Last updated: May 2026
Who I am
I’m Sarah Sloan, a BACP registered counsellor practising as Sarah Sloan Counselling. I am the data controller for any personal information you share with me.
You can contact me at:
I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) with a registration number available upon request.
How this website handles your information
This website is deliberately built to collect as little personal data as possible.
What the website itself collects
The website collects no personal data directly. There is no contact form, no account creation, and no comments section. There are no tracking cookies and no advertising or remarketing tools.
Analytics
This website uses no analytics tools. No information about your visit is collected or recorded.
When you email me
If you choose to email me — whether through the contact link on this site or directly — your email arrives in my inbox like any other email. At that point I become the data controller for the information you’ve shared, and the rest of this policy explains how I handle it.
What I do with information you send me
When you email me, I collect:
- Your name (as provided in your email)
- Your email address
- The content of your message
If we go on to work together, I will collect additional information necessary to provide counselling — contact details, relevant clinical information, session notes. This is covered in a separate working agreement we’ll go through together at our first session.
I use this information solely to:
- Respond to your enquiry
- Arrange and manage our work together if we proceed
- Meet my professional obligations as a BACP registered counsellor
I will not:
- Sell your information to anyone
- Share your information with third parties for marketing
- Use your information for any purpose other than the work between us
Legal basis for processing
I process your personal data on the following bases under UK GDPR:
- Legitimate interest — when responding to an initial enquiry, it’s in both our interests for me to read and reply to your email
- Contract — once we agree to work together, processing is necessary to provide the counselling service
- Legal obligation — to comply with my professional and legal duties as a counsellor, including BACP requirements and any statutory obligations
For health-related information you share (which counts as special category data under GDPR), the additional basis is explicit consent or provision of health care, depending on context.
How long I keep your information
- Email enquiries that don’t lead to therapy: kept for up to 12 months, then deleted.
- Information about clients in active therapy: kept securely for the duration of our work together, and afterwards in line with professional record-keeping requirements.
Where your information is stored
- Emails are stored in my email account, provided by Gmail. Access is secured with 2FA.
- Clinical notes for active clients are stored separately, securely, and in line with BACP guidance.
- The website itself stores nothing about you — it is a static site with no database.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Access the personal data I hold about you
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
- Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”) — subject to my legal obligations to retain certain records
- Restrict how I process your data
- Object to processing
- Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent
To exercise any of these rights, please email me at sarahsloancounselling@gmail.com . I aim to respond to formal requests within one calendar month, as required by UK GDPR.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how I’m handling your personal data, please contact me first — I’d rather address it directly. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will reflect when changes were made. If changes materially affect how your information is used, I’ll let active clients know directly.
