Privacy Policy

When you make contact with me, I may collect the following personal information:

• Your name

• Contact details — including your address, telephone number and/or email address

• Your date of birth (where applicable)

• Your GP’s details (where applicable)

• Information you share with me in the course of our therapeutic work together

If we arrange an initial call or begin therapy, I may also collect:

• Emergency contact details, where appropriate

• Relevant health, mental health or wellbeing information

• Information about your personal history, relationships, work, identity, family, circumstances and reasons for seeking therapy

• Brief clinical notes

• Attendance, payment and appointment information

• Correspondence between us

I only collect information that is necessary for providing therapy safely, ethically and professionally.

I collect this information solely for the purpose of providing you with a professional and safe therapy service. Your information helps me to:

• Respond to your enquiry

• Arrange initial calls and appointments

• Provide therapy and keep appropriate clinical records

• Manage payments, invoices and appointments

• Communicate with you about sessions

• Meet legal, professional and ethical responsibilities

• Manage risk or safeguarding situations where necessary

• Maintain insurance, tax and accounting records

I do not sell your personal information.

Therapy is confidential, but confidentiality is not absolute. I will not share what you tell me unless there is a lawful, ethical or safeguarding reason to do so, and where possible I will limit any sharing to the minimum information necessary.

There are some limits to confidentiality. I may need to share information if:

• I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or someone else

• There is a safeguarding concern involving a child, vulnerable adult or person at risk

• I am required to do so by law, court order or legal process

• There is a medical emergency and information is needed to protect life

Where possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss this with you before sharing information.

Like other ethical therapists, I use clinical supervision to support safe and effective practice. In supervision, I may discuss aspects of client work. I aim to minimise identifying detail where possible, and my supervisor is also bound by confidentiality and professional standards.

I take the security of your personal information seriously. Paper records are kept in a locked filing cabinet. Digital records are stored on a password-protected laptop. Your phone number may be kept on my business mobile, which is code protected, and will be deleted when we stop working together.

Your information may be stored in the following systems:

• Website: Squarespace

• Email: Gmail

• Online sessions: Microsoft Teams

• Cloud storage or backup: Dropbox

• Phone / messages: SMS and phone

I use appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep information secure, including password protection, device security, two-factor authentication, restricted access and secure storage.

I will only keep your information for as long as is necessary. As a general guide:

• Enquiry information may be deleted if we do not begin therapy, usually within 6–12 months

• Client records may be kept for 7 years after therapy ends, based on my insurance company’s requirements

• Financial records may be kept for the period required for tax and accounting purposes

• Emails, messages and administrative records are reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer needed

There may be times when I need to keep records for longer, for example where there are safeguarding, legal, insurance or complaint-related reasons.

If we work online, sessions will take place using Microsoft Teams. I will take reasonable steps to protect confidentiality from my side, and I ask that you also choose a private space where you cannot easily be overheard or interrupted.

Online platforms may process technical information such as your IP address, device information or connection data. Please check the privacy notice of the platform we use if you would like more detail.

I do not record, transcribe or use AI tools to process sessions. I do not use digital tools for general practice administration, writing, planning or education.

When you visit www.letstalkpsychotherapy.co.uk, some technical information may be collected automatically, such as your IP address, device type, browser type, pages visited and the time of your visit. My website is hosted by Squarespace. Please visit Squarespace’s website to read their privacy policy on how they use data from visitors to this website.

You can usually control cookies through your browser settings.

I will not sell, distribute or share your personal information with any third party without your explicit consent, except where I am required to do so by law. Depending on the circumstances, I may share limited information with:

• My clinical supervisor

• Professional advisers, such as an accountant, insurer or legal adviser

• My professional body (BACP), if required in relation to a complaint or ethical matter

• Safeguarding services, emergency services or your GP, where there is serious risk or safeguarding concern

• A court or legal authority, if required by law

• An appointed clinical executor if I die or become unable to contact clients myself

Where I share information, I aim to share only what is relevant and necessary for that purpose.

I have a professional clinical executor for my Therapeutic Will. In the unfortunate event that I am unable to contact you myself, they will have access to the minimum information needed to contact current clients and manage records appropriately. That person is bound by confidentiality and would not take on an ongoing therapeutic role.

This website may contain links to other websites of interest. Once you follow a link to leave this site, I have no control over those websites and cannot be responsible for the privacy of any information you provide there. I encourage you to read the privacy policy of any site you visit.

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), you have rights over your personal information. These include the right to:

• Be informed about how your data is used

• Request access to the personal information I hold about you

• Ask for any inaccurate information to be corrected

• Request that your information be deleted, where applicable

• Restrict or object to certain types of processing

• Withdraw consent at any time

Some rights are not absolute and may depend on the circumstances. For example, I may need to keep some information for legal, professional, safeguarding or insurance reasons.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact me using the details at the top of this policy. I will respond within 30 days.

If you have a concern about how I have handled your personal information, please contact me in the first instance using the details above. I will acknowledge your concern within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with my response, or if you would prefer to contact the UK regulator directly, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office:

• Website: www.ico.org.uk

• Telephone: 0303 123 1113

I may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.