FAQs & Privacy Notice
Helpful practical information for counselling clients

1. Introduction

This notice is designed to be read alongside the HMC Counselling Agreement contract.

Your privacy is very important to me so your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose for which it was given to me. I comply with current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, The Data Use and Access Act 2025 (DUAA) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. 

This privacy notice tells you what I will do with your personal information from initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended, including:

• Why I am able to process your information and what purpose I am processing it for

• Whether you have to provide it to me

• How long I store it for

• Whether there are other recipients of your personal information

• Whether I intend to transfer it to another country, 

• Your data protection rights.

• Whether I do automated decision-making or profiling, and

• Your data protection rights.

If you have any questions about my data protection policy you can contact me via heather.counselling21@gmail.com

‘Data controller’ is the term used to describe the person / organisation that collects and stores and has responsibility for people’s personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me. 

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (registration number ZB361741). 

My postal address is: Heather Motion Counselling, Unit 10, Stanford Business Court, 21-23 High Street, Stanford in the Vale, Oxfordshire, SN7 8LH 

My phone number is: 07523 796173             My email address is: heather.counselling21@gmail.com

2. My lawful basis for holding and using your personal information

The GDPR states that I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. There are different lawful bases depending on the stage at which I am processing your data. I have explained these below:

If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.

If you are currently having therapy or if you are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract. 

The GDPR also makes sure that I look after any sensitive personal information that you may disclose to me appropriately. This type of information is called ‘special category personal information’. The lawful basis for me processing any special categories of personal information is consent initially and for the provision of counselling (a health treatment). I will then retain any counselling records in case of the need to reference them in the future (the official legal basis is to defend against potential legal claims).

3. How I use your information

3.1 Initial contact.

When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services I will collect information to help me satisfy your enquiry. This will include name and contact details, and you may also choose to share details of the issues you are looking for help with. If you decide not to proceed I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within 28 days. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, just let me know. If you decide to proceed then I will also collect GP details, relevant medical information and contact information for an emergency contact.

3.2 While you are accessing counselling.

Rest assured that everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken for safeguarding or legal requirements. Safeguarding legislation requires me to appropriately report risks of serious harm to self or others and therefore may require me to break confidentiality. I will attempt to discuss this with you and my supervisor first, but this may not always be possible. I am also legally required to report information which can assist in the prevention or detection of a serious crime, this includes safeguarding issues regarding children or vulnerable adults, crimes regarding substantial financial gains and losses, and acts of terrorism. I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling services run smoothly. These details are on a paper format kept securely in a locked cabinet and digitally on a secure platform (Kiku, see data security below).

I will keep electronic notes of each session; these are anonymised and kept on a password protected document on a password and biometrically protected device. For security reasons I do not retain WhatsApp messages for more than 7 days (using the ‘disappearing messages’ setting) so please download any resources you wish to continue to access. If there is relevant information contained in a text message I will add a note to your session records. Likewise, any email correspondence will be deleted after 28 days if it is not important. If necessary I will add a note to your session records.

3.3 After counselling has ended.

Once counselling has ended your records will be kept for 5 years (in line with professional insurance requirements) from the end of our contact with each other and are then securely destroyed. If you want me to delete your information sooner than this, please tell me.

4. Data security

I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously and as such I make every effort to make sure it is kept secure. I use password and biometrically protected devices with anti-virus software installed, password protected/encrypted documents, a practice admin platform which is GDPR compliant using encryptions and two-factor authorization, and a locked filing cabinet. 

5. Online Counselling

Where counselling is conducted online, I use the Zoom platform. While reasonable security measures are used, no internet-based service can be guaranteed completely secure. The client is responsible for ensuring privacy and confidentiality at their end of the session.

