Privacy Policy

1. Who I am

I am Victoria Jeckells, a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor and Hypnotherapist based in Norwich, Norfolk. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, I am the data controller for any personal information you provide to me.

2. What information I collect

I may collect the following types of personal information:

• Contact details — your name, telephone number, and email address
• Health and wellbeing information — what has brought you to therapy, your presenting concerns, and session notes. This is special category data under UK GDPR and is handled with additional care
• Communication preferences — your preferred contact method and best time to be reached
• Referral information — how you heard about my practice
• Session records — brief anonymised notes made after sessions to support your therapeutic work

3. Why I hold your information and the legal basis for doing so

Under UK GDPR, I rely on the following lawful bases for processing your data:

• Legitimate interests — to respond to your initial enquiry and manage the administration of my practice
• Contract — once we begin working together, to deliver the therapy service you have engaged me to provide
• Explicit consent — for the collection and processing of special category (health) data. You may withdraw this consent at any time; please note that doing so may mean I am unable to continue providing therapy
• Legal obligation — where I am required by law to retain certain records

4. How I use your information

Your information is used solely to:

• Respond to your initial enquiry and arrange a consultation
• Provide ongoing counselling and hypnotherapy services
• Keep brief session notes to support the continuity and quality of your care
• Meet my professional obligations as a member of the NCPS and the National Hypnotherapy Society
• Comply with any legal or safeguarding obligations

I will never use your information for marketing purposes without your explicit consent, and I will never sell your data to any third party.

5. Who I share your information with

Your information is kept strictly confidential. As a professional requirement of my membership bodies, I receive regular clinical supervision. Client material discussed in supervision is always fully anonymised — your name and identifying details are never shared.

In very limited circumstances, I may be required to share information without your consent:

• Where there is a serious and immediate risk of harm to you or another person
• Where I am legally required to do so (e.g. by a court order)
• Where safeguarding obligations require it

Where any such disclosure is made, I will, wherever possible and appropriate, discuss this with you first.

6. How long I keep your information

• Client records (adults) — retained for 7 years from the date of your last session, in line with NCPS professional guidance
• Client records (young people under 18) — retained until the young person's 25th birthday, or 7 years from the last session, whichever is longer
• Enquiries that did not proceed to therapy — contact details are deleted within 6 months of the last communication

After the relevant retention period, all records are securely and permanently destroyed.

7. How I protect your information

I take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including:

• Paper records stored securely in a locked cabinet
• Digital records protected by strong passwords and, where possible, encryption
• Devices used to store client information are password-protected
• This website uses HTTPS to protect data submitted via the contact form

8. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact me directly. I will respond within one calendar month.

9. ICO registration and complaints

I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller. If you have concerns about how I handle your personal data that you feel I have not addressed satisfactorily, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO:

I would always welcome the opportunity to address any concerns you have directly before a complaint is made to the ICO.

10. Cookies and this website

This website uses only the cookies strictly necessary for it to function. No analytics, tracking, or advertising cookies are set without your prior consent. If you have any questions about how cookies are used on this site, please contact me directly.

11. Changes to this policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, in response to changes in legislation or professional guidance. The date at the top of this page will always reflect when it was last revised. I encourage you to review it periodically.

12. Contact me about privacy

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how I handle your data, please do not hesitate to get in touch: