MICHELLE COBB COUNSELLING

PRIVACY NOTICE

Last updated: October 2026

1. About me

I am Michelle Cobb, a qualified counsellor and the data controller responsible for the personal information you provide to me.

I am an accredited member of the National Counselling Society and work within the ethical framework and professional standards of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).

ICO Registration Number: ZB356993

Contact details

Email: michellecobbinfo@gmail.com
Telephone: 07360 287 003
Postal address: [Insert correspondence or practice address, if applicable]

I take your privacy seriously and handle your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

This notice explains what information I collect, why I collect it, how I use and protect it, and your rights in relation to your personal information.

2. What information I collect

I may collect and process the following personal information:

Your name and contact details, including your email address, telephone number and postal address where provided.
Your date of birth.
Your GP details and emergency contact information, where appropriate.
Information you provide when making an enquiry about counselling.
Information you share during counselling sessions, including details about your personal circumstances, experiences and mental health.
Brief counselling session notes and other records necessary for safe and ethical practice.
Appointment, invoicing and payment records.
Website usage information collected through cookies and analytics technologies, where applicable and in accordance with your cookie preferences.

Some information collected during counselling is classed as special-category personal data under data protection law because it relates to your health or other particularly sensitive matters.

3. How and why I use your information

I use your personal information to:

Respond to enquiries about counselling services.
Arrange, manage and administer appointments.
Provide counselling and therapeutic support.
Maintain appropriate professional records.
Support safe and ethical practice.
Meet applicable legal, regulatory, safeguarding and professional obligations.
Manage administrative matters relating to my counselling practice.
Protect my practice and deal with complaints or legal matters where necessary.
Understand and improve the functionality and effectiveness of my website, where permitted.

I only collect and use information that is necessary for the relevant purpose.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Data protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for processing personal information. Where I process special-category information, I must also meet an additional legal condition.

This section is awaiting confirmation to ensure that the lawful bases and conditions accurately reflect my independent counselling practice.

The relevant legal provisions may include:

Contract and steps before entering into a contract

Processing may be necessary to take steps at your request before entering into an agreement for counselling, or to fulfil our contractual arrangements.

Legal obligation

Personal information may be processed where necessary to comply with applicable legal obligations, including taxation and accounting requirements.

Legitimate interests

Limited personal information may be processed where necessary for legitimate interests relating to the operation and administration of my practice, such as maintaining appropriate business records, responding to complaints, protecting against legal claims and managing professional responsibilities.

Where legitimate interests are relied upon, the impact on your privacy and your rights must be considered.

Special-category information

Information about your health and other special-category information shared during counselling will be processed only where an appropriate condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR applies.

The applicable Article 6 lawful basis and Article 9 condition will be confirmed as part of my review of this notice.

5. Who I share information with

I treat information shared during counselling as confidential and do not routinely disclose your personal information to third parties.

Information may be shared where necessary and appropriate with:

Emergency services, where an urgent response is required.
Your GP or other healthcare professionals, where appropriate and with your consent, unless a lawful and justified exception applies.
Safeguarding agencies where there are relevant safeguarding concerns.
Legal authorities where disclosure is required by law or otherwise lawfully justified.
Professional advisers, insurers or legal representatives where necessary in connection with complaints, legal claims, insurance matters or regulatory requirements.
Service providers who help me operate my practice or website, where they need to process personal information on my behalf or in connection with the services they provide.

Any disclosure will be limited to the information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose, subject to applicable legal requirements.

Where appropriate and safe to do so, I will discuss a proposed disclosure with you beforehand.

6. Confidentiality

Information you share during counselling is treated as confidential.

There may be circumstances in which confidentiality needs to be limited, including where:

There is a serious risk of harm to you or another person.
There are relevant safeguarding concerns involving a child or an adult at risk.
Disclosure is required by law or a court order.
Disclosure is otherwise lawfully justified to protect life or prevent serious harm.

I consider each situation individually and share information only where necessary and appropriate.

Where appropriate and safe to do so, I will discuss any disclosure with you beforehand.

