Last updated: 4 November 2026
Hello and Welcome
Your privacy is important to me. This notice explains what personal information I collect, why I use it, how I look after it and what rights you have when you contact me, visit my website or engage in counselling.
I aim to handle your information with care, respect and confidentiality, in line with UK data protection law and the professional standards of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).
Who I am
I am Katrin Kemmerzehl, a qualified, integrative counsellor based in Newcastle upon Tyne, working with adults.
I am the Data Controller responsible for the personal information I collect and use in connection with my counselling practice. I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
If you have any questions about your information, you are welcome to contact me at:
katrin@warmandfriendlycounselling.co.uk
What information I collect
I only collect information that is relevant to providing counselling and managing my practice. This may include:
- Your name and contact details, such as your email address, telephone number and address.
- Your date of birth, where needed.
- Information you share when making an enquiry or arranging counselling.
- Relevant information about your physical or mental health, wellbeing, circumstances and support needs.
- Brief counselling notes.
- GP and emergency contact details, where appropriate.
- Appointment, attendance, payment and invoicing records.
- Emails and messages relating to counselling and administration.
- Limited technical information about visits to my website, where collected through website functionality, security or cookies.
Information about your physical and mental health is known as special category data under data protection law and receives additional protection.
If I receive information about you from someone else, such as a GP or an emergency contact, I will only use it where relevant and appropriate. Where required, I will explain where that information came from.
Why I use your information
I use your information to:
- Respond to enquiries and arrange appointments.
- Provide counselling and support.
- Maintain appropriate counselling and administrative records.
- Communicate with you about appointments and practical arrangements.
- Meet my professional, legal, safeguarding, insurance and tax responsibilities.
- Manage and protect my counselling practice.
I do not sell your personal information or use your counselling information for marketing purposes.
Lawful basis for using your information
Data protection law requires me to have a lawful reason for using personal information. Depending on the circumstances, I rely on the following:
Contract: To provide the counselling services you have requested, arrange appointments and manage our counselling agreement.
Legal obligation: To meet legal responsibilities, including relevant financial and tax record-keeping requirements.
Legitimate interests: To manage my practice, maintain appropriate records, protect the security of my services and deal with complaints or potential legal claims. I only rely on this basis where my interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Counselling may involve information about your physical and mental health. This is special category data, which requires an additional legal condition for processing. I only use this information where the relevant conditions under data protection law are met.
Agreeing to counselling and signing a counselling agreement does not, in itself, mean that you are giving consent as the legal basis for all the processing of your personal information.
You are not legally required to provide every piece of information requested. However, some information is needed to arrange and provide counselling. If you choose not to provide information that is necessary for this, I may not be able to offer or continue the service.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important part of the counselling relationship, and I take this responsibility seriously. What you share with me is treated with care and respect.
There are some circumstances where information may need to be shared, including:
- Where you give permission for information to be shared.
- As part of professional supervision, where I discuss my work with a qualified supervisor and take care to protect your identity wherever possible.
- Where I am legally required to disclose information.
- Where there are serious concerns about your safety or the safety of another person.
- Where sharing information is necessary to meet safeguarding responsibilities or another legal requirement.
I will aim to discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand wherever possible and appropriate, unless doing so could increase the risk of harm or interfere with a legal requirement.
Who can access your information?
Your information is treated confidentially and is not shared unnecessarily.
To provide counselling and manage my practice, limited information may be accessed or processed by:
- My clinical supervisor: Relevant aspects of my work may be discussed in professional supervision. I take care to remove identifying details wherever possible.
- Service providers: Trusted providers who support my practice, including my email provider, website host and online counselling platforms. These providers may process personal information on my behalf to deliver their services.
- Professional advisers: My accountant, insurer or legal advisers, where access to relevant information is necessary for financial, insurance, professional or legal purposes.
- Legal or safeguarding authorities: Where disclosure is required by law or necessary in circumstances involving serious risks to someone’s safety.
Where third-party providers process personal information on my behalf, I take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate data protection and security arrangements are in place.
Some service providers may process information outside the UK. Where this happens, I ensure that the relevant legal requirements and appropriate safeguards for international transfers are met.
How I store and protect your information
I take reasonable and appropriate steps to keep your personal information secure and confidential.
- Paper records are kept in secure, locked storage.
- Digital records are protected through appropriate security measures, including passwords and encryption where available.
- Access to counselling records is restricted to me, except where information needs to be shared in the circumstances described above.
- Emails and messages are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary.
I regularly consider how my records and the services I use are protected and take steps to reduce the risk of unauthorised access, loss or disclosure.
Counselling Sessions
Online counselling takes place through platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Psychology Today Sessions. These services have security measures in place, although no online platform can be guaranteed to be completely risk-free.
Telephone counselling takes place by phone.
Walk-and-talk sessions take place outdoors, usually at Leazes Park in Newcastle. Although I take care to choose suitable and quieter locations, complete privacy cannot be guaranteed in a public space.
Counselling sessions are not recorded.
How long I keep your information
I keep personal information only for as long as it is reasonably necessary, taking account of professional, legal, insurance and tax requirements.
- Counselling notes: Normally retained for seven years after counselling ends.
- Financial records: Retained for the period required by applicable tax and legal requirements.
- Emails and messages: Retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for counselling, administrative or legal purposes.
In some circumstances, records may need to be retained for longer, for example where there is an ongoing complaint or legal claim.
When information is no longer needed, it is securely destroyed or deleted.
Your Privacy Rights
UK data protection law provides certain rights regarding the personal information I hold about you. These include, where applicable:
- Access to the personal information I hold about you.
- Correction of information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Erasure of personal information in certain circumstances.
- Restriction of how personal information is used in certain circumstances.
- The right to object to processing where I rely on legitimate interests.
- Data portability in certain circumstances.
- Withdrawal of consent, where consent is the legal basis for processing.
These rights are subject to certain conditions and legal exemptions. There may, for example, be professional or legal reasons why particular counselling records need to be retained.
If you would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact me at katrin@warmandfriendlycounselling.co.uk. I will normally respond within one month. In certain circumstances, this period may be extended in accordance with data protection law.
You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Data Breaches
I take the security of your information seriously. If a personal data breach occurs, I will take appropriate steps to contain it, assess any potential risks and reduce the possibility of further harm.
I will keep a record of the breach and report it to the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of it where legally required. If the breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, I will also inform affected individuals without undue delay.
Feedback and Professional Standards
If something about the way your personal information is handled doesn’t feel right, you’re welcome to talk to me about it. I’ll do my best to listen and address any concerns. I will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days, look into it without unnecessary delay and let you know the outcome.
You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you wish to raise a concern about how your information is handled.
I am a member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) and work in accordance with its Code of Ethics and professional standards. You can find out more about the Society’s Code of Ethics and professional guidance, including how to access its complaints procedure.
Contact
If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how I handle your personal information, you are welcome to contact me:
katrin@warmandfriendlycounselling.co.uk
Let’s talk!
Your first phone consultation is free.