1. Contact Details
Vicky Sutherland Hypnotherapy is the data controller for the personal information I collect and use in connection with my hypnotherapy services.
Contact: Vicky Sutherland
Business Name: Vicky Sutherland Hypnotherapy
Telephone: 07359 192193
Email: info@vickysutherlandhypno.co.uk
ICO Registration Number: ZB344789
2. What Information I Collect and Why
I collect and use personal information that is necessary to provide hypnotherapy and manage my practice. This may include:
- Contact and personal information, such as your name, address, telephone number and email address.
• Information about your health and wellbeing, where relevant to your hypnotherapy sessions.
• Information discussed during sessions, including relevant notes about your needs, progress and treatment.
• Emergency contact or next-of-kin information, where provided.
• Payment and financial information, where necessary to process payments, issue invoices and maintain financial records.
• Information relating to queries, complaints, feedback or claims, where applicable.
I only collect information that is relevant and necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.
3. How I Use This Information
I use your personal information to:
• respond to enquiries and arrange appointments;
• communicate with you about your sessions;
• understand your needs and provide appropriate, personalised hypnotherapy;
• maintain appropriate client records and support continuity between sessions;
• provide follow-up information or materials relating to your sessions;
• process payments and issue invoices;
• respond to queries, complaints or claims;
• meet legal, professional, accounting and insurance requirements;
• protect the safety and wellbeing of clients and others where necessary; and
• deal with safeguarding concerns or serious risks to a person.
4. Lawful Bases for Using Your Personal Information
Data protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for using personal information. Depending on the purpose, I may rely on the following lawful bases:
- Contract: I use personal information where this is necessary to provide the hypnotherapy services you have requested and to manage our agreement.
- Legitimate interests: I may use information where this is necessary for the legitimate interests of running my practice, providing and managing my services, maintaining appropriate records, and protecting my business, provided these interests do not override your rights and interests.
- Legal obligation: I may need to process information where I am legally required to do so, for example for certain financial, accounting or legal requirements.
- Vital interests: In an emergency, I may use or share information where this is necessary to protect someone’s life.
For certain optional communications, such as newsletters, I will obtain consent where required.
5. Health Information and Other Special Category Data
Information about your physical or mental health and wellbeing is considered special category personal data and receives additional protection under UK data protection law.
For health information that is necessary to assess your needs, provide hypnotherapy and maintain your client record, I rely on explicit consent under Article 9(2)(a) of the UK GDPR, alongside the relevant Article 6 lawful basis described above.
You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting me. However, because relevant health information is necessary to provide hypnotherapy safely and appropriately, withdrawing consent may mean that I am unable to continue providing hypnotherapy. Withdrawal will not affect processing that has already taken place lawfully.
In limited circumstances, another Article 9 condition may apply – for example, where processing is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim, or to protect someone’s vital interests where they are physically or legally incapable of giving consent. I only collect health information that is relevant and necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.
6. Safeguarding and Serious Risk
Confidentiality is an important part of the therapeutic relationship. However, there may be circumstances where I need to use or share information without your permission. This may include situations where:
- I have serious concerns about your safety or wellbeing;
• there is a serious risk of harm to another person;
• there is a safeguarding concern involving a child or vulnerable person;
• sharing information is necessary in an emergency to protect someone’s life;
• I am legally required to disclose information; or
• disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.
Where information needs to be shared, I will aim to share only information that is relevant and necessary for the particular situation.
7. Optional Communications
You can choose whether you would like to receive certain additional communications from me. These may include:
- requests for feedback or evaluation; and
• occasional newsletters or information about Vicky Sutherland Hypnotherapy.
Core service communications, such as booking confirmations, session reminders, scheduling changes, relaxation tracks and other information or materials directly relating to your treatment, are handled under our core service agreement and are not treated as optional marketing.
8. Do I Have to Provide My Information?
Some information is necessary for me to provide hypnotherapy, communicate with you, manage your appointments and maintain appropriate client records. If you choose not to provide information that is necessary for these purposes, I may not be able to provide or continue providing hypnotherapy. Optional communication preferences are not required in order to receive treatment.
9. Where I Get Personal Information From
I normally collect personal information directly from you. In some circumstances, information may also be provided by:
• a parent or guardian, where the client is under 18;
• a family member or carer, where appropriate;
• another health or care professional, where appropriate and lawful;
• a school, social care service or other organisation involved in safeguarding, where appropriate and lawful; or
• another person or organisation where there is a lawful reason for them to provide the information.
10. How Long I Keep Your Information
I retain personal information only for as long as necessary and in accordance with relevant professional, legal, accounting and insurance requirements. My current retention periods are:
- Adult client records: 8 years after the last interaction.
- Clients under 18 at the last interaction: Until the client’s 25th birthday or eight years after the last interaction, whichever is later.
- Non-client enquiries: 12 months after the last contact.
- Financial records: 6 years, in accordance with relevant financial and tax requirements.
At the end of the relevant retention period, information will be securely deleted or destroyed unless there is a lawful, professional or insurance reason to retain it for longer.
11. Who I Share Information With
I do not sell or routinely share client information with third parties. Where necessary and lawful, information may be shared with healthcare professionals involved in your care, safeguarding authorities, emergency services, legal or insurance advisers, accountants or HMRC, regulators, or another body where disclosure is required or permitted by law. I use the following organisations as data processors in connection with my practice:
- Mulberry Design Studio: Website hosting, domain management and email services.
- Square Payments: Payment processing and invoicing services.
12. Confidentiality
I treat information shared during hypnotherapy as confidential. For clients under 18, I will respect the client’s privacy and confidentiality in an age-appropriate way while also recognising the role and responsibilities of the parent or guardian and my safeguarding obligations.
13. Sharing Information Outside the UK
Some of the organisations I use may process personal information outside the UK (e.g., Square Payments in the US). Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, I will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by UK data protection law.
14. Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
- request access to your personal information;
- ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected;
- ask for your information to be erased in certain circumstances;
- ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances;
- object to certain types of processing; and
- withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis being relied upon.
These rights are subject to certain legal exceptions and circumstances where I may need to retain information, for example where this is necessary to meet legal, professional or insurance requirements.
To exercise your rights, please contact me directly using the contact details above.
15. How to Complain
If you have concerns, please contact me first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator. You can find information about making a complaint at www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or telephone the ICO on 0303 123 1113. My ICO registration number is ZB344789.
16. Changes to This Privacy Notice
I may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The latest version will be made available on my website.
17. Your IP Address and Cookies
a. We will not use your IP address to identify you and your personal information in any way.
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18. Other Websites
This privacy policy only covers this Website. We are not responsible for the content provided by any third party websites which we may be linked to. Please be aware that they will be subject to their own cookie and privacy policy which may differ from ours.
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