Privacy Notice

​I'm committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. This policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information in my therapy practice. 

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1. Who I am

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I’m Lucy, an integrative counsellor based in the UK working in person and online. I am the data controller for personal information I collect through Little Oasis Therapy.

 

This means I am responsible for deciding how personal information is used and for keeping it safe.

 

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or about how your information is handled, you can contact me at:

 

Email: lucy.littleoasistherapy@gmail.com

Website: www.littleoasistherapy.co.uk/contact

 

This privacy notice applies to people who contact me about therapy, current and former clients and visitors to my website.

 

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Information I collect

When you contact me, I may collect:

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• Your name

• Your email address

• Any personal information you include in your enquiry

• Any preferences around contact, availability or therapy format 

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If we arrange an initial call or begin therapy, I may also collect: 

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• Your address

• Your date of birth 

• Your GP details

• Emergency contact details, where appropriate

• Relevant health, mental health or wellbeing information 

• Information about your personal history, relationships, work, identity, family, circumstances and reasons for seeking therapy

• Brief clinical notes

• Attendance, payment and appointment information 

• Correspondence between us

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Some of this information more be classed as special category data under UK data protection law. This includes information about health, mental health, sexuality, ethnicity, religion or other sensitive areas where these are relevant to therapy. 

I only collect information that is necessary for providing therapy safely, ethically and professionally. 

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This information is used solely to respond to your enquiry and provide counselling services if we go on to work together.

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How I use your information

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I use your personal information to: 

• Respond to enquiries

• Arrange initial calls and appointments

• Provide therapy

• Keep appropriate clinical records

• Manage payments, invoices and appointments

• Communicate with you about sessions

• Meet legal, professional and ethical responsibilities

• Manage risk, safeguarding or emergency situations where necessary 

• Maintain insurance, tax and accounting records

• Respond to data protection requests or complaints

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I do not sell your personal information 

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Where your information is stored

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Your information may be stored in the following systems: 

Website / contact form: Wix

Email: Gmail 

Client records: WriteUpp

Online Sessions: Google Meets, Microsoft Teams

Payments / invoicing: Xero, Starling Bank

Phone/messages: SMS, Whatsapp

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I use appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep information secure. This may include password protection, device security, two-factor authentication, restricted access and secure storage. 

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Where I use external providers, they may process data on my behalf. I am to use reputable providers with appropriate data protection and security arrangements. 

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How long I keep your information

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I keep information only for as long as necessary for the purpose of which it was collected. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record, the nature of the word, legal and professional requirements and whether the work involved a child or young person. As a general guide: 

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• Enquiry information may be deleted if we do not begin therapy, usually within 6-12 months

• Client records may be kept for a period of 7 years after therapy ends, based on your retention policy and the reasons for keeping them 

• If the work involved a child or young person, a different retention period may apply

• Financial records may be kept for the period required for tax and accounting purposes

• Emails, messages and administrative records are reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer needed

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There may be times when I need to keep records for longer, for example where there are safeguarding, legal, insurance, complaint-related or professional-body reasons. I keep my retention periods under review and aim to make sure they remain justified and proportionate. 

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Supervision

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Like other ethical therapists, I use clinical supervision to support safe and effective practice. 

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In supervision, I may discuss aspects of client work to support safe and effective practice. I aim to minimise identifying detail where possible and appropriate and my supervisor is also bound by confidentiality and professional standards. 

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Clinical notes and records 

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I keep brief clinical notes to support safe and ethical therapy. These are usually factual, proportionate and relevant to the work. 

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Clinical records may include: 

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• Session dates

• Brief themes discussed 

• Relevant risk, safeguarding or clinical information

• Agreed actions or important decisions

• Contact and administrative information 

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I do not aim to keep a full transcript of sessions. 

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Online therapy

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If we work online, sessions will take place using Google Meets or Microsoft Teams . I will take reasonable steps to protect confidentiality from my side and I ask that you also choose a private space where you cannot easily be overheard or interrupted. 

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Online platforms may process technical information such as IP address, device information or connection data. Please also check the privacy notice of the platform we use if you would like more detail. 

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AI tools, transcriptions and recording

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I do not record, transcribe or use AI tools to process therapy sessions. I may use digital tools for general practice administration, writing, planning or education. Where I do, I aim to avoid putting identifiable client material into tools that are not appropriate for confidential clinical information and I take data protection and confidentiality into account when choosing how to use those tools. 

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Clinical Will 

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I aim to have arrangements in place so that clients can be contacted if I die or become seriously incapacitated. 

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This may involve a trusted professional colleague or clinical executor having access to the minimum information needed to contact current clients and manage records appropriately. That person would be bound by confidentiality, would only access information if necessary and would not take on an ongoing therapeutic role unless separately agreed and appropriate. 

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Your rights

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Under UK data protection law, you have the rights over your personal information. These may include the right to: 

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• Be informed about how your data is used

• Access a copy of your personal information

• Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected

• Ask for information to be deleted in some circumstances

• Restrict or object to certain processing

• Complain about how your information has been handled 

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Some rights are not absolute and may depend on the circumstances. For example, I may need to keep some information for legal, professional, safeguarding, insurance or complaint-related reasons and there may be limits on what can be disclosed where information includes third-party data or where a relevant exemption applies. 

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If you would like to exercise your rights, please contact me using the details above. I will respond to a request about your rights within one month. If a request is particularly complex, or if I need to consider whether any restriction or exemption applies, I may need longer, in which case I will let you know. 

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Website visitors and cookies

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When you visit www.littleoasistherapy.co.uk, some technical information may be collected automatically, such as your IP address, device type, browser type, pages visited and the time of your visit. This may happen through website hosting, security, analytics or cookie tools. 

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My website is hosted by Wix. The website may use cookies or similar technologies to make the site work, improve performance, understand visitor behaviour or support security. 

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You can usually control cookies through your browser settings. If I use cookies or similar technologies that are not strictly necessary, I will make sure the website provides the level of notice, choice or consent required by law. In some cases, current UK rules may allow limited exemptions for certain analytics or functionality cookies, but only where the legal conditions for those exemptions are met. 

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8. Links to other websites

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If I link to other websites (e.g. resources or crisis support), please note that I’m not responsible for their privacy practices.

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9. Updates to this policy

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This policy may be updated from time to time. The most current version will always be available here.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how your data is handled, you're very welcome to get in touch via the contact form or email me - lucy.littleoasistherapy@gmail.com

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Thank you for trusting me with your information.

Lucy - Little Oasis Therapy