Privacy Notice

Initial contact.

When you contact me with an enquiry about my psychotherapy services I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will typically include your name, email address and telephone number. Alternatively, your GP or other health professional may send me your details when making a referral or a parent or trusted individual may give me your details when making an enquiry on your behalf.

If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 30 days. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know.

While you are accessing psychotherapy.

Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken if I have serious concerns about your safety, or if compelled to disclose by a court of law. I will always try to speak to you about this first, unless there are safeguarding issues that prevent this. 

I will keep a record of your personal details to help the therapy services run smoothly. These details are kept securely on a secure Cloud-based practice management system called WriteUpp and are not shared with any third party. These details typically include your name, telephone number, email address, date of birth, GP details and an emergency contact.

I keep minimal records detailing sessions attended, main themes and payment received. These are stored on my practice management system.

I do not keep any paper records containing client data. I use a paper diary and record client appointments using a code. 

Your name and telephone number will also be shared with my professional executor, who will contact you in the event of my death or serious illness. My executor stores this information securely.

For security reasons text or SMS messages and emails are deleted after being read. If there is relevant information contained in a text message I will copy that information to my practice management system and delete the original message. Emails are not a secure form of communication and may be retained by service providers. It is therefore not advisable to share personally sensitive data that can be recognised as belonging to a particular individual via email.

After therapy has ended.

Once therapy has ended your records will be kept for 7 years from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please tell me.

Third party recipients of personal data

I sometimes share personal data with third parties, for example, where I have contracted with a supplier to carry out specific tasks. In such cases I have carefully selected which partners I work with. I take great care to ensure that I have a contract with the third party that states what they are allowed to do with the data I share with them. I ensure that they do not use your information in any way other than the task for which they have been contracted.

Payment/ financial information

As a small business owner, I am required by law to retain certain financial information, primarily for tax purposes.I keep financial information for 7 years as advised by HMRC. I issue invoices from my practice management system, which also records when payment has been made. If you make payment using Stripe this is automatically transferred to WriteUpp. If paying by BACS, your account name or reference (or the name of the person who is paying) may show up on my online or paper bank statements. Banking transactions may be viewed by employees of the bank, my accountant, my financial advisor, and tax officers (HMRC). You have the right to discuss alternative payment options with me.