Effective Date: June 2024

At The Burnout Therapist ("we", "us", or "our"), we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal data when you use our website and services. This policy complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

The Burnout Therapist is a counselling and therapy practice based in Ayrshire, Scotland. We specialide in helping clients manage stress, prevent burnout, and promote mental well-being. Our goal is to provide a safe, supportive, and confidential space for our clients.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you:

• Book a counselling session

• Contact us via the website, email, or phone

• Fill out forms or questionnaires on our website

• Use our services

The types of personal information we collect include:

• Personal Identification Data: Name, email address, phone number, address, date of birth

• Health Information: Information related to your mental and physical health relevant to the counselling services we provide

• Payment Data: Payment details for booking and paying for sessions

• Technical Data: IP address, browser type, and website usage data through cookies (if applicable)

We do not collect more information than necessary to provide our services, and we ensure that all sensitive data is handled with the utmost care.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide you with professional counselling services

• To manage bookings and appointments

• To communicate with you, including responding to your queries and providing service updates

• To process payments

• To comply with legal obligations and regulations

• To improve the functionality and experience of our website (if applicable)

We will only use your data for the above purposes where we have a legal basis, such as your consent, the performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations, or legitimate interests in managing our services.

4. Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

The legal bases for processing your personal data under the UK GDPR are:

• Consent: You have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for specific purposes.

• Contract: Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract (e.g., to provide counselling services).

• Legal Obligation: Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.

• Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, such as improving our services, except where your interests or fundamental rights override these.

5. How We Store and Protect Your Data

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online and offline.

• Electronic Data: All personal data is stored on secure systems that are password-protected and encrypted.

• Physical Data: If any personal data is held in physical form, it is kept securely in locked cabinets and accessible only to authorised personnel.

We retain your data for as long as necessary to provide our services and meet legal and regulatory requirements. After this period, we will securely delete or anonymise your data.

6. Sharing Your Information

We respect the confidentiality of your data and will not share your personal information with third parties unless:

• You provide explicit consent

• We are required to by law or regulatory authorities

• It is necessary for the performance of the services (e.g., payment processors)

• There is a legal or safeguarding obligation to protect your health, safety, or the safety of others

Where necessary, we will ensure that any third-party service providers (e.g., payment platforms) comply with UK GDPR regulations.

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have rights regarding your personal data, which include:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request copies of the personal data we hold about you.

• Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data.

• Right to Erasure: You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, subject to legal requirements.

• Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances.

• Right to Data Portability: You can request that we transfer your data to another organisation or provide it to you in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

• Right to Object: You can object to the processing of your data in certain circumstances, such as for direct marketing.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at lauren@theburnouttherapist.co.uk. We will respond to your request within one month.

8. Data Security

While we take all reasonable measures to protect your data, please note that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. However, we use the best available technology and practices to ensure the security of your data.

9. Cookies and Website Data

Our website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, or alert you when cookies are being used. However, this may affect the functionality of our website.

We may use third-party analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to collect anonymised data about website usage, helping us understand how visitors engage with our site. This data does not personally identify you.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal, regulatory, or operational requirements. When we do, we will post the updated policy on this page and update the June 2024 at the top.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at:

• Email: lauren@theburnouttherapist.co.uk

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk/.