Privacy Notice

Becky Buckle Therapist
Last updated: September 2026

Your privacy

I am committed to keeping your personal information private and secure.

This privacy notice explains, in straightforward terms, what information I collect, why I need it, how I protect it and your rights in relation to your information.

I am responsible for the personal information I hold about you and will only collect and use information that is relevant and necessary for providing and managing your counselling and meeting my legal and professional responsibilities.

1. What information I collect

Depending on our circumstances, I may collect:

your name and contact details;
information you provide when you enquire about counselling or arrange an appointment;
information from your initial assessment and counselling sessions;
relevant information about your physical or mental health and wellbeing;
counselling records and session notes;
appointment and payment information;
emails, telephone calls, texts, WhatsApp messages or other agreed communications; and
information I may need to deal with safeguarding, legal or professional matters.

Some of this, particularly information about your health, is considered special category personal data and has additional protection under data protection law.

I will only collect information that is relevant and necessary for the counselling service.

2. How I use your information

I use your information to:

respond to enquiries and arrange counselling;
assess whether counselling is appropriate and provide the service;
communicate with you about appointments and practical matters;
keep appropriate counselling records and session notes;
process payments and maintain business records;
manage the security and administration of my practice;
meet my legal, professional and regulatory responsibilities;
respond to safeguarding or public protection concerns where necessary; and
deal with complaints or legal matters where necessary.

I do not use your counselling information for direct marketing.

I process your information using appropriate lawful bases under UK data protection law. These may include providing the counselling service, meeting legal obligations, managing my practice responsibly and, where specifically requested, your consent.

Where I process information about your health or other special category information, I also rely on an appropriate additional legal condition. For counselling, this may include the counselling condition in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018, where applicable.

3. Confidentiality

What you share with me in counselling is treated as confidential. I have a professional responsibility to protect your privacy and the information you share.

There are some circumstances where information may need to be shared:

Where I am legally required to disclose information, for example:

in relation to acts of terrorism, drug trafficking or money laundering; or
where I am required to comply with a court order, subpoena or other lawful requirement.

Where there is a serious concern about safety or safeguarding, I may need to share relevant information to help protect you or someone else.

This may include:

child protection or safeguarding concerns;
concerns about the abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult;
a serious risk of suicide or self-harm; or
a serious risk of harm to another person.

I may also discuss relevant aspects of our work with my professional supervisor as part of my professional practice.

Where it is safe and appropriate to do so, I will discuss a proposed disclosure with you beforehand. I will only share information that is relevant and necessary for the particular purpose.

If we communicate by telephone, WhatsApp or another online service, there may be additional privacy or security considerations relating to the service, your device or your internet connection. I will take reasonable steps to protect your privacy, but I cannot control systems or devices outside my control.

4. Where your information is stored and who helps me process it

I use a small number of trusted services to help me run my practice. These may process personal information on my behalf, including:

Google Workspace
I use Google Workspace for business email, document and file storage and the administration of my practice. This may include contact details, correspondence, counselling records and other client information.

Website hosting
My website is hosted by Krystal. Information submitted through my website enquiry form may be processed through the website hosting environment.

Accounting and banking services
I use UK business banking and accounting services to process payments and maintain appropriate financial and tax records.

Telephone, WhatsApp and other communication services
Depending on how we work together, I may use telephone, WhatsApp, text messages or other agreed communication methods for counselling and practical matters. These services are provided by third parties and may process information in accordance with their own privacy notices.

5. How I protect your information

I take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.

This includes using secure accounts, password protection, access controls and two-factor authentication for electronic information.

I only access and retain information that is needed for my practice and take appropriate care when handling and disposing of any physical records.

6. How long I keep your information

I only keep personal information for as long as it is needed, or where I am required to keep it for legal, professional, tax or accounting purposes.

As a general policy, I retain counselling records, including session notes and related client records, for up to seven years after counselling ends.

When information is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted or destroyed, unless there is a lawful reason to keep it for longer.

7. Your rights

You have rights under data protection law in relation to the personal information I hold about you. These may include the right to access your information, ask for inaccurate information to be corrected, request erasure or restriction in certain circumstances, object to certain processing, and withdraw consent where I rely on consent.

Some rights are subject to legal exceptions, particularly in relation to confidential counselling records.

For more information about your data protection rights, including how to make a subject access request, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website: ico.org.uk

If you wish to exercise your rights or have any questions, you can contact me using the details below. I will respond to a valid request as quickly as I can and within the timeframes required by law.

8. Contacting me

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how I handle your personal information, please contact me by email:

Becky Buckle Therapist
Email: hello@beckybuckletherapist.com

9. Making a complaint

If you are concerned about how I have handled your personal information, please contact me first so that I can 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.

ICO:
ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Changes to this notice

I may update this privacy notice when my practice, systems or data protection requirements change.

The most recent version will be available on my website.