Privacy Policy

Minds at Peace Therapy

Last updated: 23 October 2026

At Minds at Peace Therapy, I respect your privacy and am committed to protecting your personal information. I understand that counselling involves sharing personal and sometimes deeply sensitive experiences, and I take my responsibility to handle your information with care, respect and confidentiality.

This Privacy Policy explains what information I collect, why I collect it, how I store and protect it, when it may be shared, and the rights you have under UK data protection law.

Please read this policy carefully. If you have any questions about how your information is handled, you can contact me using the details provided at the end of this policy.

1. Who I am

Minds at Peace Therapy is a counselling practice operated by Nicola White, a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor.

I provide counselling in Harlow and Sudbury, as well as online counselling across the UK.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, I am the data controller responsible for determining how and why your personal information is processed.

Practice name: Minds at Peace Therapy
Data controller: Nicola White
Email: nikki@mindsatpeace.co.uk
Website: https://www.mindsatpeace.co.uk

2. What personal information I collect

The information I collect depends on how you contact me and whether you receive counselling.

2.1 Contact and enquiry information

When you contact me by email, telephone, through my website or another communication method, I may collect:

• Your name and contact details.

• Your email address and telephone number.

• Information you provide when making an enquiry.

• Your preferred appointment arrangements.

• Information necessary to arrange an introductory call or counselling appointment.

2.2 Counselling and health information

If you become a client, I may collect information relevant to providing counselling, including:

• Your reasons for seeking counselling.

• Information about your mental health, emotional wellbeing and personal circumstances.

• Relevant personal history, relationship experiences and life events that you choose to discuss.

• Counselling notes and information relating to your sessions.

• Information relevant to risk assessment, safeguarding or safety, where necessary.

Some of this information constitutes special category personal data, particularly information concerning your health. This information requires additional protection under data protection law.

I aim to collect only the information necessary to provide an appropriate and professional counselling service.

2.3 Appointment and administrative information

I may keep records of appointments, attendance, cancellations, communications and other administrative information necessary to manage my practice.

2.4 Payment information

Where applicable, I may process information relating to fees, payments, invoices and outstanding balances.

Payment information will be handled through the relevant payment or administrative arrangements. I do not intend to collect full payment card details directly unless this is necessary and handled through an appropriate secure process.

2.5 Website and technical information

When you visit my website, I may collect certain technical information, depending on your cookie preferences and the website settings. This may include:

• IP address or other online identifiers.

• Browser and device information.

• Pages visited and interactions with the website.

• General website usage and performance information.

• Cookie and analytics information.

I use Wix to operate my website and Google Analytics to understand how visitors use it. Further information about these services is provided below.

3. Why I use your information

I use personal information for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and arrange introductory calls.

• To assess whether my counselling service may be suitable for you.

• To arrange, provide and manage counselling sessions.

• To communicate about appointments, cancellations and changes.

• To maintain appropriate counselling and administrative records.

• To manage fees and payments.

• To meet applicable legal, professional, ethical and insurance obligations.

• To address relevant safeguarding or safety concerns.

• To maintain the security and operation of my website.

• To understand website usage and improve the information and services I provide.

• To respond to requests concerning your personal information and legal rights.

I will not use your counselling information for unrelated purposes without an appropriate lawful basis.

4. My lawful basis for processing your information

UK data protection law requires me to identify an appropriate lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, the relevant basis may include:

Contractual necessity: Processing information necessary to take steps at your request before entering into an agreement, or to provide the counselling services you have agreed to receive.

Legitimate interests: Processing information where necessary for the legitimate operation and management of my practice, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligation: Processing or retaining information where necessary to comply with an applicable legal requirement.

Consent: Processing information where you have freely given consent and consent is the appropriate lawful basis for the specific purpose.

The lawful basis used will depend on the particular information and activity. Consent is not necessarily the lawful basis for every aspect of counselling or record-keeping.

Special category and health information

Where I process information about your mental health or other special category personal data, I must also satisfy a separate condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR and, where applicable, the Data Protection Act 2018.

Important: The specific Article 9 condition and any additional statutory requirements applicable to my counselling practice must be confirmed and documented before this policy is treated as final for compliance purposes.

I will ensure that the legal conditions relied upon are appropriate to the actual services I provide and the professional confidentiality obligations that apply to my work.

5. Confidentiality and professional supervision

Confidentiality is an important part of the counselling relationship. I treat information shared during counselling with care and will not routinely disclose details of your sessions to other people.

As part of my professional practice, I undertake professional supervision. This may involve discussing aspects of my counselling work with my supervisor to reflect on practice, support ethical decision-making and maintain appropriate professional standards.

Where possible, I will minimise the personal information shared and avoid identifying you unnecessarily. Any disclosure of identifiable information must have an appropriate justification and be handled in accordance with applicable legal and professional confidentiality requirements.

When information may need to be disclosed

Confidentiality is not absolute. Information may need to be shared where there is an appropriate legal basis, including:

• Where you have given valid permission for information to be shared.

• Where disclosure is required by law or a court order.

• Where there are serious concerns about your safety or the safety of another person.

• Where safeguarding concerns require appropriate action.

• Where disclosure is otherwise justified and permitted by applicable law and my professional obligations.

Where appropriate and safe to do so, I will aim to discuss a proposed disclosure with you before sharing information.