7. Professional supervision

As part of my commitment to safe and ethical practice, I attend regular professional supervision.

Supervision provides an opportunity to reflect on my work and ensure that I am practising responsibly and effectively.

I take care to protect your identity and share only the information necessary for supervision. Identifying details are removed wherever possible, although I cannot guarantee that identification would be impossible in every circumstance.

8. Video doorbell and security recordings

A motion-activated Ring video doorbell is installed at my property for security purposes.

When you attend a counselling appointment, the device may capture images of you as you approach the property.

Recordings are used for security purposes and not for therapeutic purposes. Access to recordings is restricted, and footage is retained only for as long as necessary for the stated security purpose.

If you have any questions about the use of the video doorbell or the handling of recordings, please contact me using the details provided in this notice.

Review outstanding: Confirm whether audio recording is enabled, how recordings are stored, who can access them and the applicable retention period. Amend this section to reflect the actual settings and arrangements.

9. International transfers

Some of the service providers I use to operate my practice and website, including Wix and Google services, may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, I take steps to ensure that the transfer complies with applicable UK data protection requirements.

Depending on the circumstances, these safeguards may include an applicable adequacy regulation, approved contractual clauses or another lawful transfer mechanism.

10. How your information is stored and protected

I take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

These measures include:

Password protection for digital records.
Appropriate security measures on devices used for practice purposes.
Restricted access to email accounts and client information.
Locked storage for paper records, where used.
Restricting access to client information to me, except where access by an authorised service provider or other person is necessary and lawful.
Storing session notes separately from contact details where practicable.

Although I take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of electronic communication or data storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. How long I keep your information

I retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, taking account of applicable legal, professional, insurance and regulatory requirements.

My current retention arrangements are:

Counselling records and session notes: retained for up to seven years after counselling ends.
Contact details: deleted or securely archived when no longer required for the purposes for which they were collected.
Enquiries that do not result in counselling: normally deleted within one month, unless there is a legitimate reason to retain them for longer.
Security recordings: retained only for as long as necessary for the relevant security purpose. The specific retention arrangements for my video doorbell will be confirmed as part of my ongoing privacy review.

Some information may need to be retained for longer where necessary in connection with complaints, insurance requirements, legal claims, safeguarding matters or other legal obligations.

When information is no longer required, it is securely destroyed or permanently deleted, as appropriate.

12. Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. These may include the right to:

Access: request a copy of the personal information I hold about you.
Rectification: request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erasure: request the deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Restriction: request that I restrict how I use your information in certain circumstances.
Object: object to particular types of processing where the law gives you that right.
Data portability: request the transfer of certain personal information to you or another organisation, where applicable.
Withdraw consent: withdraw consent where I rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

These rights are subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions. For example, I may not always be able to delete information where there is a lawful reason to retain it.

Further information about your rights is available from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-rights/

13. Cookies and website data

My website is hosted by Wix and may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files stored on your device that help websites function and, where applicable, provide information about how visitors use a website.

Essential cookies

These are necessary for the website to operate correctly and provide the services you request.

Analytics cookies

Google Analytics may be used to help me understand how visitors use my website so that I can improve its performance and usability.

Analytics cookies will only be used where the required consent has been provided.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the website's cookie controls, where available. You may also be able to manage cookies through your browser settings.

The information collected depends on the cookies and analytics services active on the website.

14. Third-party services

My website may include embedded content or services provided by third parties, such as Google Maps.

When you interact with embedded content or third-party services, those providers may collect information directly from your device or use their own cookies and similar technologies.

The handling of information by those providers is subject to their own privacy notices and policies.

Where relevant, I recommend reviewing those policies to understand how the providers use personal information.

15. Children's privacy

My counselling services are intended for adults aged 18 and over. My website is also intended for an adult audience.

I do not knowingly collect personal information from children through my website.

16. Complaints

If you have concerns about how I handle your personal information, please contact me using the details at the beginning of this notice. I will consider your concerns and try to resolve them.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

17. Changes to this privacy notice

I review this privacy notice regularly and may update it from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, the information I collect, the services I use or applicable legal requirements.

The latest version will be available on my website.