Privacy notice
Hazel Hill | Counselling in Your Community
Last updated: 2nd October 2026
Your privacy matters. This notice explains what personal information I collect, why I use it, how I look after it and your rights. It covers enquiries and my counselling work, including couples counselling.
Who is responsible for your information
I am Hazel Hill, the data controller for my practice. This means I am responsible for deciding how your personal information is collected and used. My practice is based in Nether Edge, Sheffield S7, United Kingdom.
You can contact me about your information or this notice:
Email: counselling@inyourcommunity.org.uk
Telephone: 07814 363 855
What information I collect
I collect the information needed to respond to your enquiry and provide counselling. Depending on our work together, this may include:
- Your name, address, date of birth and contact details.
- Your GP’s details and emergency contact information, where needed.
- Information you share about your health, relationships, circumstances and reasons for seeking counselling.
- Brief session notes, our counselling agreement and appointment details.
- Emails, messages and other correspondence between us.
- Payment records and, where relevant, insurance membership details, authorisation numbers and claims information.
- Information submitted through my website, together with technical information collected by its hosting, security and cookie services.
Counselling may involve sensitive information about your physical or mental health, sexuality, beliefs or other personal matters. Data protection law gives this ‘special category’ information additional protection.
Please avoid sending more sensitive information by email than is needed.
Where your information comes from
Most information comes directly from you, whether through an enquiry, a form or our sessions.
I may also receive relevant information from a referring professional, insurer or employee assistance programme. I will explain any relevant referral and information-sharing arrangements. In couples counselling, your partner may also provide information about you.
Why I use your information
I use your information to respond to enquiries, arrange and provide counselling, keep appropriate records, communicate with you and manage payments. I may also need it to meet legal obligations, obtain professional advice or respond to complaints and legal claims.
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, I rely on the following lawful bases, depending on the purpose:
- Contract: to take steps at your request before counselling begins, provide our agreed service and manage appointments and payments.
- Legitimate interests: to run and protect my practice, maintain appropriate records, obtain professional advice and deal with complaints or legal claims. I consider your rights and reasonable expectations when relying on this basis.
- Legal obligation: to keep records or disclose information where the law requires it.
- Consent: where I specifically ask for your agreement to a particular use or disclosure of information. You can withdraw that consent, without affecting processing that was lawful before you withdrew it.
- Vital interests: in exceptional circumstances, where necessary to protect someone’s life.
For health information necessary to provide counselling, I rely on Article 9(2)(h), covering health or social care, subject to the applicable confidentiality requirements. Other uses of special category information require an appropriate additional condition, such as explicit consent or necessity for legal claims.
Some information is needed to provide counselling safely or process insurance claims. If you prefer not to provide it, I will explain whether this affects my ability to offer or continue the service.
I do not use your information for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
Confidentiality and sharing information
I keep your information confidential and share only what is necessary and lawful. This may include sharing information with your agreement, responding to a legal requirement or taking proportionate action where serious risk or safeguarding concerns justify disclosure. Where appropriate and safe, I will discuss this with you first.
I discuss my work in professional supervision, limiting identifying details as far as possible. My supervisor is bound by confidentiality.
If an insurer or employee assistance programme funds your sessions, I share information needed for authorisation, claims and agreed reporting. I explain these arrangements as part of our agreement.
Service providers may process information to support email, online appointments, cloud storage, website hosting and business administration. Relevant information may also be shared with professional advisers or my indemnity insurer where necessary.
In couples counselling, we discuss confidentiality as part of our agreement. One partner does not automatically have access to the other partner’s personal information.
Use of artificial intelligence
I use generative artificial intelligence tools to help with general wording for emails and letters, create resources and develop ideas. I do not enter client information into these tools. I review and edit material before using it.
I do not record counselling sessions or dictate session notes.
How I store your information
I keep handwritten client notes in a safe place. Electronic client records are stored on my password-protected computer and in iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive.
I limit access to client records and take reasonable measures to protect them from loss, misuse and unauthorised access.
Email, online appointment and cloud services may process information outside the UK. Such transfers must meet UK data protection requirements, which may involve an applicable adequacy decision or appropriate contractual safeguards. You can contact me for information about the arrangements applying to your records.
How long I keep your information
I keep information for as long as it is needed for its purpose, taking account of legal requirements and professional responsibilities.
My usual retention periods are:
- Enquiries that do not lead to counselling: up to six months.
- Adult counselling records: five years after our work ends.
- Business and payment records: six years, or longer where applicable tax requirements require it.
I may retain relevant information for longer where necessary to meet a legal requirement or deal with an ongoing complaint or legal claim. I review what is still needed and dispose of records securely when their retention period ends.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you have the right to:
- Request access to your personal information.
- Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected.
- Request deletion of your information.
- Ask for its use to be restricted.
- Object to certain uses of your information.
- Receive certain information in a portable format.
- Withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing.
These rights are subject to legal conditions. For example, I may need to retain some records even if you ask for them to be deleted.
You can make a request verbally or in writing using the contact details above. I respond without undue delay and normally within one month. If the law permits an extension or a pause to obtain necessary clarification, I will explain this to you.
I may ask for proportionate information to confirm your identity where needed. Requests are normally free of charge.
Concerns and complaints
If you are concerned about how I handle your personal information, please contact me by email, telephone or during a session.
I will acknowledge your data protection complaint within 30 days, investigate without undue delay and keep you informed. I will explain the outcome and any action taken without undue delay.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Address: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Cookies and website information
My Cookie Policy explains which cookies and similar technologies the website uses and how you can manage them.
Where consent is required, you can choose whether to allow those cookies and withdraw your consent. Where a permitted statistical or appearance exception is used, you must be given clear information and a simple, free way to object.
Changes to this notice
I review this notice when my services or information-handling arrangements change. I update the date above and tell you about significant changes where appropriate.