Privacy Policy

Your privacy is very important to me. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information I collect, why I collect it, how it is stored and protected, how long I keep it, and your rights in relation to your personal information.

Counselling Clients

Helen follows guidance from The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) on collecting, storing and processing your personal data ethically and sensitively.

1. What Data Helen Collects & Why

If you choose to book counselling sessions with Helen, she will collect personal data including your name, address, email and phone number, for the purpose of contacting you about our sessions. 

Helen will also collect your date of birth and doctors contact details. Helen may contact your GP if she is seriously concerned for your safety and wellbeing, eg. you disclose you have a definite plan for suicide. In this instance, we will find a way forward together and Helen will NOT contact your GP without your knowledge.

Where Helen receives your personal information from another organisation, such as The Neurodivergent Therapy Space (NTS), Helen will handle that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

2. Storage & Retention

Helen takes reasonable steps to keep your personal information, including brief session notes, secure and protected from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.

Counselling notes and other clinical records are securely stored and access is restricted to Helen, except where disclosure is required or permitted by law or where another authorised service provider is involved in the secure storage or processing of the information.

Your contact telephone number may be stored on Helens work mobile phone for the purpose of communicating with you about counselling. It will be deleted when it is no longer required for this purpose, subject to any legal or professional requirement to retain it.

As per insurance requirements, client notes and information will be stored for 7 years after your last counselling session (or 7 years after a childs 18th birthday), after which, all personal details and notes will be securely destroyed. 

Financial records, including information relating to payments, may need to be retained for a different period in accordance with HMRC and other legal requirements.

3. Data Sharing & Financial Records

Helen will not share your information with any other parties, unless you express your consent for this (e.g to your GP), or legally bound to do so. 

If you pay for your counselling session via bank transfer, please remain mindful your name may appear on Helens bank statement when accessed electronically. Helen is not in receipt of printed bank statements. These statements would only ever be disclosed if Helen were audited for tax purposes, by HMRC, or if legally bound to do so.

Helen takes the confidentiality of counselling very seriously.

Information you share during counselling will normally remain confidential. However, there are circumstances where confidentiality may need to be limited, including where:

• There is a serious and immediate concern about your safety or the safety of another person
• Helen believes disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm
• Helen is legally required to disclose information
• Disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation

Where possible and appropriate, Helen will discuss any necessary disclosure with you beforehand.

As part of maintaining safe, ethical and effective counselling practice, Helen receives regular professional supervision.

Helen may discuss aspects of your counselling work during supervision. Where this happens, your identity and identifying information will be protected and only information relevant to the supervision process will be discussed.

Helen does not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools or software in connection with counselling sessions. This includes AI recording, transcription, analysis, assessment, note taking or processing of counselling content.

No session content, client information or counselling notes are entered into or processed by AI systems.

Third-Party Services & Privacy Links

Website Provider: this website is created by GoDaddy; please read their Global Privacy Notice here.

Online sessions: provided via Zoom; their Privacy Notice is available here, or via the Psychology Today Meeting Space. Please read their Privacy Notice here.

Video sessions: provided via WhatsApp; please read their Privacy Policy here.

Emails: sent/received via Outlook. Microsofts Privacy Statement is available here.

Consent Forms: completed and returned via Microsoft 365 Forms. Microsofts Privacy Statement is available here.

Data Protection Complaints

As a sole trader counselling practice, Helen takes your privacy and data protection rights seriously. If you have any concerns or complaints regarding how Helen collects, stores, or uses your personal data or session notes, please contact Helen directly in writing at Counselling-with-Helen@Outlook.com

In accordance with UK Data Protection Laws (including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025), Helen will:

• Acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days of receipt.
• Investigate the matter thoroughly and respond to you regarding the progress or outcome without undue delay.
• Provide a clear outcome and explain any actions taken.

Please note that under UK regulations, you are required to attempt to resolve any data protection grievances directly with Helen first. If we are unable to resolve the issue together, or if you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you retain the statutory right to escalate your complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk

If you would like to remove your consent to Helens use of your data, please contact me. Please note: Withdrawing consent applies to ongoing marketing or contact, but does not override my legal and insurance obligations to retain historical clinical notes for the mandatory 7-year period.

Helen may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to Helens practice, technology, professional requirements or data protection legislation.

Last updated: September 2026