Privacy Policy

Caroline Gregory Counselling Services

I take your privacy seriously and am committed to protecting the personal information you share with me. This privacy notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you contact me or use my counselling services.

Information I may collect

Depending on how you contact me and the services you receive, I may collect:

Your name and contact details
Information you provide when making an enquiry
Information relevant to your counselling sessions
Session notes and records relating to your counselling
Appointment and payment information
Communications between us, including email, telephone, text message and WhatsApp

Information relating to your physical or mental health may constitute special category personal data under UK data protection law.

How I use your information

I use your information to:

Respond to enquiries and arrange appointments
Provide counselling safely and appropriately
Maintain appropriate professional records
Communicate with you about appointments and your counselling
Process payments
Meet my professional, legal and ethical responsibilities
Respond appropriately where there is a serious concern about your safety or the safety of another person

I only collect and use information that is relevant and necessary for these purposes.

Confidentiality

Counselling is a confidential service. Information you share with me will normally remain confidential.

There are, however, circumstances where confidentiality may need to be limited. These may include serious concerns about your safety or the safety of another person, safeguarding concerns, where disclosure is required by law, or where disclosure is otherwise legally and ethically justified.

I may also discuss aspects of my counselling work with my clinical supervisor. This forms part of safe and ethical counselling practice. Where possible, information discussed in supervision is anonymised.

These boundaries of confidentiality will be discussed with you as part of our counselling agreement.

How I communicate with you

I may communicate with you by email, telephone, text message or WhatsApp where you have provided those details.

Please be aware that electronic communication cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. I will take reasonable steps to protect your information and will use these methods primarily for practical communication, such as arranging or confirming appointments.

Please avoid sending detailed or sensitive counselling information by text or WhatsApp unless necessary.

How I store your information

I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and handle personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and applicable data-protection legislation.

Counselling notes are handwritten and stored securely in a locked safe. Access to these records is restricted to me and they are protected against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure.

Electronic communications, such as emails, texts and WhatsApp messages, are stored securely on password-protected devices.

I only collect and retain information that is relevant and necessary for providing my counselling service and meeting my professional, legal and ethical responsibilities.

Records are retained for an appropriate period in accordance with my professional, legal and insurance requirements and are securely destroyed when they are no longer required.

Sharing your information

I will not normally share your personal information with another person or organisation without your consent.

Information may be shared without your consent only where there is a legal or ethical basis to do so, such as where there is a serious risk of harm, a safeguarding concern, or a legal requirement to disclose information.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have rights concerning the personal information I hold about you. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

Ask what personal information I hold about you
Request access to your information
Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
Ask for information to be deleted where applicable
Object to or restrict certain processing

Some rights are subject to legal and professional exemptions.

If you have questions about how your information is handled, please contact me in the first instance.

You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your personal information has not been handled appropriately.

Professional membership

I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and work in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.

Caroline Gregory
Caroline Gregory Counselling Services