Privacy policy

We will not mislead you about the nature of the research or how the data will be used. If you are invited to take part in research, it is because you have given us your permission to contact you in the future for research purposes.

If you have been contacted by the NCMH and you do not believe you have given your permission or just wish your name to be removed from the database, let us know and we will remove you from the contact list for future research opportunities.

We will also send or email you updates about the NCMH and our research occasionally to help keep you informed of the progress being made. If you wish your name to be removed from our updates contact list, let us know and we will remove you from the contact list for NCMH updates.

We may share your email address and other necessary personal data with Active Campaign, an email services provider, to send some of these emails. This data is held in accordance with the Active Campaign privacy policy. This data may be stored outside of the EU. It is kept for as long as you choose to remain subscribed.

We collect information when you join the NCMH.

The information we collect can contain your personal information such as name, address, postcode, gender, occupation, age, date of birth, email address, telephone number etc., as well as some sensitive information such as health and mental health issues you have had or are currently experiencing.

We will only collect and use personal information in accordance with this policy to the extent deemed reasonably necessary to serve our legitimate research purposes, and we will maintain appropriate safeguards to ensure the security, integrity, accuracy and privacy of the information you have provided.

Personal identifying information collected will be kept for no longer than 15 years from end of the project.

The personal information we collect is used to help answer important research questions. Mental health problems reflect a complex interplay of social, psychological and biological factors. This means that no single method of research can deliver all the answers, so we use a variety of techniques to investigate how these areas overlap and interact.

Psychosocial research

We use interview and questionnaire-based assessments (both written and online) to gather information on social and psychological factors that may influence a person’s risk of becoming unwell.

By being able to pinpoint particular personality traits and social determinants or specific life events that are associated with higher risk of illness, we can help health professionals to identify at-risk patients earlier and give them access to the right support and treatment.

Biological research

Our biological research is an important step towards developing better diagnoses and treatments. Laboratory studies help us to understand more about how mental illness might alter the way in which molecules, nerve cells and brain systems work.

Neuroimaging research

Neuroimaging offers a powerful insight into the structure and function of the human brain. Techniques like MRI can help us to bridge the gap in understanding how the symptoms experienced in mental illness are linked to genetic risk factors.

We can also investigate the effectiveness of neuroimaging as a treatment for mental health problems as well drug and alcohol addictions.

Who we share the information with

We will not sell your personal information to third parties. From time to time we may employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf, such as linking to routinely collected health information. They will have access to the personal information needed to perform their functions but will not use it for other purposes, and where possible we completely anonymise data. They must also process the personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy and as permitted by the UK’s Data Protection Act/laws.

Our website collects personal data from you in two ways:

• data you provide yourself
• data collected automatically.

Data you provide yourself

When you voluntarily submit identifiable data on this website (this includes submission of feedback forms, subscriptions or questionnaires), the information submitted is used solely to respond to your queries and for its intended purpose. We do not share web user information with third parties and we will only keep the information for as long as we need to.

Online survey tools

We carry out most of our online surveys using Survey Gizmo and a few others using Online Surveys. Both have issued assurances that they meet GDPR standards. Please see their privacy policies for more information:

• Survey Gizmo
• Online Surveys

Data collected automatically

The data collected automatically by our website helps us understand which parts of it are most popular, where visitors are coming from and how they are using it. This allows us to make improvements in future.

Usage statistics

As you use our website, data about the pages visited is sent to Google Analytics so that we know how many people are using it. This includes the individual pages visited, an anonymised IP address, the device, browser and the website you came from. It may be held outside of the EU but Google is certified compliant with the EU-US Privacy Shield. The data is stored for 26 months in accordance with Google’s privacy policy.

YouTube videos

On pages containing YouTube videos, data about the videos you watch will be sent to Google and stored in accordance with Google’s privacy policy. It may be used by Google to personalise advertising for you. You can opt out via Google’s Ads Settings and request or delete your data via your Google Account.

SoundCloud audio

Where we use embedded audio, information about the page you visited and what you listen to will be sent to SoundCloud and held in accordance with the SoundCloud privacy policy. You can request your data or ask for it to be deleted via the SoundCloud Help Center.

This website uses cookies. Cookies are small text files sent to your computer or mobile device by the websites that you visit.  They are used to distinguish you from other users. Some are created by our website and some by third-parties on our behalf.

Essential cookies

Essential cookies are needed for our website to work. If you block all cookies from our website, it may not function properly. When you visit our website, the things you do while you’re here are called a session. A cookie is set on your device so that the website can remember information you’ve given us as you move from page to page. Without session cookies, multi-page forms (for example) would not work.

Non-essential cookies

Our website also sets cookies that are not essential for it to function but are very useful either for website visitors or NCMH itself.

Usage statistics

As you use our website, data about your visit is sent to Google Analytics so that we know how many people are using it. Google Analytics also sets cookies on your device so that it can associate multiple page visits with the same visitor.

Content from other sites

On pages that include YouTube videos, cookies are set by Google so that they can show more relevant adverts to you. You can opt out via Google’s Ads Settings.

Advertising effectiveness

On some parts of our website, we use code provided by Google, Facebook or Twitter to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. This code sets cookies which allows Facebook and Google to tell us which advert was the most successful. You can opt-out of these cookies via:

• Facebook Your Information
• Google’s Ads Settings
• Twitter Privacy Controls

Managing and blocking cookies

You can change the settings in your browser software to manage individual cookies or block cookies altogether. Below are instructions for popular browsers:

• Android
• Apple Safari
• Apple Safari on iOS
• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• Opera

Security

The NCMH maintains appropriate technical, administrative and physical safeguards to protect information, including, without limitation, personally identifiable information, received or collected by us. We review, monitor and evaluate our privacy practices and protection systems on a regular basis. Only authorised employees have access to the personal information you provide to us for data analysis, quality control, updating your data, and keeping you informed of opportunities to help with research and progress the NCMH has made.

Access Rights

Your co-operation with the NCMH is voluntary at all times, and we are always thankful for your help. You have the right to withdraw consent you gave for participation in the NCMH at any time and have your personal details erased.

To do this, please submit your request in writing to the email or postal address detailed on this page.