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MA in Psychotherapy & Counselling

Privacy Policy

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Effective Date: 4th March 2026
 

This Privacy Policy explains how Veronica Pathmanabhan (“I”, “me”, “my”) collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you visit this website or engage in psychotherapy services.

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I am committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
 

1. Who I Am
 

I am an integrative psychotherapist providing therapy services to adults, including neurodiversity-affirming support. I act as the Data Controller for the personal information you provide.
 

Contact details:
Email: [Insert email address]
Practice address: [Insert registered practice address, if applicable]
 

2. What Information I Collect
 

a) Information You Provide Directly
 

  • Name

  • Email address

  • Phone number

  • Any information you include in contact or enquiry forms

  • Information shared during therapy sessions
     

b) Automatically Collected Information
 

When you visit the website, basic technical data may be collected, such as:

  • IP address

  • Browser type

  • Pages visited

  • Cookies (see Cookie section below)
     

3. How Your Information Is Used
 

Your information may be used to:

  • Respond to enquiries

  • Arrange and provide therapy sessions

  • Maintain clinical records

  • Process payments (if applicable)

  • Comply with legal and professional obligations
     

I only collect information that is necessary to provide safe and ethical therapeutic services.
 

4. Confidentiality
 

All therapy sessions are confidential. However, confidentiality may be broken if:

  • There is risk of serious harm to you or others

  • There are safeguarding concerns

  • Disclosure is required by law
     

These limits will be discussed clearly at the start of therapy.
 

5. Lawful Basis for Processing
 

Under UK GDPR, I process personal data on the following bases:

  • Contractual necessity (to provide therapy services)

  • Legitimate interests (to respond to enquiries)

  • Legal obligation (where required by law)

  • Explicit consent (for processing special category health data)
     

Health information shared in therapy is considered “special category data” and is handled with additional care.
 

6. Data Storage and Security
 

  • Clinical notes are stored securely (electronically and/or in locked storage).

  • Digital data is password protected.

  • I take reasonable steps to protect your information from loss, misuse, or unauthorised access.
     

7. Data Retention
 

Client records are retained in line with professional and insurance requirements (typically 7 years after the end of therapy, or longer if legally required). After this period, records are securely destroyed.
 

8. Your Rights
 

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal data

  • Request correction of inaccurate information

  • Request erasure (in certain circumstances)

  • Restrict or object to processing

  • Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

ICO website: https://ico.org.uk
 

9. Cookies
 

This website may use basic cookies to improve functionality and user experience. You can adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies.

If analytics tools (e.g. Google Analytics) are used, this should be stated clearly with an appropriate cookie banner.


10. Third Parties
 

Your information will not be shared with third parties unless:

  • Required by law

  • Necessary for supervision (where anonymised where possible)

  • Required for payment processing

  • You have given explicit consent
     

11. Changes to This Policy
 

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this website.

If you would like, I can also:

  • Create a shorter website-friendly version (for footer use)

  • Add a GDPR-compliant cookie policy section

  • Tailor this specifically to whether you offer online therapy sessions (Zoom/Teams security wording)

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