YOUR PRIVACY MATTERS

Healing Threads Counselling Service respects your privacy and is committed to keeping your personal information safe and confidential.

This Privacy Policy explains what information I collect, why I collect it, how I use it and the circumstances in which it may need to be shared.

Information I collect
When you contact me or arrange counselling, I may collect information such as your name, contact details, information you provide about your circumstances, and information relevant to your counselling.
As counselling may involve information about your physical or mental health, some of the information you provide may be considered special category data under UK data protection law.
I only collect information that is relevant and necessary for providing my counselling service, managing appointments and maintaining appropriate professional records.

How I use your information
I may use your information to:
• respond to enquiries and arrange appointments;
• provide counselling and maintain appropriate counselling records;
• communicate with you about your sessions;
• manage payments and administration;
• meet my legal, professional and safeguarding responsibilities; and
• maintain appropriate records where necessary to protect my legal or professional position.
Your information will not be used for marketing purposes without your consent.

Confidentiality
What you share during counselling is treated as confidential. However, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in every circumstance.
There may be occasions when information needs to be shared without your consent, for example where there is a serious safeguarding concern, a serious risk of harm to you or another person, or where disclosure is required by law.
Where possible and appropriate, I will discuss this with you before sharing information.

Who may receive your information?
Your personal information will only be shared where there is a legitimate and appropriate reason to do so.
This may include other professionals or organisations where this is necessary and lawful.
I will not sell your personal information or share it for unrelated marketing purposes.

Keeping your information secure
I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.
Paper records, where used, are stored securely, and electronic information is kept on password-protected and appropriately secured systems.

How long I keep your information
I retain personal and counselling information only for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, taking account of professional, legal, insurance and safeguarding requirements.
When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or destroyed.

Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal information. 

Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:
• ask what personal information I hold about you;
• request a copy of your information;
• ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
• ask for information to be deleted where there is no lawful reason for me to continue holding it;
• ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances; and
• object to certain uses of your information.
Some rights are subject to legal exemptions, particularly where information needs to be retained for legal, professional or safeguarding reasons.
If you would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact me using the details below.

Cookies and this website
This website may use cookies or similar technologies to ensure the website works properly and, where applicable, to understand how visitors use the website.
Where consent is required for non-essential cookies, you will be given the opportunity to provide or refuse consent.

Contact
If you have any questions about how your information is handled, or would like to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:
Angela Bryant
Healing Threads Counselling Service
Info@healingthreadscounselling.com
(+44) 7988 877367

Complaints
If you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled, please contact me in the first instance so that I can try to resolve your concern.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.
ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/

Policy updates
This Privacy Policy may be reviewed and updated from time to time to reflect changes to the counselling service, website or data protection requirements.
Last updated: 17th September 2026