Privacy Notice

Last Updated: 19 August 2026

This notice explains what happens to your personal information when you contact me or work with me as a client at The Safe Garden Counselling.

About me as data controller

The Safe Garden Counselling is run by me, Elena Gava. For data protection purposes, I'm the "data controller" — the person responsible for deciding how and why your information is used.

• Email: elena@thesafegarden.co.uk
• Website: https://www.thesafegarden.co.uk/
• ICO registration: ZB875141

If you ever have questions about your data, I'm the person to contact directly using the details above.

What I collect, and where it comes from

Most of what I hold comes straight from you — through my website's contact form, by email, by phone, or in person when we speak.

This can include your name, email address, phone number, and whatever you choose to share in your message or during our conversations.

If you go on to become a client, I'll also hold what's needed to provide therapy responsibly — things like session notes, assessment information, and basic administrative records (appointment times, payment records, and so on).

Why I need it

I use your information for practical, necessary reasons:

• To get back to you when you enquire
• To arrange and manage appointments
• To actually deliver counselling sessions
• To keep the professional records my training and insurance require
• To handle payments
• To meet legal and regulatory obligations, including those set by BACP

The legal grounds I rely on

UK data protection law requires me to have a clear legal reason for processing your data. Depending on the situation, mine is one of the following:

• Contract— because you've asked me to provide therapy, and I need certain information to do that.
• Legitimate interests— for the everyday running of my practice, like replying to enquiries.
• Legal obligation— where the law or a regulator requires me to hold or disclose certain information.
• Health and care provision— since therapy involves sensitive, special-category information about your wellbeing, which has its own legal basis under data protection law.

Keeping your information safe

I take your privacy seriously and take reasonable, practical steps to keep whatever I hold secure — whether that's a paper file kept locked away or information on my own password-protected computer. Only I have access to it, and only for the purposes described here.

Where sessions happen remotely, I use Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

How long I hold on to it

If you get in touch but we don't go on to work together, I'll normally keep your enquiry details for up to 12 months, then delete them securely.

If you become a client, your records are kept for 3 years after our work together ends. This reflects my professional insurance and BACP requirements, and may be extended if the law requires it.

Who else might see it

Your information stays private. I don't sell it, and I don't use it for marketing.

There are a small number of situations where I may need to share something:

• With your consent
• With my clinical supervisor, where possible without identifying you
• If I'm legally required to disclose something
• If I have serious concerns about your safety or someone else's
• If a court or other legal authority orders it

Where I use outside services — my website host, email provider, or video-calling platforms like Zoom and Teams — they're required to handle any data securely and lawfully, just as I am.

Cookies

My website uses cookies that are necessary for it to function. If I ever add analytics or anything beyond that, you'll be given clear information and a choice through the site's cookie settings.

What you're entitled to

Data protection law gives you a number of rights over your own information, including the ability to:

• See what I hold about you
• Ask me to correct anything inaccurate
• Ask me to delete your data, in certain circumstances
• Ask me to limit how it's used, in certain circumstances
• Object to certain types of processing
• Request your data in a portable format, where that applies

To use any of these rights, just get in touch using the contact details above.

If something doesn't feel right

If you're ever unhappy with how I've handled your information, please tell me first at elena@thesafegarden.co.uk — I'll look into it and get back to you within 30 days.

If you're still not satisfied, you're entitled to raise it with the UK's independent regulator:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk

Keeping this notice up to date

I may need to update this notice occasionally. Whenever I do, the latest version will always be available on this page.