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COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Advice from ACTO for CLIENTS and NON-ACTO THERAPISTS

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29 replies on “COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Advice from ACTO for CLIENTS and NON-ACTO THERAPISTS”

Hi, what is the recommended length of the online training? I came across anything ranging from 80 to 310 hours, price varies too. I have mapped the modules against the BACP’s phone & e-counselling competences and feel 80 hrs would suffice. I am intrigued & compelled to train but rather confused. Thank you for all you’re doing!

I downloaded Zoom.us and got a horrendous piece of malware which necessitated completely wiping and reinstalling everything on my computer. This cost me a lot of money and angst and there is no way I am risking that again. What do you suggest? How can I ensure that a download of Zoom is “clean”?

We are not technical people. So I don’t know how this happened. I would contact the zoom people through email and explain to them what happened and also where you downloaded the product. They may be able to tell you what happened and why. You may not have downloaded it from zoom directly as that should be safe. I am so sorry this has happened to you as I know how stessful this can be.

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Other companies eg. Co-op Financial are using Skype for client work with concerns around Power of Attorney and Will writing.

Hi Debbie,

Doxy.me is new to me. I have asked the other board members if they have any experience with it. So waiting to hear back. i did have a quick look and they do say they are GDPR compliant and that they do not store client data. But they are an american company so I don’t know where their servers are located. It seems worth our while to have a much closer look and I will keep you updated on what we find.

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Hi there,

I am struck that the only alternate to Skype mentioned is Zoom.us.

Can you confirm if you (ie acto-org.uk) have a commercial relationship with Zoom.us?

If not, are there other video conferencing platforms that you would recommend?

Finally can you confirm that the Skype private chat facility, which I believe doesn’t create contact lists and is end to end encrypted is not suitable to use for online therapy.

Many thanks

Hi Julia,

I can confirm that we have no commercial relationship with Zoom.us. In fact we are all volunteers caring for the online profession doing this in our free time.

We mention zoom because most of us use it and therefor we know it is encrypted and safe. And we don’t mention any others because we simply lack the time to check them all out.

I do know that a lot of therapists are happy with VSee. But I can’t give an ACTO endorsment as I simply do not know enough about it myself.

and please have a look at this PDF https://acto-org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ACTO-GOVERNANCE-AND-GOOD-GUIDANCE-NOTES-Skype.pdf it explains why we think Skype is not safe enough.

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I know of other therapists who use WhatsApp as it’s familiar and readily accessible for most clients. Just wondered what thoughts you had? I don’t wish to offer a platform (zoom) that I’m not familiar with myself although have no issues against further research. It’s just that will take a little while..

We are getting so many questions and we are working hard on a reply that will help you all. We are all volunteers so it will take a while. We hope to have it ready before the weekend so please watch our social media and website for more information on platforms.

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I was told by the ICO that VSee is a secure alternative that is suitable for telemedicine.

We are getting so many questions and we are working hard on a reply that will help you all. We are all volunteers so it will take a while. We hope to have it ready before the weekend so please watch our social media and website for more information on platforms.

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How do you feel about the use of Face Time for those of us with Apple kit?

We are getting so many questions and we are working hard on a reply that will help you all. We are all volunteers so it will take a while. We hope to have it ready before the weekend so please watch our social media and website for more information on platforms.

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I understand zoom is struggling with the traffic, are you able to recommend any other online platforms? Many thanks for your help in continuing to support our clients as much as we can.

We are getting so many questions and we are working hard on a reply that will help you all. We are all volunteers so it will take a while. We hope to have it ready before the weekend so please watch our social media and website for more information on platforms.

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Absolutely! We are aware of the security concerns around Zoom. One of our directors is gathering information at the moment which will be discussed at our next board meeting on Saturday. And we will come with an update soon after that.

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