Privacy Notice

Last updated: October 2026

​

At Annie Ford Counselling, your privacy is important. This notice explains how personal information is collected, used, stored and protected when you make contact, submit an enquiry, or access counselling, coaching, supervision or EMDR therapy.

​

Who This Notice Applies To

This privacy notice applies to visitors to the Annie Ford Counselling website, people who make enquiries through the website, Psychology Today, Counselling Directory, email or telephone, and clients who access counselling, coaching, supervision or EMDR therapy.

​

Data Controller

Annie Ford, trading as Annie Ford Counselling, is the data controller for the personal information held about you.

​

This notice is made available before personal information is collected wherever possible. If personal information is received from another person or organisation, this notice will normally be provided within one month, and sooner if contact is made with you or the information is disclosed to someone else.

​

Contact Details

• Website: www.annieford.co.uk

• Telephone: 07584 336873

• Email: infoannieford@icloud.com

• ICO registration number: ZA272464
   

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how your information is handled, please use the contact details above.
 

Personal Information Collected

Only information that is relevant and necessary to provide a safe, ethical and effective service is collected. This may include:
 

• Name, address, email address and telephone number

• Date of birth

• Emergency contact or next-of-kin details

• Appointment, attendance and payment information

• Information about health, wellbeing, personal circumstances and relevant history

• Information relating to risk, safeguarding or support needs

• Session notes, relevant communications and professional decisions

• Information provided through the website, Psychology Today, Counselling Directory, email, telephone, online booking system or video platform
   

Personal information is usually obtained directly from you. It may also be received from a person or organisation making a referral, such as a GP, healthcare professional, employer, insurer, solicitor, training provider or family member. Where information is obtained from another source, you will normally be told about this and given access to this privacy notice within the period required by law.
 

When supervision is provided to counsellors, therapists, trainees or other practitioners, information collected may also include supervision agreements, professional and training details, attendance, invoices, supervision notes, professional-development information and limited information about the supervisee’s client work.
 

Special Category Data

Some information shared in counselling, coaching, supervision or EMDR therapy may be sensitive personal information known as special category data. This may include information about:

• Physical or mental health

• Racial or ethnic origin

• Religious or philosophical beliefs

• Sex life or sexual orientation

• Other sensitive personal circumstances discussed in the course of the work
   

This information is given additional protection under UK data protection law.
 

Why Personal Information Is Used

Personal information may be used to:

• Respond to enquiries and assess whether services are suitable

• Provide counselling, coaching, supervision and EMDR therapy

• Arrange and manage appointments

• Maintain appropriate professional records

• Communicate about the work undertaken together

• Process payments and meet accounting or tax obligations

• Respond to concerns, complaints or legal matters

• Meet professional, ethical and safeguarding responsibilities

• Protect you or others where there is a serious or immediate risk of harm
   

Lawful Bases for Processing

Under UK data protection law, the lawful bases relied upon may include:

• Contract – where processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into an agreement, or to provide the agreed service

• Legal obligation – where processing is necessary to meet legal, tax, accounting or regulatory duties

• Legitimate interests – where processing is necessary for legitimate professional purposes, such as managing enquiries, maintaining practice records or dealing with concerns, provided this does not override your rights and freedoms

• Vital interests – in rare and urgent situations, where processing is necessary to protect someone’s life or safety
   

For special category data, the Article 9 condition relied upon is that processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care or treatment and is carried out by, or under the responsibility of, a professional subject to an obligation of confidentiality. In an urgent situation, another applicable condition may be relied upon where necessary and lawful.
 

You are not generally required by law to provide personal information. However, some information is needed to assess whether the service is suitable, provide the agreed service safely, arrange appointments and meet legal or professional obligations. If you do not provide necessary information, it may not be possible to offer or continue the service.
 

Confidentiality

Information shared in counselling, EMDR therapy or supervision is treated as confidential. It may be accessed or discussed only within the circle of confidentiality described in this notice and the relevant service agreement, including professional supervision and any necessary administrative or technology support. It will not normally be disclosed outside that circle without your knowledge and agreement unless there is a legally and ethically recognised justification.
 

There are limited circumstances where information may need to be shared without consent, including:

• Where there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person

• Where there are safeguarding concerns involving a child or adult at risk

• Where disclosure is required by law, such as by a court order

• Where there is an overriding public interest in preventing serious harm

• Where disclosure is necessary for legal, insurance or regulatory purposes
   

Where it is safe and appropriate, any need to share information will usually be discussed with you beforehand.
 

As part of safe and ethical practice, relevant aspects of my work with clients and supervisees may be discussed in my own professional supervision. My supervisors are bound by confidentiality. Information will be anonymised wherever practical, and only the minimum necessary identifying information will be shared where identification is needed for safe and effective supervision.
 

