Privacy Notice | LKP Counselling

Privacy Notice. Last updated: 18th October 2026

I am Lisa K Peett, a psychotherapist, counsellor and supervisor working in person and online. I am the data controller for personal information I collect through LKP Counselling and am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), reference ZA233599.

LKP Counselling is committed to complying with the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation made on 27 April 2016 and The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and to the responsible and secure use of your personal data. This privacy notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information in my therapy practice and applies to people who contact me about therapy or supervision, current and former clients and supervisees and visitors to my website.

LKP Counselling has a legitimate interest in processing personal data in order to provide psychotherapy, counselling and supervision services.

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, or how your information is handled, you can contact me at:

Email: lisa@lkpcounselling.co.uk

Phone: 01491 845375

Mobile: 07500 561774

I may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, legal requirements, professional guidance or the systems I use. The latest version will be available on my website. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately upon posting on the website.

Information I collect

When you contact me, I may collect:

your name
your email address
your phone number
the information you choose to share in your enquiry
any preferences around contact, availability or therapy or supervision format

If we arrange an initial consultation or begin therapy, I may also collect:

your address
your date of birth
your GP details
emergency contact details
relevant health, mental health or wellbeing information
information about your personal history, relationships, work, identity, family, circumstances and reasons for seeking therapy
brief clinical notes
attendance, payment and appointment information
correspondence between us

For supervisees, I may collect additional information about your training, experience and practice.

Some of this information may be classed as special category data under UK data protection law. This includes information about health, mental health, sexuality, ethnicity, religion or other sensitive areas where these are relevant to therapy. I only collect information that is necessary for providing therapy or supervision safely, ethically and professionally.

How I use your information

I use your personal information to:

respond to enquiries
arrange initial calls and consultations
provide therapy or supervision
keep appropriate clinical records
manage payments, invoices and appointments
communicate with you about sessions
meet legal, professional and ethical responsibilities
manage risk, safeguarding or emergency situations where necessary
maintain insurance, tax and accounting records
respond to data protection requests or complaints

I do not sell your personal information and will not share your personal details with any other person or organisation without your knowledge and permission, unless there is a legal requirement, if there is a child or adult safeguarding issue, or a perceived risk of harm. A breach of confidentiality is when a person shares information with another in circumstances where it is reasonable to expect that the information will be kept confidential.

Lawful basis for using your information

Under UK GDPR, I need a lawful basis for using personal information. For different parts of my work, I may rely on different lawful bases under Article 6 UK GDPR. For example, I may rely on contract where processing is needed to arrange or provide therapy, legitimate interests where I need to use information to run my practice safely, respond to enquiries, keep appropriate records and protect both you and me, and legal obligation where I need to keep or share information to comply with the law.

Where I process special category data, such as information about health or mental health, I must also identify a separate condition under Article 9 UK GDPR before I begin that processing and reflect this in my privacy information. Depending on the reason for processing, I may also need to meet additional conditions and safeguards under the Data Protection Act 2018. Where I ask for your consent for something specific, I will explain what I am asking for and whether you can withdraw that consent. Consent is not the only lawful basis available under data protection law, and I will only rely on it where it is appropriate to do so.

Confidentiality

Therapy and supervision are confidential, but confidentiality is not absolute. I will not share what you tell me unless there is a lawful, ethical or safeguarding reason to do so, and where possible I will limit any sharing to the minimum information necessary. There are some limits to confidentiality. I may need to share information if:

I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or someone else
there is a safeguarding concern involving a child, vulnerable adult or person at risk
I am required to do so by law, court order or legal process
disclosure is necessary to prevent or detect a serious crime
there is a medical emergency and information is needed to protect life
I need to consult my clinical supervisor, while protecting your identity as far as possible

Where possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss this with you before sharing information. However, I may not be able to do so if this would increase risk, prejudice safeguarding action, undermine the purpose of the disclosure, or would otherwise not be possible.

Supervision

Like other ethical therapists, I use clinical supervision to discuss my client and supervisory work to support safe and effective practice. I aim to minimise identifying detail where possible and appropriate, and my supervisors are also bound by confidentiality and professional standards.

Clinical notes and records

I keep brief clinical notes to support safe and ethical therapy. These are usually factual, proportionate and relevant to the work. I do not aim to keep a full transcript of sessions. Clinical records may include:

session dates
brief themes discussed
relevant risk, safeguarding or clinical information
agreed actions or important decisions
contact and administrative information

How long I keep information

I keep information only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. In general:

enquiry information would be deleted within 12 months if we do not begin to work together
client records are kept for 7 years after therapy ends as recommended by insurance provider and requirements for tax and accountancy purposes
emails, messages and administrative records are reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer needed

I keep my retention periods under review and aim to make sure they remain justified and proportionate.

