Privacy Notice

Lindsey Shaw Therapeutic Counsellor & Coach
Last updated: September 2026

About this Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you contact me or work with me for counselling or coaching.

I am committed to respecting your privacy and handling your personal information carefully, confidentially and in accordance with UK data protection law.

For the purposes of data protection law, I am the data controller for the personal information I process in connection with my private practice.

Contact: [email protected]

Information I May Collect

Depending on how you contact me and the services you use, I may collect and process information including:

Your name and contact details
Information provided through enquiry or consultation forms
Emergency contact details, where provided
Information you choose to share during counselling or coaching sessions
Brief counselling or coaching notes
Information relating to appointments, payments and correspondence
Information relevant to your wellbeing, circumstances and the work we undertake together
Technical information associated with online communication or use of my website, where applicable

Some of the information you share with me may be considered special category data under UK data protection law. This can include information about your physical or mental health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation or other sensitive aspects of your life.

I only collect information that is relevant and necessary for providing my services and managing my private practice.

Why I Use Your Information.

I use your personal information where necessary to:

Provide counselling and coaching services
Respond to enquiries and arrange appointments
Communicate with you about our work together
Maintain appropriate and accurate records
Manage payments and the administration of my private practice
Support safe, ethical and professional practice
Meet my professional, legal, regulatory and insurance obligations
Protect your vital interests or those of another person where necessary

I do not use information you share with me during counselling or coaching for marketing purposes.

Lawful Basis for Processing

For personal information that is not special category data, my lawful bases for processing may include:

Contract — where processing is necessary to provide the counselling or coaching service we have agreed
Legitimate interests — where necessary for the appropriate and effective running of my private practice
Legal obligation — where I am required to process or retain information by law

Counselling and coaching may involve information classed as special category data under UK data protection law. Where I process this type of information, I also identify and document an appropriate additional condition for doing so. Depending on the circumstances, this may include processing connected with health or social care or treatment, or processing necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Where another specific condition is required, I will apply and document this as appropriate.

I do not rely on consent as the general lawful basis for keeping counselling records simply because you have agreed to counselling or coaching. Where your specific consent is required for a particular purpose, I will ask for this separately.

Storage and Security.

I take reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure and to protect it from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.

Electronic records are stored within password-protected business systems. Where practicable, identifying and contact information is kept separately from counselling or coaching notes.

Session notes are kept brief, relevant and proportionate to the work we undertake together. I do not routinely make audio or video recordings of sessions.

I take appropriate care when communicating electronically and when using digital services as part of my practice.

Online Counselling and Digital Resources

Online counselling and coaching sessions may take place using secure video communication platforms. I will let you know which platform we will use when arranging online sessions.

I may also use interactive therapeutic resources during online sessions, including resources provided by PACT Resources Online.

According to information provided by PACT Resources Online, therapeutic content entered into its applications — such as text, labels, drawings or object placements — operates within the user's browser and is not transmitted to or stored on PACT's servers.

PACT's hosting provider may retain ordinary technical and security logs, such as IP address, access time, requested pages and browser information. These logs do not contain the therapeutic content entered into the applications.

Where a temporary access link is used, it expires after a limited period. Where an application allows work to be saved, the file is generated locally and downloaded directly to the user's or practitioner's device. PACT does not receive or retain a copy.

I do not routinely retain copies of work created using these resources unless there is a relevant therapeutic or professional reason to do so. Any information I do retain will be handled as confidential client information.

Session Recordings and Screenshots and Professional Supervision.

I do not routinely record counselling or coaching sessions.

If you would like to record your own online session for personal therapeutic reflection, this must be discussed and agreed with me beforehand. Any recording you make is your responsibility to store securely and must not be shared, published or used for any other purpose without prior agreement.

When using interactive therapeutic resources, you may choose to take a screenshot or save a copy of your own completed work for personal reflection. If you do so, you are responsible for keeping it secure.

I will only make or retain a recording, screenshot or saved copy of therapeutic work where there is a clear reason to do so and this has been discussed with you where appropriate.

Professional Supervision

As part of safe and ethical practice, I undertake regular professional supervision.

Supervision provides a confidential space for me to reflect on my work and maintain appropriate professional standards. I may discuss aspects of my client work with my supervisor, but I minimise identifying information wherever possible and do not routinely use clients' full names.

My supervisor is also bound by professional standards of confidentiality.

Confidentiality and Sharing Information

Information you share with me during counselling or coaching is treated as confidential.

There may, however, be circumstances where I need to share limited information with another person or organisation. This may include where:

There is a serious or immediate concern about your safety or the safety of another person
I am required to disclose information by law or by a court order
Disclosure is necessary for safeguarding purposes
Information is required in connection with a legal or insurance matter
You have asked me, or given specific permission, to share information with another professional or service

Where possible and appropriate, I will discuss this with you before sharing information.

I will only share information that is necessary and proportionate to the circumstances.

Emergency Contact

I may ask you to provide details of an emergency contact as part of the information I hold about you.

I would not routinely contact this person or discuss your counselling or coaching with them.

Your emergency contact would only be used where I have a serious and immediate concern about your safety or welfare and believe that making contact is appropriate and proportionate in the circumstances.

Where possible and appropriate, I would discuss this with you first.

How long I keep your Information

I keep personal information only for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet my professional, legal and insurance obligations.

Counselling and coaching records are normally retained for seven years after our final session, in line with the requirements of my professional insurance.

After the relevant retention period has ended, records will be securely deleted or destroyed unless there is a legal, safeguarding, insurance or other legitimate reason for retaining them for longer.

Different retention periods may apply to certain financial, tax or regulatory records where required.

Your Data Protection 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:

Request access to the personal information I hold about you
Ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected
Ask for your personal information to be erased in certain circumstances
Ask me to restrict the way I use your information in certain circumstances
Object to certain types of processing
Request the transfer of your information where the right to data portability applies

These rights are not absolute and may depend on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which your information is being processed.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights or have a question about how I handle your information, please contact me at:

[email protected]

If you are unhappy with how I have handled your personal information, I would encourage you to contact me first so that I have an opportunity to address your concerns.

You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection.

Lindsey Shaw Therapeutic Counsellor & Coach
Last updated: September 2026