Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

JG Counselling ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect and process personal data at different stages of our relationship with you:

Information collected via our website:

• Name
• Email address

Information collected during our counselling relationship:

• Contact details (phone number, address)
• Date of birth
• GP details (if provided)
• Emergency contact information
• Information about your mental health, wellbeing, and reasons for seeking counselling
• Clinical session notes and therapeutic records
• Assessment information
• Treatment plans and progress notes
• Payment and billing information
• All correspondence between us (email, text, letters)

Information collected automatically via our website:

• Website usage data (IP address, browser type, pages visited)
• Cookies (see Section 10 below)

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Consent: You provide explicit consent for us to process sensitive health information for counselling purposes
• Contract: Processing is necessary to provide counselling services you've requested
• Legal obligation: We may need to process data to comply with professional and legal requirements
• Legitimate interests: For administrative purposes, improving our services, and managing our business

Please note: The information you provide via our website (name and email) is used to respond to your enquiry. If you proceed to become a client, you will be asked to provide explicit consent for us to collect and process sensitive clinical information as part of our counselling contract.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data to:

Website enquiries:

• Respond to your initial contact
• Provide information about our services
• Arrange initial consultations

Clinical practice:

• Provide counselling and therapeutic services
• Maintain accurate clinical records and case notes
• Monitor your progress and wellbeing
• Ensure continuity of care
• Communicate with you about appointments and services
• Process payments and maintain financial records
• Comply with professional standards and clinical supervision requirements
• Meet legal, regulatory, and professional body obligations

General business purposes:

• Improve our services and website
• Maintain insurance requirements

5. Sharing Your Information

We maintain strict confidentiality, but may need to share limited information in specific circumstances:

With your consent:

• Your GP or other healthcare professionals (only with your explicit permission)
• Other professionals involved in your care (with your agreement)

Without your consent (legal/ethical obligations):

• Safeguarding concerns: If there's a risk of serious harm to you or others
• Court orders: If legally required to disclose information
• Professional supervision: Anonymised or pseudonymised clinical information may be discussed with qualified clinical supervisors to ensure high standards of care
• Legal requirements: To comply with regulatory or legal obligations

Service providers:

• Secure IT and cloud storage providers (for clinical records)
• Payment processors
• Professional indemnity insurers (anonymised data only)
• Accountants (for financial records only, without clinical details)

All third parties are contractually required to maintain appropriate security and confidentiality standards compliant with UK GDPR.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data in accordance with professional and legal guidelines:

If you make a website enquiry but don't become a client:

• Initial enquiry details retained for 12 months then securely deleted

If you become a client:

• Clinical records: Retained for 6 years after our last session (adults) or until age 25, whichever is later (children/young people)
• Financial records: Retained for 7 years as required by HMRC
• Correspondence: Retained for the duration of our therapeutic relationship plus 6 years
• Website enquiry data: Incorporated into client file and retained as above

After these retention periods, all data is securely destroyed or permanently anonymised.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data:

For clinical records:

• Encrypted electronic storage systems
• Password-protected devices and files
• Secure, locked filing cabinets for paper records
• Encrypted email communication for sensitive information
• Regular encrypted backups stored securely
• Access restricted to authorised personnel only
• Secure destruction of data after retention periods

For website data:

• SSL encryption on our website
• Secure hosting providers
• Regular security updates

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: Request a copy of your personal data (including clinical records)
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your data (subject to our legal and professional obligations to retain clinical records)
• Right to restrict processing: Request limitation on how we use your data
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a portable format
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time (though this may affect our ability to provide services, and doesn't affect our obligation to retain clinical records for the required period)

Please note: While you have the right to request erasure of your data, we have a legal and professional obligation to retain clinical records for specified periods. We will explain any limitations when you make a request.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details above.

9. Limits to Confidentiality

Your clinical information is confidential, but there are legal and ethical limits where we may need to share information without your consent:

• Risk of serious harm to yourself or others
• Court orders or legal requirements
• Safeguarding concerns involving children or vulnerable adults
• Prevention or detection of serious crime or terrorism
• Professional regulation requirements

We will always discuss these limits with you at the start of our counselling relationship and document your understanding in our initial contract.

10. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. We use:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly
• Analytics cookies: To understand how visitors use our site (anonymised data)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Declining cookies may affect website functionality.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external websites or resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. Please review their privacy policies separately.

12. Children and Young People

If you are under 16, we may need to involve a parent or guardian in accordance with professional guidelines, safeguarding requirements, and consent laws. We will discuss this with you during our initial assessment.

For clients under 13, parental consent is typically required for counselling services.

13. International Transfers

We do not routinely transfer personal data outside the UK. If this becomes necessary, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place and inform you beforehand.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The latest version will always be available on our website with the date of the last update. Significant changes will be communicated to current clients.

15. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first and we will do our best to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with:

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact: