Privacy policy.

Last updated: July 2026

This privacy notice explains how I collect, use and store personal information in relation to enquiries and therapy services.

Who I am

I am Jess Richards, a UKCP-registered psychotherapist offering counselling and psychotherapy online and in person in Exeter and Plymouth.

For data protection purposes, I am the data controller for the personal information I collect and use.

You can contact me at:

jessrichards.therapy@outlook.com

What information I collect

When you contact me, I may collect:

  • your name

  • email address

  • phone number

  • brief information about what you are looking for support with

  • your availability

  • whether you are interested in online or in-person therapy

If we agree to work together, I may also collect:

  • your address

  • date of birth

  • emergency contact details

  • relevant health, mental health and personal history

  • brief therapy notes

  • payment and invoice information

  • correspondence between us

Please do not include highly sensitive information in the website contact form. It is intended for initial enquiries only.

How I use your information

I use your information to:

  • respond to enquiries

  • arrange an initial conversation

  • decide whether I may be able to offer a suitable service

  • provide therapy if we agree to work together

  • keep appropriate clinical and administrative records

  • manage appointments, invoices and payments

  • meet legal, professional and ethical responsibilities

Lawful basis for using your information

I use personal information where it is necessary to respond to your enquiry, take steps towards entering into a therapy agreement, provide therapy, keep appropriate records, meet legal obligations, and maintain the safe and ethical running of my practice.

Where I process information about your health, mental health or therapy, this is treated as special category data. I process this information because it is necessary for the provision of health or social care, and because I have professional duties of confidentiality.

In some situations, I may also need to use or share information to protect your vital interests or someone else’s vital interests, for example if there is a serious and immediate risk of harm.

Confidentiality and sharing information

Therapy is confidential, but confidentiality is not absolute.

I may share limited information where necessary with:

  • my clinical supervisor, usually without using your full name

  • professional advisers, insurers or legal advisers if needed

  • my professional body or regulator if required

  • emergency services, your GP or crisis services if there is a serious risk of harm

  • another person or organisation where I am legally required to do so

I only share information when there is a clear reason to do so, and I aim to share the minimum necessary information.

Services I use

I may use secure third-party services to support the running of my practice, such as email, website forms, video calls, invoicing, payment processing, accounting and record keeping.

These services may process personal information on my behalf. I aim to choose services that provide appropriate security and data protection safeguards.

How long I keep information

If you contact me but we do not go on to work together, I will usually delete your enquiry information within 12 months.

If we work together, I will usually keep therapy records for 7 years after our work ends, unless there is a legal, professional or safeguarding reason to keep them for longer.

Financial records are usually kept for 6 years for tax and accounting purposes.

Your rights

You have rights under data protection law. These may include the right to:

  • ask for a copy of the personal information I hold about you

  • ask for inaccurate information to be corrected

  • ask for information to be deleted in some circumstances

  • ask for restriction of processing in some circumstances

  • object to processing in some circumstances

  • make a complaint about how your information is handled

These rights are not always absolute, particularly where I have a legal, professional or safeguarding reason to keep certain information.

Security

I take reasonable steps to keep your personal information secure. However, email and website forms are not completely risk-free, so please avoid sending highly sensitive information through the contact form or by email before we have agreed how we will work together.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how I handle your information, please contact me first so that I can try to resolve this with you.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
www.ico.org.uk
0303 123 1113