Legal — Privacy policy
What I keep about you, why, and for how long.
You are trusting me with some of the most private things in your life. This page explains exactly what happens to that information. Anything in [square brackets] is template text to replace with your own practice details.
Last updated
[13 September 2026]
Data controller
Ellis Hart Psychology
ICO registration
[ZA000000]
Contact
hello@ellishart.co.uk
Ellis Hart Psychology is the data controller for the personal information described here. That means I decide how it is used and I am responsible for looking after it. The practice is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), registration number [ZA000000].
What I collect
Contact details: your name, email address and, if you choose to give it, a phone number.
What you tell me when you get in touch, through the website form, by email or on the free call.
Clinical notes: brief, factual records of our sessions, kept once therapy begins.
Payment records: dates, amounts and how you paid. I never see or store your card details.
No notes are taken on the free 15-minute call.
Why I use it, and the legal basis
I use your contact details to reply to you, arrange sessions and take payment. The legal basis is that this is necessary to provide the service you have asked for (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)), and to keep the financial records the law requires (Article 6(1)(c)).
Information about your mental health is special category data. I process it because it is necessary for the provision of health care by a registered health professional who owes you a duty of confidentiality (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h), with Schedule 1, paragraph 2 of the Data Protection Act 2018).
I do not use your information for marketing, and I never sell it or share it with advertisers.
Messages sent through this website
When you use the form on the Book a call page, your message comes straight to my practice inbox. It is not added to a mailing list, and nothing is shared with anyone.
Who else may see it
Only a small number of services that help me run the practice, each bound by a contract to protect your data: [my email provider], [my video platform] and [my accountant, for payment records only]. None of them can use your information for anything else.
I will only share clinical information without your agreement in the situations set out in my Terms & Conditions: a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, a safeguarding concern, or a court order.
How long I keep it
If we only exchange messages or have the free call, I delete your details within [6 months]. If we work together, I keep clinical notes for [8 years] after our last session, in line with [professional guidance], and financial records for [6 years] for tax purposes. After that, they are securely deleted.
Your rights
See the information I hold about you, free of charge.
Ask me to correct anything that is wrong.
Ask me to delete your information or limit how I use it. I may need to keep some records where the law requires it.
Object to how your information is used, or ask for a copy to take elsewhere.
To use any of these rights, email hello@ellishart.co.uk. I will reply within one month.
This website
[This website does not use advertising or tracking cookies.] I only see [anonymous visit counts], which cannot identify you.
If you are unhappy
Please tell me first, by email or phone. I will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and deal with it as quickly as I can. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, or on 0303 123 1113 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the date at the top of this page will change too, and current clients will hear from me directly.