Privacy Policy
Last updated: February 2026
Who I Am
Jacob Page Counselling is a private counselling practice based in Somerset, run by Jacob Page. For the purposes of data protection law, I am the data controller — meaning I decide how and why your personal information is used.
What Information I Collect
I collect and process personal information at several stages of our contact. The type and amount of information depends on how far we work together.
When you enquire about counselling — your name, email address, phone number (if provided), and a brief outline of what brings you to therapy. This comes to me directly via email.
When you begin counselling — I may ask you to complete a questionnaire ahead of our first session. This may include information about your mental health, medication, GP details, relationship history, and other personal circumstances. For couples work, each partner completes a separate questionnaire.
During the course of counselling — I keep brief clinical notes after each session. These are my working notes to support your care and are not a transcript of what you say. They may include themes discussed, observations, and any agreed actions.
Administrative information — appointment dates, fees paid, and cancellation records.
Sensitive Personal Information
Much of the information I hold about you is classed as special category data under UK GDPR — this includes anything relating to your physical or mental health, sexual life, racial or ethnic origin, or religious beliefs. This type of data has the highest level of legal protection.
I process this information on the basis of your explicit consent, which you give when you agree to begin counselling and complete any pre-session questionnaires. You can withdraw your consent at any time, though this may affect my ability to continue providing counselling.
Why I Process Your Information
Under UK GDPR, I need a lawful basis for processing your personal data. The bases I rely on are:
Consent — for special category data (health information, questionnaire responses) and for initial enquiries.
Legitimate interests — for administrative purposes such as managing appointments, processing payments, and maintaining my practice records. My legitimate interest is the effective running of my counselling practice, balanced against your rights and expectations of privacy.
Legal obligation — in rare circumstances, I may be required to share information to comply with a court order or to prevent serious harm to you or others. I would always aim to discuss this with you first unless doing so would increase the risk of harm.
How I Store & Protect Your Information
Your information is stored securely and access is limited to me alone. Specifically:
Questionnaires — submitted directly from your email to mine. They are not stored on this website and do not pass through any third-party service.
Clinical notes — stored in encrypted digital files accessible only by me.
Emails and messages — stored within my email system, which is password-protected.
Paper records — if any paper records are created, they are stored securely at my practice and destroyed by shredding when no longer needed.
I do not store your information on shared drives, cloud services with third-party access, or any system where others could view it.
Who I Share Your Information With
I do not share your personal information with anyone except in the following circumstances:
Clinical supervision — I discuss my work in regular professional supervision, which is an ethical requirement of my practice. When doing so, I use first names only or anonymise your details. My supervisor is bound by the same ethical standards of confidentiality.
Risk of serious harm — if I believe there is an immediate risk of serious harm to you or to another person, I may need to contact appropriate services. I would always try to discuss this with you first.
Legal requirement — if compelled by law, for example by a court order. This is extremely rare.
With your explicit consent — for example, if you ask me to write to your GP or communicate with another professional on your behalf.
I will never sell your information or share it for marketing purposes.
How Long I Keep Your Information
If you enquire but don't proceed to counselling — I delete your enquiry within 6 months of our last contact.
Client records (adults) — I retain clinical notes and related information for 7 years after our last session, in line with professional body guidance and insurance requirements. After this period, all records are securely destroyed.
Client records (under-18s) — records are retained until 7 years after you turn 18, or 7 years after our last session — whichever is later.
Financial records — kept for 6 years to meet HMRC requirements, then securely destroyed.
This Website
This website is hosted by Squarespace. Like most websites, it uses cookies — small files stored on your device — for basic functionality and to understand how the site is used.
Squarespace may collect anonymous usage data such as which pages are visited and how long visitors spend on the site. This data cannot identify you personally. I do not run any additional tracking, advertising, or analytics beyond what Squarespace provides as standard.
The questionnaires on this site do not store any data on the website itself. Your responses are composed into an email on your own device and sent directly to me when you press send in your email app.
Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
Access — you can ask to see what information I hold about you.
Correction — you can ask me to correct any information that is inaccurate.
Deletion — you can ask me to delete your information, subject to any legal or professional obligations I have to retain it.
Restriction — you can ask me to limit how I use your information.
Portability — you can ask for a copy of your information in a commonly used format.
Withdrawal of consent — where I process your data based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
Objection — you can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact me at info@jacobpagecounselling.com. I will respond within one month.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how I have handled your personal information, please raise it with me first so I can try to resolve it. If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Changes to This Policy
I may update this policy from time to time. Any significant changes will be noted with an updated date at the top of this page. I encourage you to review this page periodically.