Your privacy is very important to me, and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose for which it was given. I adhere to current data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679) (the GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
This privacy notice explains what I will do with your personal information from the initial point of contact through to after your therapy has ended, including: why I am able to process your information and for what purpose; whether you are required to provide it; how long I store it; whether there are other recipients of your personal data; whether I intend to transfer it to another country; whether I carry out automated decision-making or profiling; and your data protection rights.
I am happy to discuss any questions you may have about my data protection practices. You can contact me by email or phone.
'Data controller' is the term used to describe the person or organisation that collects, stores, and has responsibility for people's personal data. In this instance, the data controller is me.
I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office, registration number: ZB589343.
Phone: 07961228535 | Email: info@adetoun.co.uk
The GDPR requires that I have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. The basis I rely on depends on the stage at which I am processing your data.
If you have had therapy with me and it has now ended, I will use legitimate interest as my lawful basis for holding and using your personal information.
If you are currently in therapy, or are in contact with me to consider therapy, I will process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of our contract.
The GDPR also requires that I handle any sensitive personal information you may disclose to me with particular care. This is known as 'special category personal information'. My lawful basis for processing such information is consent initially. I will then retain any counselling records in case they need to be referenced in the future — the official legal basis for this is the defence of potential legal claims.
When you contact me with an enquiry about my counselling services, I will collect information to help me respond to your enquiry. This will include your name, address, phone number, email address, an emergency contact, and your GP's details. Alternatively, another health professional may send me your details when making a referral, or a parent or trusted individual may provide your details when making an enquiry on your behalf. If you decide not to proceed, I will ensure all your personal data is deleted within six months. If you would like me to delete this information sooner, please let me know.
Everything you discuss with me is confidential. That confidentiality will only be broken in exceptional circumstances — where I am concerned that you or someone else is at risk of harm. I will always try to speak with you about this first, unless safeguarding issues prevent this. Certain laws may also require me to break confidentiality with or without your consent (for example, the Terrorism Act, the Drug Trafficking Act, and the Money Laundering Act). I will keep a record of your personal details to help the counselling service run smoothly. These details are kept securely in a locked box and are not shared with any third party. I transfer your name and a code to my password-protected laptop, and your phone number may be stored on my business mobile, which is code protected. I keep written notes of each session on an encrypted cloud storage platform.
Once counselling has ended, your records will be kept for seven years from the end of our contact and will then be securely destroyed. If you would like me to delete your information sooner, please let me know.
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:
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 safeguard is in place. Like other ethical therapists and supervisors, I use clinical supervision to support safe and effective practice. In supervision, I may discuss aspects of client work; I aim to minimise identifying detail where possible, and my supervisor is also bound by confidentiality and professional standards.
I have a professional clinical executor for my Therapeutic Will. In the unfortunate event that I am unable to contact you myself, they will have access to the minimum information needed to contact current clients and supervisees and to manage records appropriately. That person is bound by confidentiality, would only access information if necessary, and would not take on an ongoing therapeutic or supervisory role.
I sometimes share personal data with third parties where I have contracted with a supplier to carry out specific tasks. I take great care to ensure that any such contract clearly states what the third party is permitted to do with the data, and that they do not use your information for any purpose other than the task for which they have been contracted. The third parties I have identified as processing personal data on my behalf are:
Organisation & Role
Monzo Bank (payments and online transactions)
HMRC Government department (tax administration)
EE Telecommunications company (phone, text messages and voicemail)
EE Telecommunications company (internet provider)
Zoom Communications technology company (online meeting software)
GoDaddy Website host (cookies)
Google Technology company (email)
Apple Technology company (hardware and encrypted cloud storage)
Windows Technology company (hardware)
Where I share any personal data with the above processors, I confirm that I have a fully compliant contract in place with each of them.
I aim to be as open as possible in giving people access to their personal information. You have the right to ask me to delete your personal information, to limit how I use it, or to stop processing it. You also have the right to request a copy of any information I hold about you and to object to its use in certain circumstances. You can read more about your rights at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters.
If I do hold information about you, I will:
You can also ask me at any time to correct any mistakes in the personal information I hold about you. To make a request for any personal information I may hold, please put the request in writing to: info@adetoun.co.uk
If you have any concern about how I handle your personal data, please do not hesitate to get in touch using the contact details above. I welcome any suggestions for improving my data protection procedures. I will acknowledge any complaint within 30 days, keep you informed of progress, and explain the outcome.
If I am uncertain of the identity of the person making the complaint, I may request additional identification — for example, by phoning you on the number I have on file or asking you to confirm your date of birth. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, I will need to verify that you have the authority to act on their behalf (either confirmation of power of attorney or a signed letter of authority from the person concerned).
When making a complaint, 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.
If you wish to make a formal complaint about the way I have processed your personal information, you can contact the ICO — the statutory body that oversees data protection law in the UK. For more information, visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
I take the security of the data I hold about you very seriously. All devices I use are encrypted, as are any online software platforms, all of which require passwords known only to me.
I do not record, transcribe, or use AI tools to process therapy or personal supervision sessions. I also do not use these tools for administration, writing, planning, or education.
When someone visits my website, I use a third-party service, GoDaddy, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. I do this to understand things such as the number of visitors to various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. I do not make, and do not allow GoDaddy to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting my website.
I use legitimate interests as my lawful basis for holding and using your information in this way when you visit my website. I use GoDaddy as the content management system for my website. You can find information regards GoDaddy's own data protection processes by visiting their site directly - https://www.godaddy.com/en-uk/legal/agreements/data-protection-security-standards?msockid=2b5ffee6f78768233aaeec8ef63c6993
Like most websites, I use cookies to help the site work efficiently. Cookies are small text files stored on your computer or mobile device by a website. This website uses cookies through GoDaddy, the hosting provider. These fall into two categories: essential cookies (which enable basic functions such as page navigation) and statistics cookies (which help understand how visitors interact with the site by collecting and reporting information anonymously). You can opt out of non-essential cookies by declining them when prompted — this ensures you have the level of choice and consent required by UK law.