Privacy Notice
The Inner Wild Therapist
Your privacy is important to me. You can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided.
I comply with current data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
The Inner Wild Therapist is the data controller responsible for your personal information. This Privacy Notice explains how I collect, use, store and dispose of your personal information from our first contact through to the end of our therapeutic work and beyond.
What Information Do I Collect and Why?
In order to provide counselling services, I may collect and process the following information:
Personal Information
Name
Date of birth and age
Address
Telephone number
Email address
Emergency contact details (where appropriate)
This information is used to identify you, communicate with you regarding appointments, and manage our therapeutic work together.
Health and Counselling Information
Relevant medical conditions
Prescribed medication
Previous counselling or therapy history
Personal and family information relevant to therapy
As a counsellor, I process this information because it is necessary for the provision of counselling services and to support your wellbeing effectively.
GP Details
I may ask for your GP's details. If I become concerned that you or someone else may be at risk of serious harm, I may need to contact your GP or emergency services. Wherever possible, I would discuss this with you beforehand.
Website Enquiries
If you contact me through my website, booking form, email or contact form, I will collect the information you provide, including your name, contact details and the content of your enquiry.
This information will only be used to respond to your enquiry and determine whether I am able to offer counselling services.
How Will I Use Your Information?
Your personal information is used to:
Provide counselling services
Communicate with you regarding appointments and therapy
Maintain professional records
Meet legal, ethical and insurance requirements
Protect you or others where there is a risk of serious harm
I will never sell your personal information or use it for marketing purposes without your consent.
Will I Share Your Information?
Your information will remain confidential except in the following circumstances:
Where required by law
Where records are requested by a court order
Where there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person
Where safeguarding concerns arise
Where disclosure is necessary to prevent serious crime
Where possible, I will discuss any necessary disclosure with you beforehand.
Clinical Supervision
As part of ethical practice, I attend regular clinical supervision with a qualified supervisor. During supervision, I may discuss aspects of our work together. Your identity will be protected, and you will be referred to anonymously or by a pseudonym wherever possible.
Clinical Executor
In the event of my incapacity, retirement or death, my appointed Clinical Executor may access your contact details solely for the purpose of informing you and facilitating continuity of care where appropriate.
Third-Party Services
This website may contain links to third-party services, including Instagram, Facebook and Calendly. If you choose to interact with these services, your information may be processed in accordance with their own privacy policies.
Where appointment booking services such as Calendly are used, personal information provided for the purpose of arranging appointments may be processed by that provider on my behalf.
I encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites or services you access through this website.
How Is Your Information Stored?
I take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or alteration.
Paper Records
The following documents may be stored securely in locked storage:
Registration forms
Assessment records
Therapy contracts
GDPR consent forms
Session notes
Telephone
Your telephone number may be stored on a password-protected mobile phone to allow me to contact you regarding appointments or emergencies.
Email correspondence is stored within my email account (currently Proton Mail) and accessed only through password-protected devices and accounts.
How Long Will I Keep Your Information?
In line with professional insurance requirements and good practice, I retain clinical records for seven years following the end of our therapeutic work.
After the retention period has expired:
Paper records will be securely shredded.
Electronic records will be permanently deleted.
Contact details and email correspondence will be deleted when no longer required and generally within one month of the end of our work together unless there is a legitimate reason for longer retention.
Lawful Basis for Processing Your Information
Under UK GDPR, the lawful bases relied upon for processing your information are:
Your consent
Performance of a contract
Compliance with legal obligations
Protection of vital interests
Legitimate interests relating to the provision of counselling services
As counselling involves processing health information, I also rely on the additional condition that processing is necessary for the provision of health or counselling services.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
Access your personal information
Request correction of inaccurate information
Request erasure of your information in certain circumstances
Restrict processing of your information
Object to processing
Request transfer of your information to another organisation where applicable
You are not required to pay a fee to exercise these rights. I will normally respond within one month of receiving your request.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact:
Email: TheInnerWildTherapist@proton.me
Telephone: 07516 087470
Cookies
This website may use cookies that are necessary for the operation of the website. Where non-essential cookies or analytics are used, your consent will be requested through the website's cookie banner before they are activated.
How to Make a Complaint
If you have any concerns about how I use your personal information, please contact me in the first instance:
Email: TheInnerWildTherapist@proton.me
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk
Review of This Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice will be reviewed periodically and updated where necessary to reflect changes in legal requirements, technology or professional practice.