Privacy Policy  LOC Counselling

loccounselling.co.uk |       Email: leo@loccounselling.co.uk |       Phone: 07445 881537

Last updated: 29 July 2026

I'm registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller, and I'm a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I follow the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, which puts confidentiality and care for clients right at the heart of how I handle personal information.

[Please insert your ICO registration number and BACP membership number here.]

This policy applies to you if you:

● Visit loccounselling.co.uk

● Get in touch by email or phone to ask about counselling

● Become a client of mine

3.1 If you're browsing the website

Some basic technical information is collected automatically through analytics cookies (more on this in Section 6), such as your rough location, the device or browser you're using, and how you found and used the site.

3.2 If you get in touch

The website doesn't use contact or booking forms — if you'd like to reach me, it's by email or phone. When you do, I'll have:

● Your name

● Your email address and/or phone number

● Whatever you choose to tell me about why you're getting in touch

3.3 If you become a client

Counselling notes are kept confidentially, stored digitally and password-protected, and wherever possible kept separate from your contact details — in line with BACP and NCPS good-practice guidance on record-keeping. This might include:

● Session notes

● Contact and emergency contact details

● Any relevant health or risk information you share that helps me support you safely

● Records of our correspondence

I don't currently work with anyone under the age of 18, so I won't knowingly collect data about a young person through this site.

I use your information to:

● Reply to your enquiry and arrange appointments

● Keep the kind of professional records that BACP and NCPS guidance expects of me

● Meet legal, insurance, and professional obligations, including clinical supervision

● Keep the website running smoothly and securely

● Understand, in a general way, how people use the site through anonymised analytics

The legal basis for this (under UK GDPR) is:

● Contract / steps toward a contract — to respond to your enquiry and provide counselling

● Legitimate interests — to run the website well and keep the professional records BACP/NCPS expect

● Consent — for analytics cookies, and for any sensitive information (like health details) you choose to share with me for therapy

● Legal obligation — where the law, a regulator, or my insurer requires it

What you share with me in counselling stays confidential. This is central to how I work, and it's set out in the BACP Ethical Framework and NCPS Code of Ethical Practice. There are only a few, clearly defined situations where I might need to break confidentiality:

● If I believe there's a serious risk of harm to you or someone else

● If the law requires disclosure (for example, safeguarding or anti-terrorism legislation)

● If a court orders it

Wherever possible, I'd talk this through with you first. I also have regular clinical supervision, as all BACP/NCPS-registered counsellors do — my supervisor and I might discuss anonymised aspects of our work together to make sure I'm supporting you well, but nothing shared would identify you.

The website uses analytics cookies simply to understand how it's being used — things like page views and general location. There are no marketing, advertising, or newsletter cookies here.

You're welcome to control or delete cookies through your browser settings any time. Doing so won't stop you from using the site or getting in touch with me.

The website is hosted by GoDaddy, who may process some technical hosting data (like server logs) on my behalf. You can read more about how GoDaddy handles data at godaddy.com/legal/agreements/privacy-policy.

Your counselling records are kept separately and securely, and are never shared with GoDaddy or anyone else beyond what's set out in this policy.

I don't sell or rent out your data — ever. It's only shared in these limited circumstances:

● With my clinical supervisor, in anonymised form, as part of routine professional supervision

● With the relevant authorities, if there's a safeguarding concern or a legal duty to disclose

● With my insurer or professional body (BACP/NCPS), if ever needed for a complaint or claim

● With service providers who help run the website (like GoDaddy for hosting), acting only on my instructions

● Enquiries that don't turn into counselling: kept for a reasonable period, then securely deleted — typically within 12 months

● Client records: kept in line with BACP/NCPS guidance and my insurance requirements, usually for a minimum of 7 years after our work together ends, then securely destroyed

● Website analytics: kept only as long as necessary, following the analytics provider's standard settings

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

● Know how your data is being used

● Ask to see the personal data I hold about you

● Ask me to correct anything inaccurate

● Ask for your data to be deleted, in certain circumstances

● Ask me to restrict or object to certain processing

● Ask for a copy of your data in a portable format

● Withdraw your consent at any time, where I'm relying on consent

Please bear in mind that some of these rights — particularly deletion — may be limited where I have a professional or legal duty to keep clinical records.

If you'd like to exercise any of these rights, just email me at leo@loccounselling.co.uk.

I take reasonable, sensible steps to protect your data — password protection, secure storage, and making sure only I have access to your records (aside from anonymised discussions in supervision).

If anything about how your data is handled doesn't sit right with you, please talk to me first at leo@loccounselling.co.uk— I'd genuinely like the chance to put things right.

You can also raise concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk | Helpline: 0303 123 1113

Or with the BACP, regarding my professional conduct as a counsellor: bacp.co.uk

I'll update this policy from time to time as the law, guidance, or the website itself changes. The "last updated" date at the top will always show the latest version.

LOC Counselling

Email: leo@loccounselling.co.uk | Phone: 07445 881537 | Website: loccounselling.co.uk