Where your information is stored

Your information may be stored in the following systems;

Website / contact form: Wix.com
Email: Gmail via website
Practice management documents: Microsoft 365 (Word / Excel)
Online sessions: Zoom
Payments / invoicing: Bank transfer
Cloud storage or backup: iCloud
Phone / messages: Vodafone mobile text and voice message, office landline answerphone or receptionist response

I use appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep information secure. This may include password, device security, two factor authentication, restricted access and secure storage. For example;

LKP Counselling operates from a private, secure office with lockable filing cabinets
The hardware used (laptop and mobile) are encrypted devices
Electronic files stored containing personal data are additionally password protected
A dedicated practice mobile phone has contacts listed only by first name and has screen lock function
Wix.com provides the online platform that allows us to market our products and services to you. Your data may be stored through Wix.com’s data storage, databases and the general Wix.com applications. They store data on secure servers behind a firewall
Whilst we endeavour to keep our systems and communications protected against viruses and other harmful effects, we cannot bear responsibility for all communications being virus-free
Communications in connection with this service may be sent by text or e-mail

For ease of use and compatibility, email communications will not be sent in an encrypted form; accepting that E-mail, unless encrypted, is not a fully secure means of communication I cannot guarantee confidentiality in an email message.

Online therapy

If we work online, sessions will be held on the Zoom platform. I will take reasonable steps to protect confidentiality from my side and I ask that you choose a private space where you cannot be overheard or interrupted.

It is understood that any form of remote contact is not 100% secure but reasonable steps are taken to minimise the risk; Zoom software is accessed on a private laptop and is regularly updated. Although Zoom has the facility to record meetings or generate notes, I will not ordinarily use these functions and will set the meeting up without this functionality available. A unique 'meeting' link with embedded password is sent by email in advance to allow access to the meeting. You will be held in the waiting room until I admit you to join the meeting. In addition, the meeting participant list is monitored so any unauthorised access would be picked up promptly.

AI tools, transcription and recording

I do not record, transcribe or use AI tools to process therapy sessions or take notes on any device. The same is expected from clients and supervisees.

I may use digital tools for general practice administration, writing, planning or training. Where I do, I would aim to avoid putting identifiable client material into tools that are not appropriate for confidential clinical information and I take data protection and confidentiality into account when choosing how to use those tools.

Website visitors and cookies

When you visit www.lkpcounselling.co.uk some technical information may be collected automatically such as your IP address, device type, browser type, pages visited and the time of your visit. This may happen through website hosting, security, analytics or cookie tools.

The website is hosted by Wix. The website may use cookies or similar technologies to make the site work, improve performance, understand visitor behaviour or support security. You can usually control cookies through your browser settings. If I use cookies or similar technologies that are not strictly necessary, I will make sure the website provides the level of notice, choice or consent required by law. In some cases, current UK law may allow limited exemptions for certain analytics or functionality cookies, but only where the legal conditions for those exemptions are met.

Sharing your information

I will not share your personal information unless there is a clear reason to do so. Depending on the circumstances, I may share limited information with the following people or organisations where this is necessary, proportionate and lawful:

my clinical supervisors
list of weekly sessions by day and time provided to Receptionists with first name only
other professional services such as accountant, insurer or legal adviser
my professional bodies if required in relation to an ethical matter or complaint
safeguarding services, emergency services or your GP, where there is serious risk or safeguarding concern
a court or legal authority if required by law
an appointed clinical executor if I am unable to contact clients and supervisees myself
trusted digital service providers who process data on my behalf

Where I share information, I aim to share only what is relevant and necessary for that purpose. If I or one of my providers transfers personal information outside the UK to a separate organisation, I will only do so where the law allows it and an appropriate transfer mechanism or other safeguard is in place where required.

Clinical Will

I aim to have arrangements in place so that clients and supervisees can be contacted if I am unable to contact them myself due to illness, other incapacitating circumstances or death. This involves a trusted professional colleague or clinical executor having access to the minimum information needed to contact current clients and supervisees and manage records appropriately. That person would be bound by confidentiality, would only access information if necessary and would not take on an on-going therapeutic / supervisory role unless separately agreed and appropriate.

Your rights over your personal data

Under UK data protection law, you have rights over your personal information. These may include the right to:

be informed about how your data is used
access a copy of your personal information
ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
ask for information to be deleted in some circumstances
restrict or object to certain processing
complain about how your information has been handled

Some rights are not absolute and may depend on the circumstances. For example, I may need to keep some information for legal, professional, safeguarding, insurance or complaint-related reasons, and there may be limits on what can be disclosed where information includes third-party data or where a relevant exemption applies.

If you would like to exercise your rights, please contact me using the details above. I will respond to a request about your rights within one month. If a request is particularly complex, or if I need to consider whether any restriction or exemption applies, I may need longer, in which case I will let you know.

Data protection concerns and complaints

If you have any concerns about how I have handled your personal information, you can make a data protection complaint by contacting me using the details in this notice. I will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days of receipt and take appropriate steps to look into it without undue delay.

Please include: your name, what your concern is about, what you would like me to look into and how you would prefer me to respond.

I will investigate your complaint as appropriate, keep you informed where necessary and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

If you are not satisfied with my response, or if you would prefer to contact the UK regulator directly, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office:

Website: www.ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113