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About me
Certified Counselor and Psychotherapist
I am a Registered BACP Counsellor and Psychotherapist and adhere to the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
I have been working as an integrative therapist since 2018, providing counselling and therapy for adults, adolescents and children experiencing a wide range of difficulties .
I have worked for Mind Counselling services and Cruse Bereavement. I also worked as a teacher for over thirty years and have experience in providing pastoral care in education settings.
I now have a private practice based in North Norfolk and offer individual counselling.
My professional experience has covered conditions of anxiety, panic attacks, depression, grief, bereavement, relationship and attachment issues, phobias, low self-esteem, paranoia, trauma, shyness, anger issues and many other kinds of psychological or emotional difficulties.
I believe counselling enables individuals to reflect upon themselves and how they act in the outside world, and in a safe environment clients can choose which issue they wish to work on and to take the lead in exploring their problem. Through this approach clients are able to examine different points of views leading them to finding
their own solutions.
I endeavor to create a warm and welcoming environment , providing unconditional positive regards,empathy and congruence, where clients can feel safe, validated and respected .
Services
What I Provide
No two people are the same. That’s why the approach that I take in my services is highly-personalized and refined to fit the exact needs of my clients. I will help you recognize your underlying problems, fully realize your strengths and help you adjust to a new, healthier lifestyle. Book a session today!
Areas of work
I work with individuals who may present with issues such as : anxiety, stress, phobias, low self-esteem, grief, bereavement, depression, anger issues, panic attacks, overwhelmed family/ childhood issues, relationship issues, abuse, attachment styles.
However, some clients seek counselling for simply feeling adrift or unhappy with their lives;
or simply fed up, who may simply want to be listened to and heard.
Ethos
Over the years, I have worked with many different people, from different backgrounds, each with their own individual experiences.
I believe that we all have the capacity for healing and growth, despite obstacles that might get in the way.
I am an Integrative Registered BACP Counsellor and Psychotherapist , I adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
"When the other person is hurting, confused, troubled, anxious, alienated, terrified; or when he or she is doubtful of self-worth, uncertain as to identity—then understanding is called for. The gentle and sensitive companionship offered by an emphatic person… provides illumination and healing. In such situations deep understanding is, I believe, the most precious gift one can give to another.”
Carl Rogers
Testimonials / Reviews
Everyone is different and each person has their own set of needs. For many, working with me has had phenomenal results. Read what they have to say about my practice, and decide for yourself if it sounds like a good fit for you.
I am writing this review to say how helpful I found it talking to Alda, when I was needing help and needed someone to talk too, Alda provided me with a sense of being able to completely be free to talk and express myself, and just that made such a difference, I was feeling very lost and vulnerable and it helped so much talking to Alda and not feeling stressed out but actually looked forward to our sessions and seeing a friendly face and having a good listening ear was so helpful. I wouldn’t hesitate to talk to Alda again if it was needed
G.R. Norwich
Having been under counselling for over a year, I could not recommend Alda more. I came to Alda at a time of great mental distress with my personal life seeming like a whirlwind that was out of control. My weekly sessions with Alda provided a safe space to talk and she is such a calming presence. Over the course of our sessions she helped me deal with complex situation both from past and present at a pace that felt comfortable and not rushed
V.C North Walsham
Additional Information
If you decide to contact me
Then we would make an appointment for a free 30 minutes initial consultation session so we can meet each other. I can then find out a bit about you and what has bought you to counselling and also what you would like to gain from counselling. Together we can then decide on the best way forward from there.
Short-term and long-term counselling are available depending on your own individual needs.
My Pricing
Sessions usually take place weekly and are 50 minutes in duration for which I charge a fee of £50 for individual face-to-face , telephone or online session.
For couples counselling, I charge a fee of £70 for face-to-face or online session.
Aditional language sessions:
Spanish
Get in Touch
I look forward to meeting you. Together, we will embark on a journey towards a better life.
Cromer, UK
07450862674
Privacy Statement
What personal data is collected and why
Introduction
Your privacy is very important to me and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me.
I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended, including:
• Why I am able to process your information and what purpose I am processing it for
• Whether you have to provide it to me
• How long I store it for
• Whether there are other recipients of your personal information
• Whether I intend to transfer it to another country,
• Whether I do automated decision-making or profiling, and
• Your data protection rights. I am happy to chat through any questions you might have about my data protection policy and you can contact me via email alda@byyoursidecounsellingwithalda.co.uk or by telephone 07450862674
‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person/ organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me.
I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ZB346952)
My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information:
The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. I have explained these below:
If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.
If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.
The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is that it is for provision of health treatment (in this case counselling) and necessary for a contract with a health professional (in this case, a contract between me and you).
