Good Practice and Guidance in Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy Law

With thanks to Privacy4 – Catherine Knibbs and Gary Hibberd – for the content of this course and their ongoing work. You can find out more about Privacy4 here.

About this course

This course will provide readers with a basic introduction to the necessities in law of good practice and guidance in Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy laws that will be applicable to your therapeutic practice. The course is aimed at all levels (whether it be for those in training or already in practice) and will be useful for sole traders (those in private practice), tutors, small businesses, and those on placement.

This short course covers the necessary information to help support good ethical standards, communication with clients and adherence to the law.

The course is based on the ‘Privacy4 standard and Essential Guide’ written by Catherine Knibbs and Gary Hibberd.

Who is this course for?

This course is aimed at counsellors and psychotherapists, but will also be helpful for those those working with clients in a therapeutic context from a range of training backgrounds.

CPD Hours

This course contains 3 CPD hours. You will receive a certificate confirming your completion of the course once you have completed all of the lessons and activities, and passed the final quiz.

Aims

The aim of this online training programme is to improve participants’ knowledge of cybersecurity, data protection and privacy law, in order to better protect their clients’ data, maintain good ethical standards, and adhere to the law.

Objectives

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles of cybersecurity and data protection, and how they relate to their therapeutic practice
• Understand the laws around data protection, especially as they relate to their therapeutic practice
• Identify and access a range of tools to support their efforts in ensuring cybersecurity, privacy and data protection
• Determine what their relationship is with the ICO, and any steps they need to take
• Understand how to ensure that they and their clients are able to stay safe online
• Create their own data protection processes
• Take appropriate action in the event of a data breach

Learning Method

This course is divided into lessons, with self-directed activities at the end of each lesson, and a quiz at the end. These activities will test your knowledge, and give you resources to help you build on any gaps in knowledge that might be identified during the activities.

Do I need to submit any written work?

All of the learning in this course is self-directed, based on the content provided within the course itself. You do not need to submit any work.

What will I need to complete this course?

We recommend that you keep a notebook dedicated to this course to hand, as you will be asked to keep notes on your thoughts and reflections within exercises. You may also find them useful to refer to in the future. If you have any problems with any technical aspects of the course, it is best to contact the National Counselling Society directly through the contact form, email address, or telephone number provided so that they can help you as quickly as possible.