Privacy Notice

Onward Counselling respects your privacy and takes the protection of your personal information seriously.

This Privacy Notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect your information when you visit this website, make an enquiry, book an appointment, receive counselling or use Student Mentoring.

Onward Counselling is the trading name of Ruth Barnes, a sole trader based in England.

This notice should be read alongside the Cookie Policy where relevant.

1. Who is responsible for your information

Ruth Barnes, trading as Onward Counselling, is the data controller responsible for personal information processed through the practice.

This means I decide how and why personal information is used and am responsible for handling it in accordance with UK data-protection law.

Contact details:

2. Information I collect

The information I collect depends on how you interact with Onward Counselling.

Website enquiries

If you contact me through the website, I may collect:

• your name
• email address
• telephone number, where provided
• whether your enquiry relates to Counselling or Student Mentoring
• information you choose to include in your message

Please avoid including detailed or highly sensitive personal information in an initial website enquiry unless it is necessary.

Bookings

When you book an appointment, information may include:

• first name
• last name
• email address
• telephone number
• appointment date and time
• information you choose to enter into a booking notes field

The website uses the HUXTON-managed booking system (using HighLevel infrastructure) for enquiry and booking functionality.

Counselling information

If you become a counselling client, I may process information necessary to provide counselling and maintain appropriate professional records.

This may include:

• your contact details
• appointment information
• counselling agreements and relevant administrative records
• information you share during counselling
• information relating to your wellbeing, experiences or circumstances
• counselling notes

Counselling notes are kept as paper records and stored securely.

Because of the nature of counselling, some of this information may be sensitive personal information, including information concerning your mental or physical health.

Student Mentoring

If you use Student Mentoring, I may process:

• contact information
• appointment information
• information about your counselling studies
• information you choose to discuss as part of mentoring
• relevant administrative records

Payments

Counselling payments are made by bank transfer.

I may retain appropriate payment and financial records for accounting and tax purposes.

Onward Counselling does not collect or store debit or credit card details through this website.

Website and technical information

When you use the website, limited technical information may also be processed through necessary website technologies.

Optional cookies or similar technologies will only be used where appropriate consent has been obtained.

More information is available in the Cookie Policy.

3. How information is used

I use personal information only where there is a clear and appropriate reason to do so.

This may include:

• responding to enquiries
• arranging free consultations
• arranging and managing counselling appointments
• communicating with clients
• providing counselling services
• providing Student Mentoring
• maintaining appropriate professional and administrative records
• managing payments and financial records
• maintaining the security and operation of the practice
• meeting professional, safeguarding, legal or regulatory responsibilities
• responding to data-protection requests or complaints

I do not use counselling enquiry or client information for unrelated promotional marketing.

If this changes in the future, appropriate consent and privacy information will be provided where required.

4. Sensitive and health information

Counselling can involve information about your physical or mental health and other aspects of your private life.

This is known under data-protection law as special category personal data and receives additional protection.

Information relating to the fact that someone is receiving counselling may itself reveal information about their health or wellbeing.

I only process this type of information where it is necessary and appropriate for providing counselling, maintaining safe professional practice, or meeting relevant legal or safeguarding responsibilities.

I do not ask you to provide more sensitive information than is reasonably necessary.

5. Lawful bases for using information

UK data-protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on:

Contract and steps before a contract

Where information is necessary to:

• respond to an enquiry about services
• arrange counselling or Student Mentoring
• manage appointments
• provide the service you have agreed to receive

Legitimate interests

Where necessary for the legitimate operation of Onward Counselling, including:

• administering the practice
• responding to communications
• maintaining appropriate records
• protecting the security of the website and practice
• supporting safe and professional practice

I only rely on legitimate interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Legal obligation

Where I need to process information to comply with a legal requirement, including appropriate financial, tax, safeguarding or data-protection obligations.

Vital interests

In exceptional circumstances, information may be processed where this is necessary to protect someone's life or physical safety.

Consent

Where consent is the appropriate lawful basis, for example for certain optional website cookies or technologies.

Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

Special category information

For counselling-related health and wellbeing information, I generally rely on Article 9(2)(h) of the UK GDPR where processing is necessary for the provision of health or care-related support and is subject to a duty of confidentiality.

This is used alongside an appropriate Article 6 lawful basis.

In exceptional circumstances, another condition permitted by data-protection law may apply, including where processing is necessary to protect vital interests or meet safeguarding responsibilities.

6. Confidentiality, supervision and disclosure

What you share during counselling is treated confidentially.

As part of safe and ethical counselling practice, I attend clinical supervision.

Supervision provides a confidential professional space for me to reflect on my work and maintain appropriate standards of practice.

Information discussed in supervision is minimised and anonymised wherever reasonably practical. Full identifying information is not routinely shared.

There are limited circumstances where confidentiality may need to be broken or information shared.

These may include:

• where there is a serious concern about your safety or somebody else's safety
• safeguarding concerns
• where disclosure is required by law
• where I am required to respond to a valid legal or regulatory request
• where information is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim

Where it is safe and appropriate to do so, I would normally aim to discuss a necessary disclosure with you first.

