Northern Voice Counselling (“we”, “us”, “our”) provides counselling services to clients.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number ZC185230, and we take our responsibility to loo after your personal information seriously. This notice explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have.

Key Facts

Data Controller Northern Voice Counselling

ICO Registration No. ZC185230

Records System WriteUpp (ISO-certified, cloud-based practice management software)

Retention Period 7 years from the end of our work together

Access Requests In writing to info@northernvoicecounselling.co.uk

 

What Information We Collect

In order to provide counselling safely and effectively, we may collect and hold the following information about

you:

• Contact details (name, address, phone number, email)

• Date of birth and emergency contact details, where provided

• GP name and surgery details

• Brief notes relating to our sessions together, including the issues discussed and any goals agreed

• Information you share relevant to your safety or the safety of others

• Payment and invoicing records

• Correspondence between us, such as emails or messages

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide, plan and review your counselling sessions

• Contact you about appointments, invoices, or any changes to our service

• Meet our legal and professional obligations, including those under the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions

• Keep appropriate records of our work together, including for clinical supervision purposes (discussed
  anonymously wherever possible)
   

Our lawful basis for processing your information is your consent, given when you sign our Counselling Agreement, and our legitimate interest in keeping appropriate professional records. Special category data (such as information about your health) is processed on the basis of explicit consent and for the provision of health/therapeutic care.
 

Where Your Information Is Held

Your clinical and administrative records are held securely using WriteUpp, a practice management system used

widely across the counselling and healthcare sector. WriteUpp is ISO-certified and processes data in line with UK GDPR requirements. Access to your records is restricted to your counsellor and, where relevant, their clinical supervisor.
 

Sharing Your Information

We do not share your information with third parties except:

• Where you have given your written consent for us to do so

• Where required by law, or where a court instructs us to disclose information

• Where there is a risk to your safety or the safety of another person, or a child or vulnerable adult is believed to be at risk of harm

• With our clinical supervisor, who is bound by the same standards of confidentiality

Full detail on the circumstances in which confidentiality may be broken is set out in our Counselling Agreement & Terms and Conditions.
 

How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain client records for 7 years from the end of our work together, in line with standard practice for

counselling and psychotherapy records. After this period, your records are securely and permanently deleted or

destroyed.
 

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you

• Ask us to correct inaccurate information

• Ask us to delete your information, in certain circumstances

• Ask us to restrict how we use your information

• Object to how we use your information

• Request that your information be provided to you, or transferred to another provider, in a portable format
   

To exercise any of these rights, including making a subject access request, please write to us at info@northernvoicecounselling.co.uk. We will respond within one month, in line with our legal obligations.
 

Keeping Your Information Secure

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised

access, loss, or disclosure, including secure, password-protected systems and restricted access to records.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us in the first instance at

info@northernvoicecounselling.co.uk, or refer to our Complaints Procedure. You also have the right to raise

concerns directly with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.
 

Changes to This Notice

We may update this notice from time to time to reflect changes in our practice or the law. The most recent

version will always be available from your counsellor on request.