You are welcome to include a brief outline of what has led you to contact the practice. Please avoid sending highly sensitive personal or clinical details in an initial email or voicemail. You can choose to arrange a free, no-obligation initial telephone conversation or, if you prefer, continue the initial discussion by email.
1. Who is responsible for your information?
The data controller is Peter De Santis Therapy Ltd (company number 17372793), which provides psychotherapy and counselling services.
Registered office:
Devonshire House, 582 Honeypot Lane, Stanmore, England, HA7 1JS.
Contact: info@peterdesantistherapy.co.uk
Telephone: 07515 951434.
2. What information may be collected?
Initial enquiries
If you contact the practice by email or telephone, the information processed may include your name, contact details and the content of your communication. Please keep an initial email or voicemail brief and do not include information about your health, diagnosis, medication or personal circumstances. Email communications are handled through the practice email provider.
When you become a client
If you decide to begin therapy, information relevant to arranging and providing the service may be collected. This can include contact and emergency contact details, information you provide about your health and personal circumstances, information discussed in sessions, brief clinical notes, correspondence, appointment and payment records, and information relevant to safe and appropriate practice.
Website technical information
When you visit the website, the hosting service may process limited technical information needed to deliver and secure the site, such as IP address, browser information, access times and server logs. The website is not intended to use advertising trackers or behavioural profiling. No analytics service is currently planned.
3. How and why is information used?
Personal information may be used to:
- respond to an enquiry and arrange an initial telephone conversation;
- consider whether the service may be appropriate and explain the practical arrangements;
- provide and manage therapy, including maintaining appropriate clinical records;
- communicate about appointments, changes, fees and payments;
- manage the practice, maintain professional standards and support safe practice;
- meet legal, regulatory, accounting and insurance requirements; and
- respond to a legal request or protect someone where there is a serious concern about safety or safeguarding.
4. What are the lawful bases for using information?
For initial enquiries received by email or telephone, information is generally used to take steps at your request before a possible agreement for services is made, and where necessary for the legitimate interests of responding to and managing enquiries.
For clients, information is used where necessary to provide the agreed service, manage the therapeutic relationship and practice, comply with legal obligations, and pursue legitimate interests such as maintaining appropriate records and managing the business.
Some information about health or therapy is special category personal data. It is processed only where an applicable condition under data protection law permits this, including, where applicable, for the provision of health or social care and the management of those services, subject to professional confidentiality obligations. Where a different condition is required for a particular use, that will be explained to you.
5. Confidentiality and when information may be shared
What you share in therapy is treated confidentially. I discuss my work with a professional supervisor as part of ethical practice, taking care to minimise identifying information wherever possible.
Information may also be shared where you have given permission; where there is a serious concern that you or someone else may be at risk of harm; where safeguarding concerns arise in relation to a child or an adult at risk; where disclosure is required by law or a court; or where it is otherwise necessary and lawful. Wherever possible, I will discuss this with you before information is shared.
Your information is not sold or shared with advertisers. It may be shared with service providers who help operate the practice, where they need access to perform their services and are subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection arrangements.
6. Service providers and where information is stored
The practice uses service providers to support its operations. These include:
- Microsoft 365 / Outlook for practice email and related business communications;
- Zoom for online therapy sessions, where agreed; and
- Fasthosts for website domain and/or hosting services.
Other providers may be used for secure record keeping, administration, payments, accounting, insurance or professional support. The specific provider and its role will depend on the service involved. Access to personal information is limited to what is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
Some service providers may process information in countries outside the UK. Where this occurs, appropriate safeguards will be used where required by data protection law. You can contact the practice if you would like further information about relevant safeguards.
7. How long is information kept?
Unsuccessful enquiries
If you make an enquiry but do not become a client, enquiry information will normally be kept for up to six months from the last meaningful contact, then securely deleted unless there is a good reason or legal requirement to retain it for longer.
Therapy records
For clients, clinical and related therapy records are normally retained for up to seven years after therapy ends, in line with the practice's stated record-retention policy. Some business, financial or legal records may need to be retained for a different period to meet applicable requirements.
When information is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted or destroyed.
8. How is information protected?
Reasonable technical and organisational measures are used to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure. These include restricting access to information, using appropriate account and device security, and taking care in how records and communications are handled. No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, but the practice takes its responsibilities seriously.
9. Cookies and analytics
This website is not intended to use advertising cookies or analytics cookies, and no analytics platform is currently configured. The hosting provider may use strictly necessary technical mechanisms to deliver and protect the website. If this changes and non-essential cookies or similar technologies are introduced, the website information and consent arrangements will be updated as required.
10. Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to request access to your personal information, ask for inaccurate information to be corrected, request erasure or restriction of processing, object to certain processing, or request a copy of information in a portable format. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal or professional obligations, including duties relating to clinical records and confidentiality.
To exercise a right or ask a question about your information, contact info@peterdesantistherapy.co.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are concerned about how your information has been handled. The ICO can be contacted through its complaints service.
11. Changes to this notice
This notice may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in the practice, website or applicable data-protection requirements. The latest version will be published on this page, with the date of the most recent update shown above.