their data form the organisation and have it transmitted to other organisations; object to the processing of data by that organisation; and not to be subjected to automated decision making including profiling. If you want to see the data collected which relates to you or you wish to make changes please contact the Data Controller, Stephen Cooke at somaticway@gmail. Further information in relation to GDPR If you have concerns over how data is being used by an organisation you should contact the Data Protection Commissioner at the details below: Email info@dataprotection.ie Data Protection Commissioner Canal House Station Road Portarlington R32 AP23 Co Laois