Privacy Policy

Your privacy matters

Your privacy and confidentiality are very important to me. This privacy policy explains how your personal information is collected, used and stored when you contact or work with myself, Rhian Seymour, at Seymour Counselling.

I am committed to protecting your personal data and handling it responsibly, transparently and securely, in line with UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and professional ethical standards. GDPR ensures that your information and data is stored safely and securely and is processed in a way that you are in agreement with.

If you have any questions in relation to this privacy policy, please feel free to contact me.

Get in touch

Who I am

I, Rhian Seymour, am the data controller at Seymour Counselling. Seymour Counselling is based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire and provides in-person and online counselling services across the UK. I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and work in accordance with the BACP ethical framework. I am also registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in relation to GDPR requirements.

Lawful basis for processing your data

Under UK GDPR, I am required to explain the lawful basis on which I process personal data. As counselling involves sensitive personal information (special category data), this is processed in line with UK GDPR requirements and my professional ethical responsibilities.

I process personal data under the following lawful basis:

Consent: when you contact me and when you are engaging in communication with me, whether this is for an initial enquiry or for counselling services should you wish to proceed
Contract: when we enter into a counselling agreement should you choose to proceed with counselling
Legitimate interests: for necessary administration related to my practice

Information I collect

I may collect and store personal information highlighted below. I only collect information that is necessary for the purpose of providing safe, compliant and professional counselling or responding to enquiries.

Information I may collect and store:

Your name, email address and contact details
Information you share in the message sent when making an enquiry
Brief and factual notes from an initial introductory call
Brief and factual notes from counselling sessions if we proceed after the initial call
Relevant information needed to provide counselling services safely and ethically, for example an incase of emergency (ICE) number and contact for safeguarding purposes
If any GP details are stored, this will only be done so with your consent

How your information is used

Your information is used to:

Respond to enquiries sent
Arrange and manage counselling sessions
Provide counselling support
Meet legal, ethical and professional obligations
Brief and factual notes are kept to ensure I am providing a service that is of high quality and so that I can be equipped with knowledge of prior sessions to support continuity in our work together

How your data is stored

I will take every effort to ensure your data is safely and securely stored with the following steps. I also ensure that I regularly review my data handling practices to ensure your information remains protected.

How I securely store your data:

Digital records are password protected and stored on a password protected device
All my digital devices have anti-virus security software installed
Written notes and documents are stored securely in locked document containers
Only I have access to your personal data
If personal information needs to be sent to you, it will be password protected and sent via email

How long your information is kept

I only keep personal data for as long as it is necessary and proportionate for the purposes it was collected in line with GDPR requirements.

Initial contact (where counselling doesn't proceed)

If you contact me to make an enquiry but do not go on to start counselling, I will retain your personal data (such as your name, contact details and enquiry information) for up to 12 months.
After this period, your data will be securely deleted unless there is a lawful reason to retain it for longer.

While you are accessing counselling

If we proceed with counselling after initial contact, I will retain client records for up to 7 years after the end of our therapeutic work. This includes session notes, contracts, and relevant correspondence. This retention period reflects professional and ethical requirements.

Non-significant or administrative contact
If information is processed and stored that is not clinically relevant, such as administration or logistical communications, it will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil its purpose, and no longer than 12 months, before being securely deleted.

Requests for early data deletion

If you would like your data deleted sooner, under GDPR, you can inform me formally in writing for your data to be deleted and safely destroyed. If this is the case, I will action any requests within 28 days of receipt. This includes permanent deletion of any emails, documents, text or phone logs. I would need to store the formal request to delete this data, but would not store any further information about yourself. In certain situations, my insurance provider's legal team may want to verify information processed in these circumstances.