How I use your information
Initial contact
When you contact me with an inquiry about my counselling services I will collect information to help me satisfy your inquiry. This will include your name, email address , contact telephone number and purpose of seeking treatment. Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral or a parent or trusted individual may give me your details when making an inquiry on your behalf.
If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within one month. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.
While you are accessing counselling.
At the beginning of your first appointment I will ask you to complete a personal details form containing your name, address, date of birth, contact information and also contact information for your GP. The form is stored digitally it in a secure encrypted format that can only be accessed by myself. Please be aware that I will not routinely contact your GP to inform your GP of your attendance as your attendance is confidential. To fulfill my duty of care towards you while also maintaining your confidentiality I will only contact your GP if it is necessary and should these circumstances arise I would discuss this with you wherever possible before contacting your GP.
Rest assured that what is said in our sessions will be kept confidential. I am a member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and I abide by their professional code of ethics. Confidentiality will only be broken if there are legal or ethical obligations to disclose, for example, if you disclose abuse/neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, or say something else that implies serious harm to yourself or others, or if a court of law requires me to disclose information.
In the event that confidentiality must be broken I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.
Counsellors are required to have regular supervision support so I may discuss our work with my supervisor. This would be done without identifying you and my supervisor is a counsellor who also abides by the BACP’s code of ethics regarding confidentiality.
I keep brief notes of our therapy sessions for the purpose of assisting our work together. The notes help me to keep track of the issues that we are working on and they are for my use only. The notes do not include any personal details that could be used to identify you and they are stored digitally it in a secure encrypted format that only I have access to and are not shared with any third party. Your therapy notes are stored separately to your personal details form.
I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are kept securely on my encrypted personal computer and are not shared with any third party.
For security reasons I do not retain text messages for more than 24 hours. If there is relevant information contained in a text message I will add onto the written notes as above. Likewise, any email correspondence will be deleted after one month, if it is not important. If necessary I will I will add onto the written notes kept encrypted on my personal computer and are not shared with any third party.
After counselling has ended.
Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for 7 years from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please tell me.
Third Party recipient of personal data
I share a limited amount of personal data with third parties in order to provide therapy services to you and to fulfill legal obligations in respect of tax and accounting purposes. For example, my accountant is permitted access to my invoices. Where I have contracted with a supplier to carry out tasks I have carefully selected which organisations I work with. I state that they do not use your information in any way other than the task for which they have been contracted. I will never pass on your contact details to any third party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research.
If your appointments are paid for or arranged via a third party, for example, your employer the only information shared with the third party is your dates of attendance and non-attendance for invoicing and payment purposes. Details about what is discussed in your appointments will remain confidential and can only be shared if you give me your written consent to do so.
Your rights
You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters
If I do hold information about you I will:
• give you a description of it and where it came from;
• tell you why I am holding its, tell you how long I will store your data and how I made this decision;
• tell you who it could be disclosed to;
• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.
You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you.
To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing addressing to alda@byyoursidecounsellingwithalda.co.uk
If you have any complaint about how I handle your personal data please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by writing or emailing to the contact details given above.
I would welcome any suggestions for improving my data protection procedures.
If you want to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information you can contact the ICO which is the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information go to ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.
Data security
I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously and as such I take every effort to make sure it is kept secure. My email account is protected by 2-Step Verification (also known as Two-Factor Authentication) and mobile phones and laptops used to respond to your emails are password protected, have Anti-Virus Software and your data is encrypted. Any email correspondence will be deleted within one month if it is not necessary to keep it. If it is necessary to retain the information I will stored digitally it in a secure encrypted format that only I have access to.
Visitors to my website
When someone visits my website, I use a third party service, www.wix.com to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow www.wix.com to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website.
I use legitimate interests as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information in this way when you visit my website.
I use www.wix.com so that I can continually improve my service to you, You can read their privacy notice here https://www.wix.com/enuk/legal/agreements/privacy-policy
I use www.wix.com as the content management system for our website - find out about https://www.wix.com/enuk/legal/agreements/privacy-policyanddata protection.
Like most websites we use cookies to help the site work more efficiently - find out about our use of cookies https://www.wix.com/enuk/legal/agreements/privacy-policy
No user-specific data is collected by me or any third party. If you fill in a form on my website, that data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent to me over the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SMTP servers are protected by TLS (TLS is a security protocol that provides privacy and data integrity for internet communications . Sometimes known as SSL) meaning that the email content is encrypted before being sent across the internet . The email content is then decrypted by local computers and devices.
Changes to Privacy Notice
This privacy notice may be updated from time to time, so please check occasionally for any updates.
Last Updated: 19/09/2022