GDPR Privacy Policy

Effective from: 1st January 2025

Talk About It ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is handled in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant privacy laws. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, use our counselling services, or engage in both in-person and online counselling sessions.

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

Talk About It

Suite 7 Westway House, 42-44 Bridge Street, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 8TB
info@talkabout-it.co.uk

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller. For more information about how we are registered, you can visit the ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/.

2. What Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following personal data:

  • Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and postal address. Administrative staff may assist in handling this information to manage bookings and communications.

  • Personal Details: Information you provide when booking a session or completing forms, including health information, date of birth, and relevant medical or counselling history.

  • Payment Information: Payment details necessary for processing transactions.

  • Technical Information: IP address, browser type, and usage data collected through cookies and similar technologies (for online services).

  • Counselling Session Data: For both in-person and online sessions, we collect information related to the content of your sessions, including notes and assessments related to your mental health and therapy progress.

For online sessions, additional data may include device information, communication platform data, and video/audio recordings (only when agreed and necessary).

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To provide counselling services, whether in-person or online, and manage bookings.

  • To communicate with you regarding appointments, services, and follow-up actions.

  • To process payments and issue invoices or receipts.

  • To comply with legal obligations and professional standards in both face-to-face and remote counselling settings.

  • To improve our website, online services, and therapy practices through analytics and feedback.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data based on the following lawful grounds:

  • Consent: When you provide explicit consent for us to process sensitive data.

  • Contractual Necessity: To fulfill our contract with you for the provision of counselling services.

  • Legal Obligation: To comply with applicable legal requirements.

  • Legitimate Interest: To improve our services and website functionality.

5. Sharing and Disclosure of Data

Confidentiality and Limits to Confidentiality
All counselling sessions, whether in-person or online, are confidential. However, confidentiality may need to be broken in certain situations:

  • If the client appears in danger, discloses intent to take their life, or poses a serious risk of harm to themselves or others.

  • If the client provides information suggesting harm or neglect of children or vulnerable adults.

  • If the client is physically or verbally abusive toward the counsellor.

  • If required by a court order or other legal obligation.

  • If the client discloses knowledge or involvement in serious crimes, including drug trafficking, money laundering, or terrorism.

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with third parties in limited circumstances:

  • Professional service providers: e.g., payment processors, IT support, or administrative staff with appropriate access permissions.

  • Clinical supervisors: Anonymised client information may be shared with clinical supervisors to ensure the safety and well-being of clients, as well as the effectiveness of the counselling provided. This sharing helps ensure adherence to ethical standards and the highest level of care.

  • In case of an emergency, your contact details may be shared with another counsellor who is not your own to notify you if your counsellor is unable to attend your appointment.

  • Regulatory bodies or law enforcement agencies, when required by law.

6. Online Sessions and Encryption

For online sessions, we use Google Meet as the platform for video and voice communication. Google Meet is a secure and encrypted service that adheres to industry standards for protecting your privacy. It uses end-to-end encryption for video calls, ensuring that the communication between you and your counsellor remains private. This encryption ensures that no one other than the participants in the session can access the content of the video or audio communication.

We take steps to ensure your online sessions are conducted in a secure environment, using encryption and privacy measures provided by Google Meet.

7. Data Security

We store client data through secure practice management software, such as Kiku, which uses encryption and robust security measures to protect your information.

We take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include secure servers, encryption, and restricted access.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. Counselling records are retained in accordance with professional standards and legal requirements.

  • For online services, any data stored on communication platforms will be managed according to platform-specific data retention policies and in compliance with GDPR.

9. Your Rights

Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Access: Request a copy of your data, including your counselling notes. To request counselling notes, you will be required to complete a client notes release form.

  • Rectification: Request corrections to inaccurate data.

  • Erasure: Request deletion of data where applicable.

  • Restriction: Request limited processing.

  • Portability: Request data transfer to another service provider.

  • Objection: Object to data processing in certain circumstances.

  • Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time, where consent was the basis for processing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@talkabout-it.co.uk.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy periodically. Changes will be posted on this page with a new effective date. We encourage you to review this policy regularly.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact: info@talkabout-it.co.uk

Consent and Agreement

By using our website and services, including both in-person and online counselling, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy and agree to our data practices as described.