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I take your privacy seriously and am committed to looking after your personal information with care and respect. You can feel confident that any information you share with me will be kept safe, secure, and used only for the purposes for which it is provided.

I work in line with current data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

This privacy policy explains what I do with your personal information from our first point of contact, throughout our counselling work together, and after counselling has ended.

If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to ask.

Who I am and data controller details

For the purposes of data protection law, I am the data controller. This means I am responsible for deciding how your personal data is held and used.

• Practice name: Hopeful Tides

• Data controller: Matt Webster

• Email: matthew@hopefultides.com

• Phone: 07463962636

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

My lawful basis for using your personal information

Data protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for processing your personal data.

• If you contact me to enquire about counselling, I process your data so that I can respond to you and consider working together.

• While we are working together in counselling, I use your personal information so that I can provide you with safe, appropriate, and professional support.

• After counselling has ended, I retain some information under legitimate interests for professional accountability and legal purposes.

Some of the information you may share with me is classed as special category data, such as information about your health. I process this information because it is necessary for the provision of counselling and health-related support.

What information I collect

Depending on your contact with me, I may collect:

• Your name, email address, and phone number

• Your date of birth

• Your home address

• Emergency contact details

• GP details (practice name and address)

• Brief and factual counselling notes

I only collect information that is relevant and necessary for providing counselling safely and professionally.

Initial contact

When you contact me to enquire about counselling, I will collect basic contact information so that I can respond to you.

If you decide not to proceed with counselling, your personal information will be deleted within one year. You can ask for this information to be deleted sooner if you wish.

Confidentiality and its limits

Everything you share with me in counselling is treated as confidential.

There are some situations where confidentiality may need to be broken:

• If you give your consent for information to be shared

• If I am required to do so by law or by a court

• If there is a serious risk of harm to you or to someone else

• Where there is information about criminal activity, including fraud

• Where there are safeguarding concerns relating to children or vulnerable adults

Where possible, I will try to discuss this with you first, unless safeguarding concerns prevent this.

Counselling records and notes

If we work together, I will keep:

• Your personal details (such as contact information)

• Brief and factual notes about our counselling sessions

Your personal details are stored securely and separately from your counselling notes.

Counselling notes are stored securely, either in locked storage (for paper records) or in encrypted digital files. Notes are identified using a client reference code rather than your name.

Supervision

As part of my professional practice, I attend regular clinical supervision in line with BACP requirements.

I may discuss aspects of my work with my supervisor, but I take care to protect your identity and preserve your anonymity at all times.

Communication

I may communicate with you by phone, email, or (if agreed) online platforms.

Emails and text messages are not kept indefinitely. Any communication that contains information relevant to your counselling may be briefly recorded in your notes. Other correspondence is deleted periodically.

Online counselling

If counselling sessions take place online, I take reasonable steps to protect confidentiality and privacy. I also encourage you to use a private space and a secure internet connection.

How long I keep your information

• If counselling does not go ahead, enquiry information is kept for up to one year

• If we work together, your personal information and counselling records are kept for seven years after counselling ends

• For clients aged 16–17, records are kept for seven years after their 18th birthday

After these periods, records are securely destroyed in line with GDPR requirements.

Sharing your information

I do not share your personal information with third parties unless:

• You give explicit consent

• There is a serious risk of harm

• I am required to do so by law

Where appropriate, and usually with your knowledge and consent, I may liaise with other professionals (such as a GP).

Your rights

You have rights under data protection law, including the right to:

• Ask what personal information I hold about you

• Request a copy of your personal information

• Ask for incorrect information to be corrected

• Request that your information is deleted or that its use is restricted in certain circumstances

• Object to the use of your personal data in some situations

More information about your rights is available at ico.org.uk/your-data-matters.

Requests should be made in writing using the contact details above.

Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns about how I handle your personal information, please feel free to get in touch with me. I will do my best to listen and address any concerns you may have.

If you are ever unhappy with how your personal information has been handled and we are unable to resolve this together, you have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

Website visitors

When you visit my website, Wix may collect standard website usage information (such as page visits and general location data) through cookies and analytics. This information does not identify you personally.

If you complete a contact form on my website, the information you provide will be sent securely to me and used only to respond to your enquiry.

You can find further information in Wix’s own privacy and cookie policies.

Keeping your information secure

I take appropriate steps to keep your personal information secure, including secure storage, password protection, and encryption where applicable.

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time. The most recent version will always be available on my website.

Last updated January 2026