6. Third party recipients of personal data

6.1 Third-party platforms/systems

I sometimes enter personal data on third-party platforms or systems, for example, where I have contracted with a supplier to carry out specific tasks. In such cases I have carefully selected which partners I work with and details are below. I take great care to ensure that I have a contract with the third-party that states what they are allowed to do with the data I share with them. I ensure that they do not use your information in any way other than the task for which they have been contracted.

I use Gmail and WhatsApp Business to correspond with clients. I create contacts in both accounts and these will be deleted 28 days after counselling has ended. The operators of Clinical Will App and Kiku do not have access to client information or data.

6.2 Visitors to my website

When someone visits my website, for which I use MyWebsite Now as the content management system, I use a third-party service, Ionos SiteAnalytics to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow Ionos to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website. I use legitimate interests as my lawful basis for holding and using the information in this way. I use Ionos SiteAnalytics so that I can continually improve my service to you, You can read Ionos privacy notice here https://www.ionos.co.uk/privacy-policy

Like most websites we use cookies to help the site work more efficiently - find out about the use of cookies at https://resources.ionos.com/cookies

No user-specific data is collected by me or any third party. If you fill in a form on my website, that data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent to me.

6.3 Kiku Admin platform

I use the secure, encrypted, password and 2FA protected and GDPR compliant professional practice management platform, Kiku (wearekiku.com) to collect and store your personal data. Kiku is hosted on AWS Ireland Servers which adhere to strict and robust security measures. During the process of your initial enquiry and arrangements to commence therapy with me, you will be asked for your personal contact information, for example your name, address, email address and telephone number. Your contact information is stored securely in Kiku and can only be accessed by me. 

In order to be able to fulfil my duty of care to you, before your first therapy session, I will ask you for contact information for your GP, relevant medical information and elected Emergency Contact person. These details will be stored securely in Kiku and will only be accessible to me. Kiku automatically anonymises and password protects your electronic client notes.

This personal information will be held for the duration of your therapy after which it will be deleted from my Kiku database.

Please note that I will need to keep a record of your name and client reference number for five years after the end of your therapy, so that we can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your clinical notes and treatment.

I will never pass on your contact details to any third-party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research and will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the counselling service I providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments and collect payment for sessions.

You can view Kiku’s at https://www.wearekiku.com/privacy-notices

6.4 Clinical Will App

In keeping with the requirements of NCPS Code of Ethics I have appointed trusted colleagues to take over the administration of my practice in the event of my death or incapacity, and to deal with my appointments and destroy my notes in a confidential manner. These colleagues are also members of NCPS or BACP and are bound by the same professional confidentiality rules as set out in their Ethical Framework. Limited client information (name, contact details, session day/time) will be accessible to the executors as ‘clinical will holders’ who will contact clients in the event of counsellor incapacity or unplanned absence. The executor will access this information on the Clinical Will App which is password protected and updated regularly.

The Clinical Will App privacy policy is available at https://clinicalwill.app/privacy_notice and security information at https://clinicalwill.app/security

7. Your rights

I try to be as open as I can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. You have a right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use your personal information, or to stop processing your personal information. You also have a right to ask for a copy of any information that I hold about you and to object to the use of your personal data in some circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters.

If I do hold information about you I will:

• give you a description of it and where it came from;
• tell you why I am holding it, tell you how long I will store your data and how I made this decision;
• tell you who it could be disclosed to;
• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes there may be in the personal information I hold about you. 

To make a request for any personal information I may hold about you, please put the request in writing addressing it to heather.counselling21@gmail.com I will do so in line with the Data Use and Access Act 2025.

8.AI and automated decision-making or profiling

I do not use AI or automated decision-making or profiling in any way relating to my clinical work with clients. 

9. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your information is handled, please first contact Heather Motion Counselling at heather.counselling21@gmail.com. Data complaints will be managed in line with the Data Use and Access Act 2025. A complaint will be acknowledged within 30 days, keep you informed and let you know the outcome as soon as I reasonably can. You also have the right to complain to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Website: ico.org.uk Telephone: 0303 123 1113.