Privacy Policy

Effective Date: May 27, 2026

Welcome to Olive Tree Counselling Services. We are dedicated to providing a stable, safe, and accommodating environment that facilitates growth and promotes psychological well-being. When you access our website (https://olivetreetalkingtherapy.co.uk/) and utilize our therapeutic services, we process personal information.

We take your privacy and confidentiality with the utmost seriousness. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, protect, and share your personal data in strict compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Important Information and Who We Are

Data Controller

Olive Tree Counselling Services is the “Data Controller” (referred to as “we”, “us”, or “our” in this policy). This means we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is processed.

Contact Details

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, your data rights, or how we handle your confidential information, please contact us using the details below:

  • Full Name of Legal Entity: Olive Tree Counselling Services

  • Email Address: [Insert your professional email address, e.g., support@olivetreetalkingtherapy.co.uk]

  • Postal Address: [Insert your West Yorkshire or formal business address]

  • Telephone Number: [Insert your telephone number]

2. The Data We Collect About You

Personal data means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. Because we provide professional counseling and addiction rehabilitation programs, we process two tiers of data:

A. Standard Personal Data

This is generic information you provide when making an inquiry, booking an appointment, or submitting a referral through our website contact forms:

  • Identity Data: First name, last name, date of birth, gender.

  • Contact Data: Email address, telephone number, home address.

  • Financial Data: Payment card details, billing details, and records of payments for individual, block, or couple/family sessions.

  • Technical & Usage Data: Your IP address, browser type, operating system, and details about how you use our website.

B. Special Category Data (Sensitive Health Data)

Due to the nature of therapeutic relationships, you or a family member may share highly sensitive personal data. This includes:

  • Details about your psychological, mental, and emotional health history.

  • Information regarding presenting issues such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, stress, relationship challenges, childhood trauma, attachment issues, and eating disorders.

  • Sensitive data relating to alcohol dependency, substance abuse, and addiction rehabilitation history (e.g., relating to heroin, cocaine, MDMA, prescription drugs, ecstasy, or detox support).

  • Information regarding your lifestyle, family dynamics, cultural background, and spiritual dimensions.

3. How and Why We Use Your Personal Data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we use your data under the following Legal Bases defined by the UK GDPR:

  1. Performance of a Contract: To fulfill our agreement to provide therapeutic, counseling, ecotherapy, or crisis rehabilitation services to you or your family.

  2. Legitimate Interests: To effectively manage our practice, reply to website contact forms, improve website performance, and maintain proper accounting records.

  3. Legal Obligation: Where we are required by law to retain records or report specific safety/criminal risks.

Legal Basis for Special Category (Health) Data

When we process your sensitive mental health or addiction data, we rely on the following additional strict conditions under Article 9 of the UK GDPR:

  • Provision of Health or Social Care (Article 9(2)(h)): Processing is necessary for the provision of professional counseling, health care, or treatment under confidentiality agreements.

  • Explicit Consent (Article 9(2)(a)): In certain online assessment or referral scenarios, you explicitly consent to provide this health data so that we may safely evaluate how to support you.

4. How We Collect Your Data

We collect data through different methods:

  • Direct Interaction: You fill out forms on our website (“BOOK AN APPOINTMENT” or contact forms), call us for your free 15-minute phone consultation, or correspond with us by email.

  • Referrals: Parents, guardians, or professionals may submit data regarding young people and teenage crisis services.

  • Automated Technologies: As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect technical data about your equipment and browsing patterns via cookies.

5. Confidentiality, Safety, and Data Sharing

The Cornerstone of Therapy

What you share during your therapeutic journey is held in strict confidence. All our therapists are proudly registered with credible professional bodies (such as the BACP) and adhere to rigorous ethical frameworks regarding client confidentiality.

Exceptions to Confidentiality (When We May Share Data)

We will never sell your data or share it with third parties for marketing. We will only share your personal or health data outside of Olive Tree Counselling Services in the following rare and legally permitted circumstances:

  1. Safeguarding & Duty of Care: If we have a reasonable belief that you or someone else (especially a child or vulnerable adult) is at serious risk of severe harm, abuse, or danger to life.

  2. Legal and Statutory Obligations: If required to do so by a court of law, statutory regulations, or to prevent serious criminal acts.

  3. Professional Supervision: As required by BACP or relevant registration bodies, counselors regularly discuss casework with a qualified clinical supervisor to maintain safe practice. This is done anonymously without disclosing your identifying details.

  4. Trusted Service Providers: We share necessary operational data with strict GDPR-compliant technical processors (e.g., secure clinical booking software, payment gateways, and encrypted email hosting tools).

6. International Data Transfers

Our practice is based in West Yorkshire, UK. If any of our technical service providers (such as website hosts or secure software platforms) store data outside the UK, we ensure they implement standard contractual clauses or data protection frameworks approved by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to give your data the exact same level of security.

7. Data Security

We have put in place robust, enterprise-grade security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, altered, disclosed, or accessed in an unauthorized way.

Access to your therapeutic records and sensitive personal information is strictly limited to your assigned professional counselor and authorized staff who have a specific business need to know and are bound by legal duties of absolute confidentiality.

8. Data Retention

How long will we keep your personal data?

We will only retain your personal and health data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, clinical safety, or reporting requirements.

Generally, clinical and therapeutic session notes are securely stored for 7 years following the termination of therapy, in line with standard UK psychological and medical indemnity insurance and professional best practices. For children and teenagers, records may be kept longer (typically 7 years after they reach the age of 18). After this period, your data is securely and permanently destroyed.

9. Your Legal Rights

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have comprehensive rights regarding your personal data:

  • Request Access (Subject Access Request): You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, including your clinical intake details or session logs.

  • Request Correction: You can request that we correct any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you.

  • Request Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You can ask us to delete personal data, though this right is subject to clinical and legal retention mandates that require us to legally hold records for a specific period.

  • Object to Processing / Restrict Processing: You can ask us to pause or object to the processing of your data.

  • Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your data, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please email us directly at [Insert your email address]. We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within one calendar month.

Right to Complain

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, deeply appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns directly before you approach the ICO, so please contact us first.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, or social media applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We keep our Privacy Policy under regular review to ensure it always matches modern data laws and our clinical workflows. Any changes we make will be posted on this page. Please check back frequently to see any updates.