I will only disclose information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

6. Who may process or receive your information?

To operate my practice, I may use trusted service providers and professional services where necessary.

These may include:

• Wix: My website hosting and website management platform.

• Google Analytics: Website usage and performance analytics, subject to the relevant cookie and privacy settings.

• Microsoft Teams: Online video calls for counselling sessions.

• Email and telephone providers: To communicate with you and manage enquiries.

• Professional supervisors: For appropriate supervision of my counselling work.

• Accountants, insurers, legal advisers or other professional services: Where necessary for legitimate practice management, professional obligations or legal matters.

• Relevant authorities or regulatory bodies: Where disclosure is legally required or otherwise lawfully justified.

I do not sell your personal information.

I will take reasonable steps to ensure that information shared with service providers is limited to what is necessary and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

The specific payment, record-storage and other service providers used by my practice may change over time.

7. Website cookies and Google Analytics

My website is operated using Wix and uses Google Analytics to help me understand how visitors use the website.

Google Analytics may collect information such as pages visited, interactions with website content, technical information about the device or browser, and online identifiers, depending on the configuration and consent settings.

I use this information to understand general website usage and help improve the website.

Analytics cookies and similar technologies are not automatically exempt from UK cookie-consent requirements. Where consent is required, I will seek valid consent before activating them.

You should be able to accept or reject non-essential cookies through the website's cookie consent mechanism and change your preferences where the available settings allow this.

I will not intentionally use analytics to identify individual counselling clients or to analyse the sensitive content of counselling sessions.

The precise information collected, the retention settings and any information shared with Google depend on the actual Google Analytics configuration.

8. Online counselling through Microsoft Teams

I use Microsoft Teams for online video counselling sessions.

Microsoft Teams Essentials processes certain technical and account-related information to provide its services. Depending on the service configuration and how a session is conducted, this may include connection information, device information and meeting-related technical data.

I take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of online counselling and to use appropriate security settings.

I do not intend to record counselling sessions unless there is a specific, appropriate reason and the necessary arrangements, permissions and safeguards have been established.

You can help protect your privacy by attending sessions from a private location and using a secure device and internet connection.

Microsoft's own privacy terms also apply to its processing of information through Teams.

9. How I store and protect your information

I keep both paper and digital records as part of my practice.

I take appropriate steps to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

Depending on the records and systems involved, safeguards may include:

• Secure storage of paper records.

• Password protection and appropriate device security.

• Restricted access to electronic records.

• Secure handling of emails and communications.

• Appropriate use of cloud services and other digital systems.

• Limiting access to information to those who need it for a legitimate purpose.

• Secure disposal of information when it is no longer required.

Because counselling records may contain sensitive personal information, I recognise the importance of appropriate safeguards and careful handling.

No method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, I take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information I hold.

10. How long I keep your information

I generally retain client counselling records for seven years, subject to the applicable professional, legal and insurance requirements.

Different types of information may have different retention requirements. For example, counselling notes, enquiry records, financial records and website analytics data may not all be retained for the same period.

Records will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised when they are no longer required, unless there is a lawful reason to retain them for longer.

Retention detail to confirm: The precise point from which the seven-year period is calculated—for example, the end of counselling or the date of the last session—must be specified in my record-retention procedure. Any exceptions, including legal holds or other applicable requirements, will be handled appropriately.

Website analytics data may be subject to separate retention settings within Google Analytics and should be configured in accordance with my actual requirements.

11. International transfers of personal information

Some service providers may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom, depending on their systems, account settings and service arrangements.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, I will take the steps required by applicable data protection law to ensure that the transfer is lawful and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

The precise locations and safeguards depend on the providers and services used, including Wix, Google Analytics and Microsoft Teams.

12. Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you may have the right to:

Access: Request a copy of the personal information I hold about you.

Rectification: Ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

Erasure: Request deletion of your personal information where the legal conditions for erasure are met.

Restriction: Ask me to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

Objection: Object to certain types of processing, including processing based on legitimate interests.

Data portability: Request certain personal information in a commonly used electronic format where this right applies.

Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis for processing. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.

These rights are subject to applicable legal conditions and exceptions. For example, I may need to retain some records to meet legal, professional or other applicable obligations.

To exercise your rights, please email **nikki@mindsatpeace.co.uk**. I may need to verify your identity before responding.

I will respond within the time required by applicable data protection law.

13. How to raise a concern or make a complaint

If you have a concern about how your personal information is being handled, please contact me first at:

**nicola@mindsatpeace.co.uk**

I will take your concern seriously and aim to address it appropriately.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

You can find further information about data protection rights at https://ico.org.uk/.

14. Links to other websites

My website may contain links to external websites or services.

If you follow an external link, the privacy policy and practices of that website will apply to your use of it. I am not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites and recommend that you review their policies before providing personal information.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, the services I provide, the systems I use or applicable legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on my website with the date it was last updated.

Where a significant change affects how I process your personal information, I will take appropriate steps to inform you where required.

16. Contact details

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the information I hold about you or your data protection rights, please contact:

Nicola White
Minds at Peace Therapy
Email: nicola@mindsatpeace.co.uk
Website: https://www.mindsatpeace.co.uk

I am committed to handling your personal information respectfully, confidentially and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.