Only information that is reasonably necessary would be shared.

7. Service providers

I use carefully selected third-party services to help operate Onward Counselling.

HUXTON booking system / HighLevel infrastructure

HUXTON provides and manages the booking system for Onward Counselling using HighLevel infrastructure. This covers parts of the website, enquiry handling, contact management, booking calendars and appointment administration.

When the booking system processes information on behalf of Onward Counselling, HighLevel acts as a data processor.

HighLevel uses its own authorised subprocessors and cloud infrastructure to provide these services.

Other service providers

Personal information may also be processed by trusted providers where necessary for:

• website hosting and technical operation
• business email
• IT and website support
• banking and payment administration
• professional or legal support where required

These providers are only permitted to process information for appropriate purposes and subject to relevant data-protection obligations.

I do not sell personal information.

8. International transfers

Some technology providers used by Onward Counselling operate internationally.

In particular, the HighLevel infrastructure used by the HUXTON-managed booking system uses infrastructure and subprocessors outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK and the transfer is subject to UK data-transfer rules, appropriate safeguards must be used.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

• UK adequacy regulations
• approved contractual safeguards
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement
• the UK Addendum to approved Standard Contractual Clauses
• another transfer mechanism permitted by UK data-protection law

The purpose of these safeguards is to ensure that personal information continues to receive an appropriate level of protection when processed outside the UK.

9. How long information is kept

I do not keep personal information indefinitely.

Information is retained only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected and for relevant professional, legal or regulatory requirements.

Counselling records and notes

Counselling records and paper counselling notes are retained for 5 years after counselling ends.

Student Mentoring records

Student Mentoring information is kept only for as long as reasonably necessary for the mentoring relationship, administration and any relevant professional or legal requirements.

Enquiries

Enquiries that do not become an ongoing client relationship are kept only for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the enquiry and deal with any related administration.

Where enquiry or booking information becomes part of an ongoing client record, it may be retained with that record.

Booking and administrative information

Booking and administrative information is retained for as long as reasonably necessary to manage appointments and the client relationship, subject to any relevant legal or professional requirement.

Financial and tax records

As a sole trader, I retain relevant business and tax records for the period required by HM Revenue & Customs.

This is normally at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year.

Legal or safeguarding information

Where information is connected with a safeguarding matter, complaint, legal claim or other legal requirement, it may need to be retained for longer where this is necessary and lawful.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely destroyed or deleted.

10. How information is protected

I take reasonable steps to protect personal information against:

• unauthorised access
• loss
• misuse
• inappropriate disclosure
• alteration
• destruction

Paper counselling records are stored securely and access is restricted.

Digital information is handled through password-protected systems and trusted service providers with appropriate security controls.

Access to personal information is limited to those who reasonably need it for the purposes described in this notice.

No method of storing or transmitting information can be guaranteed to be completely risk-free, but reasonable technical and organisational measures are used to protect the information held.

11. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, you may have rights including:

• the right to be informed about how your information is used
• the right to request access to your personal information
• the right to have inaccurate information corrected
• the right to request deletion of information in certain circumstances
• the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
• the right to object to certain processing
• the right to data portability where applicable
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• rights relating to automated decision-making where applicable

These rights are not absolute and some may not apply in every situation.

For example, information may need to be retained where there is an overriding legal, professional or regulatory reason.

To exercise a data-protection right, contact:

ruth@onward-counselling.com

I may need to confirm your identity before releasing or changing personal information.

12. Data-protection complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled, please contact me first so I have the opportunity to investigate.

Contact:

ruth@onward-counselling.com

I will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days of receiving it.

I will take appropriate steps to investigate the complaint, keep you appropriately informed and provide an outcome without unjustifiable or excessive delay.

You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's independent data-protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office:

www.ico.org.uk

13. Clients aged 16–17

Onward Counselling offers counselling to people aged 16 and over.

Personal information belonging to clients aged 16 or 17 is treated with the same care, confidentiality and data-protection principles as information belonging to adult clients.

Because safeguarding responsibilities can be particularly important when working with younger people, there may be circumstances where relevant information needs to be shared to protect the client or another person.

Any such decision would be considered carefully and only information that is reasonably necessary would be shared.

14. Cookies and analytics

The website uses cookies and similar technologies where necessary for the website to operate.

Optional cookies or analytics technologies will only be used where permitted by law and, where required, after you have made a choice through the website's Cookie Settings.

For more information about the cookies used, their purposes and how to manage your preferences, please see:

• Cookie Policy
• Cookie Settings (available in the website footer)

15. Automated decision-making

Onward Counselling does not use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

Automated administrative processes such as appointment confirmations, reminders or booking workflows are used only to help operate the practice and are not used to make significant decisions about you.

16. Changes to this notice

This Privacy Notice may be updated from time to time to reflect:

• changes to the services offered by Onward Counselling
• changes to the way personal information is handled
• changes to technology or service providers
• changes to data-protection law or regulatory guidance

The latest version will be published on this website.

Last updated: September 2026

17. Contact

If you have a question about this Privacy Notice, your personal information or your data-protection rights, please contact: