Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 2026

1.  About this Privacy Policy

I respect your privacy and am committed to protecting the personal information you share with me. This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you:

  • visit my website;

  • contact me by telephone or email about psychotherapy or clinical supervision;

  • enquire about working with me; or

  • receive psychotherapy or clinical supervision from me, either online or in person.

I am a sole-practitioner psychotherapist and clinical supervisor. For the purposes of UK data protection law, I am the data controller of the personal information I hold about you.

I process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2.  Information I collect

The information I collect depends on how you interact with me.

When you make an enquiry

If you contact me by email or telephone, I may collect:

  • your name;

  • your email address;

  • your telephone number;

  • information you provide about your reason for seeking therapy or clinical supervision;

  • your availability and appointment preferences; and

  • any other information you choose to provide.

I recommend that you avoid including detailed or highly sensitive information about your mental health in an initial email enquiry. Email is not necessarily a fully secure or confidential means of communication.

When you become a client

In providing psychotherapy or clinical supervision, I may need to collect and keep information such as:

  • your name and contact details;

  • your age or date of birth, where relevant;

  • information about your personal circumstances and history;

  • information concerning your mental or physical health;

  • information discussed during therapy or clinical supervision sessions;

  • relevant clinical or therapy notes;

  • information relating to appointments and attendance;

  • correspondence between us; and

  • payment and invoicing records.

Information concerning your health, including your mental health, is special category data under the UK GDPR and is subject to additional legal protections.

3.  How I use your information

I use your personal information only where it is necessary and appropriate for my work as a psychotherapist or clinical supervisor. This may include:

  • responding to enquiries;

  • deciding whether my services are appropriate for your needs;

  • arranging and managing appointments;

  • providing psychotherapy or clinical supervision;

  • keeping appropriate clinical and professional records;

  • communicating with you about appointments and therapy or supervision;

  • maintaining financial and accounting records;

  • meeting legal, professional and regulatory obligations;

  • maintaining appropriate records for professional indemnity insurance purposes;

  • dealing with complaints or legal matters; and

  • protecting your vital interests or those of another person where the law permits or requires this.

I will not use your personal information for unrelated purposes without an appropriate lawful basis.

4.  Lawful basis for processing your information

UK data protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for processing personal information. Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on:

  • Contract: where processing is necessary to provide psychotherapy or clinical supervision services to you or to take steps at your request before providing those services.

  • Legal obligation: where I am required to process information to comply with a legal obligation.

  • Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for my legitimate professional or business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

  • Vital interests: in limited circumstances where processing is necessary to protect someone's life.

Information concerning your mental or physical health is special category data. Where I process health information in connection with providing psychotherapy or clinical supervision, I will rely on an applicable special-category condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR, together with any additional requirements under the Data Protection Act 2018 that apply.

I will only process health information to the extent that it is necessary and appropriate for the provision and management of my psychotherapy or clinical supervision services.

5.  Confidentiality

Confidentiality is fundamental to psychotherapy and clinical supervision. I will normally keep information you share with me confidential and will not disclose it to other people without an appropriate legal, professional or ethical basis.

There are, however, limited circumstances in which I may need to share information without your consent. These may include circumstances where:

  • there is a serious concern about your safety or the safety of another person;

  • I am required to disclose information by law or a court order;

  • disclosure is necessary to meet a legal or professional obligation; or

  • disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.

Where appropriate and where it is safe to do so, I will normally discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand.

6.  Supervision

As part of my professional practice, I may discuss aspects of my clinical work with a professional supervisor. Where I do so, I will take care to protect your identity and confidentiality. I will normally anonymise or minimise information so that you cannot reasonably be identified.

7.  Who I share information with

I do not sell or otherwise share your personal information for marketing purposes.

I may share information where there is an appropriate legal, professional or practical reason to do so, including with:

  • my professional supervisor, where necessary for clinical supervision;

  • my accountant or other professional advisers, where necessary;

  • my professional indemnity insurer, where necessary;

  • another healthcare professional where this is appropriate and there is a lawful basis for doing so;

  • service providers who support the operation of my practice, where necessary; or

  • courts, regulators, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities where I am legally required or permitted to disclose information.

I will only share information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

8.  Telephone and email communications

I use telephone and email to communicate with prospective and existing clients. Please be aware that ordinary email and telephone communications may carry some inherent privacy and security risks. I ask that you avoid sending detailed information about your mental health by email unless it is necessary to do so.

If you contact me by email or telephone to arrange an appointment, I may retain that correspondence or relevant details from the conversation as part of my professional records.

9.  Online therapy or clinical supervision

Where psychotherapy or clinical supervision is provided online, I use Zoom. Information relating to online therapy or clinical supervision may therefore be processed through that service. I take reasonable steps to use reputable services and appropriate security measures.

You should also familiarise yourself with the privacy information provided by the relevant service.

10.  Payments

I accept payment by BACS bank transfer. I may retain information relating to payments, such as your name, the date and amount of a payment, and relevant payment references for accounting and record-keeping purposes. I do not ask you to provide your debit or credit card details to me.

Banking information is handled through your bank and my bank in accordance with their own privacy and security arrangements.

11.  In-person therapy or clinical supervision

For in-person sessions, I may retain information such as your appointment date and time and, where necessary, information relevant to providing the service. I will not normally collect or retain information about visitors to my practice beyond what is reasonably necessary for providing my services and maintaining appropriate records.

12.  How I protect your information

I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Depending on the information concerned, this may include:

  • password protection and access controls;

  • keeping computers and software appropriately updated;

  • using reputable email and other technology providers;

  • keeping paper records securely stored, where applicable;

  • limiting access to information;

  • securely disposing of confidential paper records; and

  • securely deleting electronic information when it is no longer required.

No method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but I take reasonable steps to protect the information I hold.

13.  How long I keep your information

I retain personal and clinical information only for as long as is reasonably necessary, considering my professional, legal, regulatory, insurance and accounting obligations. My current retention period for clinical records is seven years. I will securely delete, destroy or anonymise information when it is no longer required.

14.  Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have certain rights in relation to your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, these include the right to:

  • request access to the personal information I hold about you;

  • ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

  • ask me to delete your information in certain circumstances;

  • ask me to restrict how I process your information in certain circumstances;

  • object to certain types of processing; and

  • request transfer of your information to another organisation where the right to data portability applies.

 These rights are subject to certain legal exceptions. In particular, I may have a legal or professional obligation to retain some clinical information even where you ask for it to be deleted. If you would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact me using the details at the end of this policy.

15.  Website cookies and analytics

This website does not currently use non-essential cookies or third-party tracking technologies.

16.  Information about this website

When you visit my website, certain technical information may be processed automatically by my website hosting provider or other technical service providers. This may include information such as your IP address, browser type, device type and basic information about how the website is accessed. This information is used where necessary to operate, maintain and secure the website.

17.  International transfers

Some online services and technology providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, I will take appropriate steps to ensure that any transfer of personal information outside the UK complies with applicable UK data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

18.  Adults only

My psychotherapy and clinical supervision services are provided to adults aged 18 and over. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children through this website.

19.  Changes to this Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, the services I provide, the technology I use or applicable legal requirements. The current version will be published on this website and will include the date it was last updated.

20.  Complaints

If you have a concern about how I have handled your personal information, please contact me in the first instance. I will try to resolve your concern.

 You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

The ICO can provide information about your data protection rights and investigate complaints concerning the handling of personal information.

21.  Contact me

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how I handle your personal information, please contact me via this form.

Thank you, John Daniel.

Last updated: August 2026