Privacy & Confidentiality

Last Updated: 23rd July 2026

Beginning therapy often involves sharing deeply personal parts of your life. Looking after that information carefully is an important part of my work and respecting your privacy is part of creating the conditions in which therapy can feel safe enough to begin. This page explains how I collect, store and use personal information, as well as your rights under UK data protection law. Much of what follows is necessarily written in legal terms, but if anything is unclear, you're welcome to ask.

This privacy notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information in my therapy practice (Sarah Adele Therapy) and applies to people who contact me about therapy and current and former clients.

I am a psychotherapist working in person, online and outdoors. I am the data controller for personal information I collect through Sarah Adele Psychotherapy. This means I am responsible for deciding how personal information is used and for keeping it safe.

The Information I Collect

I may collect and use the following information.

When you contact me, I may collect:

Your name
Your email address
The information you choose to share in your enquiry
Any preferences around contact, availability or therapy format

If we begin therapy, I will also collect:

Your address
Your date of birth
Your GP details
Emergency contact details of your choice
Relevant health and mental health
Information about your personal history, relationships, work, identity, family, circumstances and reasons for seeking therapy

Throughout your therapy I will also keep:

Brief clinical notes
Records of attendance, payment and appointment information
Correspondence between us

Some of this information may 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.

How I Use Your Information

I use your personal information to:

Respond to enquiries
Arrange initial calls and sessions
Provide therapy
Keep appropriate clinical records
Manage payments, invoices and sessions
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

I do not sell or share your personal information for marketing purposes.

The Legal Basis For Using Your Information

UK data protection law requires me to identify a lawful basis for collecting and using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on different lawful bases under Article 6 UK GDPR. For example:

• to take steps before entering into a therapy agreement and to provide therapy

• to meet my legal, professional and ethical responsibilities

• to run my practice safely and effectively

Where I process sensitive information, such as information about your health or mental health, I must also identify a separate condition under Article 9 UK GDPR. Where consent is needed for something specific, I will explain this clearly. However, consent is only one of several lawful bases available under data protection law and is not the basis for all processing involved in providing therapy.

Keeping Your Information Confidential

Therapy is confidential, but confidentiality is not absolute. I will not share what you tell me unless there is a lawful, ethical or safeguarding reason to do so, and where possible I will limit any sharing to the minimum information necessary. There are some limits to confidentiality. I may need to share information if:

I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or someone else
There is a safeguarding concern involving a child, vulnerable adult or person at risk
I am required to do so by law, court order or legal process
Disclosure is necessary to prevent or detect a serious crime
There is a medical emergency and information is needed to protect life
I need to consult my clinical supervisor, while protecting your identity as far as possible

Where possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss this with you before sharing information. However, I may not be able to do so if this would increase risk, prejudice safeguarding action, undermine the purpose of the disclosure, or would otherwise not be possible.

Supervision

As a standard part of my practice, I take part in regular clinical supervision. Supervision is an important part of practising safely, ethically and thoughtfully, and helps me to reflect on my work in the best interests of my clients.

I aim to minimise identifying information where possible and appropriate, and my supervisor is also bound by confidentiality and professional standards.

Clinical Notes and Records

I keep brief clinical notes to support safe and ethical therapy. These are factual, proportionate and relevant to the work. Clinical records may include:

Session dates
Brief themes discussed
Relevant risk, safeguarding or clinical information
Agreed actions or important decisions

I do not keep detailed records of what is said during sessions, and my notes are not transcripts of our conversations.

How Long I Keep Your Information

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

Enquiry information may be deleted if we do not begin therapy, usually within 6 months
After therapy ends, client records are retained for five years, as required by my indemnity insurance, after which they are securely destroyed
Financial records are kept for the period required for tax and accounting purposes
Emails, messages and administrative records are reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer needed

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.

Where Your Information Is Stored

Your information may be stored in the following systems:

Website / contact form: Wix
Email: Gmail
Practice management or client records: Encrypted hard drive
Payments / invoicing: QuickBooks

I use appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep information secure. This includes password protection, device security, two-factor authentication, restricted access and encryption. Where I use external providers, they may process data on my behalf. I aim to use reputable providers with appropriate data protection and security arrangements.

Online Therapy

If we work online, sessions will take place using Zoom. 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.

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.

Outdoor Therapy

If we meet outdoors, I will discuss confidentiality with you in advance. Outdoor therapy can be discreet, but it cannot guarantee the same level of privacy as a private therapy room. We will agree how to manage the possibility of seeing other people, being overheard, or needing to pause the conversation.

AI Tools, Transcription and Recording

I do not record, transcribe or use AI tools to process therapy sessions or any of my note taking.

Website Visitors and Cookies

When you visit sarahadeletherapy.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.

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. 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.

Sharing Your Information

I will not share your personal information unless there is a clear reason to do so. Depending on the circumstances, I may share limited information with the following people or organisations where this is necessary, proportionate and lawful:

My clinical supervisor
Professional advisers, such as an insurer or legal adviser
My professional body, if required in relation to a complaint or ethical matter
Safeguarding services, emergency services or your GP, where there is serious risk or safeguarding concern
A court or legal authority, if required by law
An appointed clinical executor if I die or become unable to contact clients myself
Trusted digital service providers who process data on my behalf

Where I share information, I aim to share only what is relevant and necessary for that purpose. If I or one of my providers transfers personal information outside the UK to a separate organisation, I will only do so where the law allows it and an appropriate transfer mechanism or other safeguard is in place where required.

Clinical Will

I have arrangements in place so that clients can be contacted if I die or become seriously incapacitated. This involves a trusted 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.

Your Rights

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

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

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.

If you would like to exercise your rights, please contact me via email (sarahadeletherapy@gmail.com). I will respond to a request about your rights within one month as required by law. 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 and the Information Commissioners Office know.

Data Protection Concerns and Complaints

If you have a concern about how I have handled your personal information, you can make a data protection complaint by contacting me using the details in this notice. I will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and take appropriate steps to look into it without undue delay. Please include:

Your name
What your concern is about
What you would like me to look into
How you would prefer me to respond

I will investigate your complaint as appropriate, keep you informed where necessary, and tell you the outcome without undue delay. If you are not satisfied with my response, or if you would prefer to contact the UK regulator directly, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office through their website: www.ico.org.uk or telephone: 0303 123 1113. I am registered with the ICO and have paid the data protection fee.

Changes To This Privacy Notice

I may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, legal requirements, professional guidance or the systems I use. The latest version will be available on my website.

If you have any questions about anything on this page, you're welcome to ask. I'm happy to explain how I handle your information before you decide whether to begin therapy. You can contact me at: sarahadeletherapy@gmail.com