Last updated: 14\08\2026

This Privacy Notice explains how RJU Therapy  ("I", "me", "my" or "the Practice") collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you enquire about, book or receive counselling services from me.

I am committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information confidentially and in accordance with UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This Privacy Notice should be read alongside my Terms & Conditions and any other information I provide to you about the use of your personal information.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, I am the data controller of the personal information I hold about you in connection with my counselling practice.

Name: Robert Ursell

Practice name: RJU Therapy
Email: RJUtherapy@gmail.com
Telephone: 07492 725349

If you have any questions about how I use your personal information, please contact me using the details above.

Depending on the circumstances, I may collect and process the following information:

• Your name
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Address, where necessary
• Emergency contact details, where appropriate and where you provide them

• Appointment dates and times
• Appointment history
• Cancellation or non-attendance information
• Correspondence relating to appointments
• Information relating to fees and payments
• Invoices and receipts

In providing counselling, I may process information concerning your mental and physical health, personal circumstances, experiences, relationships and other information that you choose to share with me as part of counselling.

This may constitute special category personal data, including data concerning health, under the UK GDPR.

I only collect and retain information that is relevant and necessary for providing safe and appropriate professional services, managing my practice, meeting legal and professional obligations, and protecting your interests.

Where you make payments through Square, payment transactions are processed through Square Payments. I do not normally have access to your full payment card details.

I may collect information:

• directly from you during an enquiry or consultation;
• when you contact me by telephone, email or other agreed means;
• when we arrange an appointment;
• during counselling sessions;
• when you provide information verbally, in writing or electronically;
• when you make a payment; and
• from information you provide to me for administrative or emergency-contact purposes.

I may also create records during or following counselling sessions as part of maintaining appropriate professional records.

I use Square Appointments to assist with appointment scheduling and administration and Square Payments to process payments.

Because I enter your information into Square myself, information such as your name, contact details, appointment information and relevant administrative information may be entered into and stored within Square's systems.

Payment-related information may also be processed through Square Payments when you make a payment.

Square is a separate organisation and processes personal information in accordance with its own privacy and data protection arrangements. Square's UK information states that personal information may be stored using hosting providers and that payment processing involves third-party service providers for functions such as transaction processing and fraud prevention.

You can read Square's privacy information here: https://squareup.com/gb/en/legal/general/privacy

I use Square for appointment administration and payment processing. 

I do not use Square to store my detailed counselling notes or full clinical records.

I may use your personal information for the following purposes:

• to respond to enquiries;
• to arrange and manage appointments;
• to provide counselling services;
• to communicate with you about your appointments;
• to process payments and issue receipts or invoices;
• to maintain appropriate professional and financial records;
• to manage cancellations and missed appointments;
• to comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations;
• to maintain appropriate records relating to the services I provide;
• to protect your safety and the safety of others where necessary;
• to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and
• to manage and administer my practice.

I will not use your personal information for unrelated purposes unless I have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, have provided you with appropriate information about that further use.

Under the UK GDPR, I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal information.

Depending on the purpose, I may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Where processing is necessary to provide the counselling services you have requested or to take steps at your request before entering into an agreement.

Where I need to process information in order to comply with a legal obligation.

Where processing is necessary for my legitimate interests in operating and administering my practice, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

In exceptional circumstances, information may be processed where this is necessary to protect someone's vital interests.

Information concerning your mental or physical health is special category data and requires an additional condition for processing under Article 9 of the UK GDPR.

For the provision and management of counselling services, I intend to rely on:

Article 9(2)(h) – health or social care, together with the applicable condition under Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018, where the legal requirements for this condition apply to my practice.

I may rely on another Article 9 condition where appropriate to the particular processing involved.

The ICO confirms that special category data requires both an Article 6 lawful basis and a separate Article 9 condition.

Confidentiality is an essential part of counselling.

I will normally keep information you provide during counselling confidential and will not disclose it to other people without your consent, except where there is a lawful and appropriate reason to do so.

There may be circumstances where confidentiality cannot be maintained, for example where disclosure is required or permitted by law, where there is a serious and imminent risk of harm, or where disclosure is necessary to protect a child or vulnerable person.

Where possible and appropriate, I will discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand.

This Privacy Notice does not override my professional or legal duties concerning confidentiality and safeguarding.

I will only disclose your personal information where there is a legitimate reason and where permitted or required by law.

Depending on the circumstances, information may be shared with:

• Square, in connection with appointment administration and payment processing;
• professional advisers, where necessary;
• IT, email, website or other service providers who support the operation of my practice;
• regulatory, legal or statutory bodies where I am legally required to provide information;
• emergency services or other appropriate persons where necessary to protect someone's vital interests;
• insurers or legal advisers where necessary; and
• other healthcare or professional services where you have requested or authorised this and it is appropriate to do so.

I will not sell your personal information.

I may use email to communicate with you about appointments, administration, invoices, payments and other matters relating to your counselling.

Please be aware that ordinary email is not necessarily a completely secure method of communication.

For this reason, I will generally avoid including detailed counselling or clinical information in ordinary appointment emails.

If you prefer not to receive appointment information by email, please let me know so that we can discuss an alternative method of communication.

I may use telephone calls and, where agreed, text messages for appointment administration and communication.

I will generally keep messages brief and administrative and will avoid including detailed confidential counselling information in text messages.

I take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against:

• unauthorised access;
• accidental loss;
• destruction;
• misuse;
• alteration; and
• unauthorised disclosure.

Access to your information is limited to what is reasonably necessary for the operation of my practice.

Because counselling information can be highly sensitive, I take particular care to minimise the amount of personal information stored and to use appropriate security measures.

I retain personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, professional, accounting and insurance requirements. 

Different types of information may therefore be retained for different periods.

My retention periods are based on the nature of the information, the purpose for which it is held, applicable legal and professional requirements, and the need to be able to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Current professional standards require me to retain client contact, clinical information and notes for 7 years. When information is no longer required, I will securely delete or dispose of it, subject to any legal requirement to retain it.

Personal information may be stored electronically using secure systems and third-party service providers used in the operation of my practice.

This includes Square Appointments and Square Payments for appointment administration and payment processing.

Some service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, I will ensure that any required safeguards under UK data protection law are in place.

Square's own documentation explains that it may store personal information using hosting providers and use third-party service providers in connection with its services.

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights including:

• the right to be informed about how your personal information is used;
• the right to request access to the personal information I hold about you;
• the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• the right to request deletion of your information in certain circumstances;
• the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
• the right to object to certain processing; and
• the right to data portability where applicable.

These rights are subject to legal requirements and exceptions. For example, I may not always be able to delete information where I have a legal or professional obligation to retain it.

If you wish to exercise a data protection right, please contact me using the details in Section 2.

You have the right to ask for a copy of the personal information I hold about you, subject to applicable legal exemptions.

If you wish to make a request, please contact me in writing at RJUtherapy@gmail.com

I may need to verify your identity before providing information.

If you have concerns about how I have handled your personal information, I would encourage you to contact me first so that I can try to resolve your concerns.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which is the UK's independent supervisory authority for data protection.

ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/

ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113

I may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in my practice, the services I use, legal requirements or data protection practices.

The most recent version will be published on my website and will show the date on which it was last updated.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how I process your personal information, please contact:

Robert Ursell
Email: RJUtherapy@gmail.com 

Telephone: 07492 725349

Privacy Notice last updated: 14\08\2026