Privacy Notice                                                                                                                                                         February 2026 

​

Your privacy is very important to me and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended.

 

I am happy to chat through any questions you may have about my data protection policy and you can contact me through the detail listed above.

 

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office: (Registration reference: ZB658592)

The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) is the independent regulatory body which enforce data protection laws and regulations.

 

I will be collecting and storing data so therefore I am the data controller. I will be collecting client information to ensure that I am able to work ethically as part of the BACP requirements. 

Any data that you provide will be kept in a locked filing cabinet or a password protected laptop, used only for the purposes outlined in the Counselling Agreement in accordance with data security.

​

My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information

The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. Whilst having counselling I will process your personal data where necessary within our contract. When counselling finishes, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.

 

GDPR states that any sensitive personal information that you share with me during our work together is held securely and safely. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is to enable me to provide a professional, ethical and safe counselling service. 

 

For further information please visit the ICO website.

 

How I use your information

​I will never use your personal data for any purposes other than for the administration of the counselling service that I am providing.   I will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary. This is in line with guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

 

Initial Contact

I will use either your mobile phone, landline number or email address to make contact with you. If we arrange an assessment or consultation, I will collect and store this information to help me to satisfy your enquiry and organise a professional meeting.  This information will also be used to advise of any cancellations due mitigating circumstances.   If you decide not to proceed with counselling sessions with me, I will ensure that all of your personal data is deleted within one month. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, please let me know.

​

Whilst Accessing Counselling

In our first session, I will ask you to provide personal details about yourself.  This may include sensitive data regarding health and mental health histories as well as data including your name, address, date of birth, your contact information, emergency contact information (next of kin) and contact information for your GP.  I collect this data in order to fulfil my contractual duty of care towards you whilst also maintaining your confidentiality. Unless there are exceptions (please see The Client Contract - paragraph on exceptions and limitations) what is said in our sessions will be kept confidential. In the event that confidentiality must be broken I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this.

​

I keep brief notes of our therapy sessions for the purpose of assisting our work together. The notes help me keep track of the information that we are working on and they are for my use only. The notes do not include any personal details that could be used to identify you and they are stored securely on my own personal laptop, which is password protected. Any hard copies of contracts or notes are kept in a locked filing cabinet only accessed by me. I do not retain any messages for more than one month. If there is relevant information in a text message or email, I will make a record which will be kept on my password protected PC or in a locked filing cabinet. If there is no relevant information, I will delete the messages accordingly.

 

After counselling has ended 

Counsellors are required to keep records after counselling has ended in order to comply with the HMRC and with my professional insurance provider. 

For example, in the case of financial transactions - personal information must be retained for as long as legally required in respect of tax or accounting purposes. 

 

Therapy notes are also retained in order that they can be referred to - should a client make a complaint about my practice. The therapy notes do not include data that would reveal your identity and the notes will continue to be stored securely on my Password protected laptop or (interim hard copies) in a locked filing cabinet for a period of seven years after the therapy has ended.  After this period of time, your therapy notes will be destroyed confidentially.  This time span is in accordance with legal requirements.

 

Sharing information with my Clinical Supervisor.  ​

Counsellors are required to have regular supervision support in order that their work can be discussed and reviewed.  I meet with my Clinical Supervisor on a fortnightly basis and I may discuss our work with her. However, during our discussions, your identity is not disclosed. My supervisor is also a member of the BACP and therefore is required to abide to the BACP’s code of ethics regarding confidentiality.

 

In the event of serious illness or death.

​In these circumstances I have made arrangements and all my current clients will be advised via email.  After notification has been made, all my files and notes should be destroyed ensuring your data is protected.  

 

Your rights

​Under GDPR, 2018 & 2020 guidelines you have the following rights: A right to request access to the personal information that I hold about you. You can ask for corrections to be made to the information held or for your personal information to be deleted.  If you would like to make a request relating to any of the rights above, please send a text request to 07951 387309.

  

Whilst you retain a right to request this information, please note that under GDPR legislation, that there may be exceptions, whereby I may be unable to fulfil this request.  In very specific circumstances, counsellors can be compelled to produce records to a court of law during a court case.