When I provide clinical supervision, supervisees are expected to anonymise or pseudonymise information about their clients wherever practical and to share no more than is necessary for effective supervision. The supervision agreement sets out the respective confidentiality and data-protection responsibilities of the supervisor and supervisee. A supervisee remains responsible for ensuring that information brought to supervision is shared consistently with the confidentiality arrangements made with their own clients.
 

How Information Is Stored

Appropriate technical and organisational measures are used to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

Records may be held electronically using encrypted and password-protected systems, with access restricted to authorised persons only. Identifying details are kept separate from clinical records wherever practical.
 

Website Enquiries

If you make contact through the website, Psychology Today, Counselling Directory, email or telephone, the information provided will be used to respond to your enquiry and, where appropriate, to arrange an initial consultation.
 

Information submitted through the website contact form is transmitted using SSL encryption and sent to a secure email account. Contact form submissions are not stored in the website database after delivery.
 

Psychology Today and Counselling Directory operate the profile pages and enquiry facilities used on their platforms. They initially process information submitted through those services under their own privacy notices. When an enquiry is delivered to Annie Ford Counselling, the information received is handled in accordance with this privacy notice. Please avoid including more sensitive information than is necessary in an initial directory enquiry.
 

Consent and confidentiality for directory enquiries
By submitting an enquiry through Psychology Today or Counselling Directory, you are asking the directory to send your information to Annie Ford Counselling and authorising Annie Ford Counselling to use the contact details and information you provide to respond to your enquiry. This does not create a therapeutic or supervision relationship, and it is not consent to ongoing counselling, EMDR therapy, supervision or any use of your information beyond managing the enquiry and taking any steps you request before entering into an agreement.
 

Directory messaging services are operated by third parties and should not be assumed to provide the same level of privacy as direct communication through an agreed secure channel. Please share only the minimum information needed for an initial response. Information received will be treated discreetly and in accordance with this privacy notice, but the professional confidentiality arrangements for counselling, EMDR therapy or supervision begin only when the relevant service agreement has been discussed and accepted. If the enquiry indicates a serious or immediate risk of harm or raises a safeguarding or legal concern, information may be used or disclosed where necessary, appropriate and lawful.
 

If you decide not to proceed with therapy, enquiry information may be retained for up to three months, after which it will be securely deleted.
 

How Long Information Is Kept

Personal information is kept only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet professional, legal, insurance and accounting requirements.
 

Current retention periods are:

• Adult client records: seven years after therapy ends

• Records for clients under 18: until the client reaches age 25, or seven years after therapy ends, whichever is longer

• Financial records: six years, in accordance with HMRC requirements

• Supervision records: seven years after the supervision relationship ends, unless a longer period is required for an ongoing complaint, legal or insurance matter

• Enquiries that do not proceed to therapy: up to three months

• Complaints, legal or insurance matters: for as long as necessary to manage the matter and meet relevant legal or professional requirements
   

At the end of the relevant retention period, records are securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised.
 

Who Information May Be Shared With

Personal information is not sold.
 

Information may be shared, where necessary, appropriate and lawful, with:

• You, or someone you have authorised

• Other healthcare or support professionals, with your consent where appropriate

• Professional supervisors

• Safeguarding agencies, social care services or emergency services

• Your GP or other relevant services, where agreed or necessary to manage a serious risk

• Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers or legal advisers

• Courts, regulators, law-enforcement bodies or other organisations where there is a legal requirement to do so
   

Third-Party Providers

Selected third-party providers may be used to support the running of the practice. Depending on the services used, these may include:

• Wix – website hosting and enquiry form

• Zoom – online sessions

• Mettle – payment services

• Pragmatic Tracker – client records and practice management

• Psychology Today – professional profile and enquiry service

• Counselling Directory – professional profile and enquiry service
   

These providers process personal information only where necessary for the services they supply. Appropriate contracts, access controls and other safeguards are used where required. Their own privacy information explains how they handle personal information, including any storage locations and sub processors.
 

Some service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, appropriate safeguards will be used as required by UK data protection law. Further information about those safeguards is available on request.
 

Your Rights

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

• Request access to your personal information

• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information

• Request deletion of information in certain circumstances

• Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances

• Object to processing based on legitimate interests

• Request data portability, where applicable

• Withdraw consent where consent is the basis being relied upon
   

Requests will usually be responded to within one month, although in some circumstances the law allows additional time or limits what can be provided.

To exercise any of these rights, please use the contact details given above.
 

Complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled, you are encouraged to raise this first using the contact details above so that the matter can be reviewed.
 

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk

This privacy notice will be reviewed regularly and updated when the way personal information is handled changes. The latest version will be available on the website, with the date of the most recent update shown at the beginning.