Confidentiality

What you say or share within counselling is held confidentially between you and in a therapeutic relationship. However, I am required to work ethically and within the requirements of the law as a counsellor, so there may be some legal and ethical exceptions where I may need to breach confidentiality. For example, if I was concerned there was serious harm to yourself or others. If this was the case, I would aim to speak about this with you so we can navigate a way forwards. Some instances where I am required by law to disclose are under The Children's Act 1989, Serious Crimes Act 2015, Terrorism Act 2000 and Road Traffic Act 1991.

As part of my work, I may also discuss sessions with my supervisors, who are fully qualified and trained counselling professionals. Supervision is used to support my continued development and maintain safe practice. Information shared in supervision is anonymized and also held within confidentiality agreements.

Should we happen to see each other outside of sessions in public, I may smile but won't engage in further conversation, to ensure confidentiality is not breached. You are welcome to share with others about the counselling you are receiving but I am obliged by UK GDPR law to ensure your privacy is protected.

Third Party Providers & Platforms

I use third party providers and platforms to support the running of my counselling practice.

Website: My website is hosted by Wix. If you contact me via the website contact form, the information you provide will only be used to respond to your enquiry and will not be shared with any other third parties. Once I have responded to your enquiry via email or phone, the enquiry form submission will be deleted from the Wix platform in line with my data retention timelines. Wix also collects limited and non-identifiable data for website analytics and performance purposes (such as page visits, traffic patterns and general usage statistics), which I use to identify how my website is performing. Wix privacy policy can be accessed here

Counselling Directories: I am listed on professional counselling directories, including the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and Counselling Directory, to allow prospective clients to find my services. If you choose to contact me via these platforms, the information you provide will be processed in accordance with that organisation’s own privacy policy. These organisations act as independent data controllers for the personal data you submit through their websites. Once I receive your enquiry and respond directly, any further processing of your personal data will be managed by me in line with this privacy policy and my data retention practices.

Microsoft 365 Business: I use Microsoft 365 Business for communication, business and administrative purposes. All data is stored securely and access is restricted to me only. Microsoft privacy policy can be accessed here

Accountant & Financial Platforms: I work with an external accountant who has access to relevant financial records, solely for the purpose of providing accountancy and tax services and whom complies with their own GDPR policy. Xero and Apron are the third party software platforms used for accounting, invoicing and financial record-keeping. These systems may process limited personal data such as names, invoice details and payment records where required for financial and tax purposes only. No clinical information or client notes are stored on accounting systems. Apron privacy policy can be accessed here. Xero privacy policy can be accessed here.

Social Media

I use social media platforms, to share general information about mental health, emotional wellbeing and the counselling process for educational purposes only. If you contact me via a social media platform (for example via direct message), I would receive personal information such as, your name, username and content of the message. This information is only used to respond to your message where appropriate.

Please be aware that social media platforms are third-party platforms and any interaction you have with them, is subject to their own privacy policies and data processing practices. Please note, I do not provide counselling or therapeutic services via social media and interactions on social media do not constitute as a therapeutic relationship. If you wish to enquire about counselling with me, I recommend contacting me via the contact form on my website or directly via email.

I keep my personal and professional social media accounts separate, to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. For this reason, I do not accept follow requests on personal social media accounts and I may not follow back or engage in exchanges on professional social media accounts to protect your privacy.

Cookies

My website uses cookies to ensure it functions properly and to help me understand how it is being used. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.

Some cookies are essential for the website to work, while others (such as analytics cookies) help me improve how the website performs.

I use a cookie consent tool (Usercentrics) to manage cookie preferences. When you first visit the website, you will be asked to accept or decline non-essential cookies. These will not be activated unless you give your consent.

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time.

My website is hosted by Wix, which may also use cookies and similar technologies. You can find more information in Wix’s privacy policy.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

Access the personal data I hold about you
Request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information
Request deletion of your data where appropriate
Ask questions about how your data is used

If you have any concerns about how your data is handled, I encourage you to raise them with me in the first instance. For further information, you can also access information via the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Website

Changes to this policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in legal, ethical or professional requirements. The most recent version will always be available on this website.