Privacy Policy
Micol Counselling and Therapy Ltd is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with care, confidentiality and in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation.
This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit this website, contact me about counselling or psychotherapy, become a client, or enquire about professional services.
Who I am
Micol Counselling and Therapy Ltd provides counselling, psychotherapy and professional wellbeing services.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, Micol Counselling and Therapy Ltd is responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.
If you have any questions about how your information is handled, you can contact me at:
Email: micol.lovelace@gmail.com
Telephone: +44 7946 104 781
Information I may collect
When you contact me through this website, by email or by telephone, I may collect information such as:
* your name;
* email address;
* telephone number;
* the type of service you are interested in; and
* any information you choose to provide about your reason for contacting me.
If you become a therapy client, I may also collect information necessary to provide counselling or psychotherapy and maintain appropriate clinical and administrative records.
This may include information about your health, emotional wellbeing, personal circumstances and other sensitive aspects of your life. Some of this information is considered special category data under UK data protection law and requires additional protection.
I aim to collect only the information that is necessary for providing my services and meeting my professional, ethical and legal responsibilities.
How I use your information
I may use your personal information to:
* respond to enquiries;
* arrange and manage appointments;
* provide counselling and psychotherapy;
* communicate with you about our work together;
* maintain appropriate clinical and administrative records;
* manage payments and financial records;
* meet safeguarding, insurance, professional or legal obligations; and
* respond to enquiries and provide professional or workplace wellbeing services.
Lawful basis for using your information
UK data protection law requires me to have an appropriate lawful basis for collecting and using personal information.
Depending on the circumstances and purpose, this may include processing that is necessary to provide a service or enter into an agreement with you, compliance with legal obligations, and legitimate interests in operating and administering my professional practice.
Where information concerns your health or other special category information, additional protections and conditions apply under data protection law.
I consider the nature and sensitivity of the information being processed and take appropriate steps to protect your privacy and confidentiality.
Confidentiality
Information shared within counselling and psychotherapy is treated as confidential.
There are limited circumstances in which confidentiality may need to be broken. These may include situations where there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person, safeguarding concerns, or where disclosure is required by law.
Where possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss this with you before information is shared.
As part of my professional practice, I undertake regular clinical supervision. Client work may be discussed within supervision, but identifying information is kept to a minimum and supervision is conducted confidentially.
Children and young people
I also provide therapeutic services to young people.
Information relating to children and young people is handled with the same care and confidentiality as other client information, while recognising that safeguarding responsibilities may sometimes require information to be shared where there are concerns about a young person's safety or welfare.
The limits of confidentiality are discussed as part of the therapeutic process.
Website contact form
When you submit an enquiry through this website, the information you provide is used to respond to your enquiry and, where appropriate, arrange an initial consultation or other service.
Please avoid including highly sensitive or confidential information in the initial contact form. We can discuss your circumstances more fully once contact has been established.
This website is provided through Wix. Information submitted through website forms may therefore be processed through Wix's systems and services in order to deliver the form and website functionality.
How your information is stored and retained
I take appropriate steps to protect the personal and confidential information I hold.
Client records are stored securely on a password-protected external drive, which is kept in a locked cabinet or safe when not in use. Access to client information is restricted and records are handled in accordance with my professional, ethical and data protection responsibilities.
Client records are normally retained for seven years after our therapeutic work has ended. This retention period applies to both adult clients and children and young people.
At the end of the retention period, records are reviewed and securely deleted or destroyed unless there is a legitimate legal, regulatory, insurance or professional reason for retaining them for longer.
Information relating only to an initial enquiry and where no therapeutic relationship is established will not automatically be treated as a client record and will only be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for managing the enquiry and associated administrative requirements.
Sharing your information
Your personal information will not be sold to third parties.
Information may be shared where:
* you have given appropriate permission;
* it is necessary to provide or administer a service;
* there is a safeguarding concern or serious risk of harm;
* I am required to do so by law; or
* it is necessary to meet a professional, insurance or regulatory obligation.
Some trusted service providers may process limited information on my behalf where necessary to operate the practice, such as website, email, payment or administrative service providers.
Where appropriate, I take reasonable steps to ensure that organisations processing information on my behalf handle it securely and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
Cookies and website information
This website may use cookies and similar technologies to enable the website to function and to understand how visitors use it.
Some cookies are necessary for the website to operate. Other cookies, such as analytics or similar technologies, may require your consent before they are used.
Where required, you will be given the opportunity to manage your cookie preferences.
Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you a number of rights regarding your personal information.
These may include the right to:
* ask for access to the personal information I hold about you;
* ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected;
* request deletion of your information in certain circumstances;
* request that the use of your information is restricted in certain circumstances;
* object to certain uses of your information; and
* request that information you have provided is transferred to you or another organisation where the right to data portability applies.
These rights do not apply in every circumstance, and there may be professional or legal reasons why certain information needs to be retained.
If you would like to exercise any of these rights or have questions about how your information is handled, please contact me using the details above.
Raising a concern
If you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled, please contact me in the first instance so that I have an opportunity to address your concerns.
You also have the right to raise a concern with the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Information Commissioner's Office
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be reviewed and updated from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, the services I use or relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
The date at the bottom of this page will indicate when the policy was last updated.
Last updated: September 2026