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Connect Psychotherapy Practice works to enable clients to access a range of psychotherapy and psychological services throughout the South West, referring them to suitable practitioners who offer variety of treatment options, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR).

While there is an established demand for confidentiality in psychotherapy and psychology practices, increased emphasis put on the Data Protection Act by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has resulted in a growing number of independent practitioners looking for mechanisms to protect sensitive information when communicating electronically. In particular, Connect Psychotherapy Practice identified the need to secure this data when contained in patient referrals, in addition to protecting the large file audio and visual recordings of approved client sessions that are routinely submitted for supervisory purposes.

Katrina Hinkley, Managing Director of Connect Psychotherapy Practice, explains: “All of our practitioners are required to protect their clients’ confidential information. As a referral service, Connect Psychotherapy Practice receives a range of confidential information from various sources, such as solicitors, insurers and rehabilitation organisations, and subsequently transfers it to the psychiatrists and psychologists we work with, who are based throughout Southwest England. Using email to send this information ensures the prompt service delivery that our clients deserve and we consequently implemented Egress Switch to make sure our electronic communications meet data protection standards.

“The psychotherapy and psychology community are not always the most technologically savvy,” continues Hinkley. “However as Switch Secure Email integrates with a range of email clients, including Outlook, it means that the security we need is available at the click of a button. In addition, the large file functionality offered by Switch Secure File Transfer has proved very valuable to our practitioners, who need to regularly record approved sessions for independent supervision. Previously, the only mechanism for sharing this information was postal services, however concerns around data protection meant that in reality, these recordings were usually passed on at face-to-face meetings – which obviously hindered the supervision process.”

Egress UK Sales Manager Kelly McCann comments: “Increased data protection awareness has been a significant driving force behind the adoption of Switch by a growing number of psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as other independent practitioners. Connect Psychotherapy Practice are at the forefront of this trend and consequently their clients can have full confidence that referrals will be dealt with swiftly and securely using Switch Secure Email.”