Confidentiality is paramount
Confidentiality is in place to protect you. We understand the amount of courage it takes to discuss your deepest feelings with a stranger. We understand the responsibility you entrust us with – to aid you with your journey, and to ensure the information you share with us does not go beyond MYH.
We take this responsibility seriously, and for that reason we have a confidentiality policy in place: we ensure we will not share your information with anyone. If there is any case where we might need to share your details, such as for a referral, we will ask for your consent before. The only time we must break this agreement is if the information you share with us demonstrates that you or someone else is in immediate danger. In these cases, we are obligated to share your information with emergency organisations to ensure your safety.
If you would like to read our confidentiality policy, you can access it here. If you would like more information about how we handle your personal data, you can email us at info@myh.org.uk.
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Confidentiality means not telling anyone else about what you have said. It means that you can feel safe talking to us about something that is happening to you, or how you feel about something, knowing that no one else will find out.
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We always want to keep calls to MYH confidential, but if we are very worried about your safety or the safety of others, we will talk to you about whether other people need to know. MYH will only take action if we feel it is an emergency and we will talk to you about this first.
You say you might need to tell someone if you are very worried about me or someone else. What does this mean?
You can talk to MYH about anything that is important to you, no matter how big or small it might seem. There are some things that we think are too big to keep between you and MYH, and we will talk to you about whether other people need to know what is happening.We may want to tell someone else what is happening if:
- We think your life or someone else’s life is in danger
- You’ve told us that someone is hurting you, who might be hurting other people too – like a teacher who works with other children
- You have told us that you have been hurting another person, which makes us worried about his or her safety.
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- You can tell us as much or as little as you want to. Sometimes MYH will ask you if you want to give a first name, but it is up to you if you want to do this. You can always make up a name if you do not want to give us your real name. We would ask you to use the same name if you do get in touch with us again so that we know it is you.
- When you go online, you will be asked to choose a username and a nickname, and it is up to you what you decide to call yourself. It is important that you do not let anyone else know about what you have chosen to call yourself.
If you want us to get in touch with someone to let them know about what is happening to you, we will need to know your full name and some other information about you
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Just because we do know, your name does not mean that we would tell someone else about what is happening for you, even if we know your surname. You can feel safe to tell us as much as you want. If you think you might like to phone us back, sometimes it can be helpful if you tell us your first name (or the name you want us to call you) so that it is easier for us to find notes about what you have said in your calls.
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If you want someone else to know about what was happening to you, you could talk to your MYH Helpline worker about what you would like to happen next, and who else you want to know about your situation. We would need to know some more information about you, like your full name and address, your date of birth and the name of your school. If you need time to think about whether or not you want us to tell someone else, just let us know. You can always get in touch with MYH again later.