PRIVACY NOTICEJames Lovegrove Counselling
Last updated: September 2026ABOUT THIS NOTICEYour privacy is important to me. This notice explains what personal information I collect, why I collect it, how it is used and stored, how long it is retained, and your rights in relation to that information.I aim to collect and retain only the information that is necessary for providing and professionally managing counselling safely and appropriately.I am the Data Controller for the personal information I process as part of my counselling practice.Data Controller: James Lovegrove / James Lovegrove Counselling
Email: [email protected]
**ICO registeredWHEN YOU MAKE AN ENQUIRYIf you contact me about counselling, I will receive the information you choose to provide, such as your name, contact details and information contained within your enquiry.I will use this information to respond to your enquiry and to discuss whether we may work together.If your enquiry does not progress to counselling, I will normally delete the information relating to your enquiry within three months of our last contact.If you become a client, relevant information from your enquiry may become part of your client record.WHEN YOU BECOME A CLIENTOnce counselling has been agreed and an appointment arranged, I may collect and hold:- your full name
- date of birth
- home address
- email address
- telephone number
- GP details
- emergency-contact details
- information provided during your initial assessment that is relevant to providing counselling safely and appropriately, including information relating to your health, wellbeing, personal circumstances and risk where relevant
- session notes kept for the purposes of ongoing professional management and safeguarding
- information and records relating to risk or safeguarding where relevant
- relevant correspondence
- appointment and payment information necessary for managing counselling sessions and maintaining appropriate financial records
- the Counselling Contract and records confirming your agreement to it.Counselling may involve you sharing information that is considered special-category personal data under UK data-protection law.I collect only information that is relevant and necessary for providing and professionally managing the counselling service.MY LAWFUL BASIS FOR USING YOUR INFORMATIONUK data-protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for processing your personal information.If you are considering counselling with me or are currently receiving counselling, I process your personal information where this is necessary for the performance of our counselling contract.After counselling has ended, I retain relevant personal information under legitimate interests for the retention period explained in this notice.Counselling may involve the processing of special-category personal information. The additional lawful basis for processing this information is the provision of health treatment, in this case counselling.PROVIDING INFORMATIONYou are not required to provide information that you do not wish to share.However, I need certain information in order to provide counselling safely and appropriately. If necessary information is not provided, there may be circumstances in which I am unable to offer or continue counselling.HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS STOREDElectronic client records are stored securely using access-controlled electronic storage with secure cloud backup.Identifying and contact information is stored separately from session notes and other client records. These records are linked using a client reference number.This separation helps to reduce unnecessary identification of clients within counselling records.I take appropriate measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, disclosure or misuse.HOW LONG I KEEP YOUR INFORMATIONClient records will normally be retained for seven years after counselling ends and then securely deleted.Information may be retained for longer where there is a legal, regulatory, insurance or other compelling reason requiring this.Information relating to an enquiry that does not progress to counselling will normally be deleted three months after our last contact.Financial information that I am legally required to retain for accounting or taxation purposes may be retained separately for the period required by law.EMAIL AND RELEVANT CORRESPONDENCEEmail may be used for enquiries and for the administration of counselling.Routine correspondence will be deleted when it is no longer required. Where correspondence is relevant to the professional management of counselling, safeguarding, risk, a complaint, an important agreement or another significant matter, it may be retained as part of your client record.SUPERVISIONAs a BACP-registered counsellor, supervision forms an essential part of my professional practice.I discuss my counselling work in regular supervision in order to support safe, ethical and effective practice. I limit identifying information when discussing clients in supervision and share only information necessary for the purposes of professional supervision.My supervisor is also professionally bound by confidentiality.SHARING YOUR INFORMATIONI do not routinely share your personal information with other organisations or individuals.Information may be disclosed where:- you have agreed to the disclosure
- I am legally required to disclose information
- disclosure is necessary and appropriate in relation to serious risk or safeguarding
- information is required in connection with a legal or regulatory process.Wherever reasonably possible and appropriate, I will discuss a disclosure with you beforehand.The limits of confidentiality are explained further in the Counselling Contract.If I become unable to contact you because of death, serious illness or incapacity, my appointed Clinical Executor may be given access to your contact details solely to inform you and, where desired, support you in making alternative counselling arrangements.SERVICE PROVIDERSI use a limited number of third-party services to support the administration and secure operation of my practice. These may include services providing:- email
- secure electronic storage and cloud backup
- website and enquiry-form facilities
- online video counselling
- banking and payment processing.These providers may process limited personal information where necessary to provide their services. I take appropriate steps to use providers that offer suitable safeguards for personal information.INTERNATIONAL PROCESSINGSome service providers I use may process or store personal information outside the UK.Where this occurs, I use providers that have appropriate arrangements and safeguards in place for protecting personal information in accordance with UK data-protection law.WEBSITE AND ENQUIRIESMy website does not use advertising or visitor analytics to track your use of the site.Information that you choose to submit through the website enquiry form will be used to respond to your enquiry.The website and enquiry-form service may necessarily process information submitted through the form in order to deliver it to me.AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING AND PROFILINGI do not use your personal information for automated decision-making or profiling.YOUR RIGHTSYou have rights concerning the personal information I hold about you. These include, where applicable, the right to:- request access to the personal information I hold about you
- ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
- request deletion of your information in certain circumstances
- request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
- object to certain uses of your information
- request transfer of information where the right to data portability applies.These rights are not absolute in every circumstance. For example, I may need to retain information where there is a lawful reason or professional obligation to do so.If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact me at:[email protected]COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE USE OF YOUR INFORMATIONIf you have concerns about how I have collected, used or stored your personal information, please contact me in the first instance so that I can try to resolve the issue.You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s independent regulator for data protection.Information about making a complaint is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office.CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICEI may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, the services I use, professional guidance or data-protection requirements.The current version will be available through my website.

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