Privacy Policy
Brain Botanics Therapy
Last updated: 19 October 2026
1. Introduction
Brain Botanics Counselling and Psychotherapy is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with care, confidentiality and respect.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website, contact us, book a consultation or access our counselling and psychotherapy services.
We recognise that information shared in the context of therapy can be particularly sensitive. We take our responsibilities under UK data protection legislation seriously and aim to be transparent about how your information is handled.
This policy applies to information collected through our website and in connection with our counselling and psychotherapy services.
2. Who We Are
Brain Botanics Counselling and Psychotherapy provides counselling and psychotherapy services to adults in the United Kingdom.
For the purposes of UK data protection legislation, the data controller is:
Business name: Brain Botanics Counselling and Psychotherapy
Practitioner: Rebecca [Full Legal Name]
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Website: Brain Botanics
Email: [Insert contact email address]
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact us using the details above.
3. Information We Collect
We may collect and process the following types of personal information.
Information you provide directly
When you contact us, book a consultation or enquire about therapy, we may collect:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number
- Information you include in enquiry forms or correspondence
- Your preferred method of contact
- Information relevant to arranging or providing therapy
You are encouraged to avoid including detailed or sensitive personal information in an initial website enquiry unless it is necessary.
Information collected during therapy
If you become a client, we may also collect information relevant to providing counselling and psychotherapy services.
This may include information about your personal circumstances, mental health, medical history, relationships and other matters discussed during therapy.
This information is treated as confidential and handled in accordance with applicable data protection requirements and professional ethical obligations.
Website usage information
When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:
- Your IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device information
- Pages visited
- Date and time of visits
- General website usage information
Some of this information may be collected through cookies or analytics services, where these are used.
Further information is available in our Cookie Policy.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information only where there is a legitimate and lawful reason to do so.
This may include:
- Responding to enquiries
- Arranging initial consultations
- Providing counselling and psychotherapy services
- Communicating with existing clients
- Managing appointments
- Maintaining appropriate client records
- Processing payments and maintaining financial records
- Meeting legal and professional obligations
- Maintaining the security and functionality of our website
- Understanding and improving website performance, where permitted
We do not sell your personal information to third parties.
5. Our Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.
Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on:
Contract: Where processing is necessary to provide therapy services or take steps towards entering into a therapeutic agreement.
Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary to respond to enquiries, manage our practice or maintain website security, provided these interests do not override your rights.
Legal obligation: Where we are required to retain or disclose information to comply with the law.
Consent: Where consent is required, such as for certain optional cookies or specific uses of personal information.
Special category information
Information concerning physical or mental health is classified as special category data under UK GDPR and requires additional protection.
Where we process this information, we will identify an appropriate lawful basis under Article 6 and a separate condition under Article 9 of UK GDPR.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include processing necessary for the provision of health care or treatment by a professional subject to an appropriate duty of confidentiality.
Where another condition is required, we will ensure that it applies before processing the information.
We will not assume that agreeing to therapy automatically constitutes consent for every use of sensitive personal information.
6. Confidentiality and Therapy Records
Confidentiality is an important part of the therapeutic relationship.
Information shared during therapy is treated as confidential and is not routinely disclosed to other people or organisations.
However, confidentiality may be limited in certain circumstances, including where:
- Disclosure is required by law.
- There is a serious concern about someone’s safety.
- Information must be disclosed in accordance with applicable safeguarding obligations.
- Disclosure is otherwise legally permitted or required.
Where appropriate and possible, we will discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand.
Therapy records are stored securely, and access is restricted to those who have a legitimate need to access them.
Further information about confidentiality, record-keeping and any relevant exceptions will be explained as part of the therapeutic agreement.
7. Online Consultations and Third-Party Services
We may use third-party services to manage appointments, communicate with clients, process payments or provide online therapy sessions.
Depending on the services used, these providers may process limited personal information on our behalf.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that providers handling personal information offer appropriate data protection safeguards.
Where third-party providers act as independent data controllers, their own privacy policies may also apply.
[Rebecca to confirm which booking, video consultation, payment and client management platforms are used.]
8. Free Resources and Self-Assessments
Our website may provide free educational resources, worksheets, checklists and self-assessments.
These resources are intended to provide general information and support personal reflection. They are not a substitute for professional diagnosis, assessment or treatment.
Where resources can be completed interactively, we aim to explain clearly whether any answers are collected or stored.
[Confirm how interactive resources operate before publication.]
If an interactive resource processes responses entirely within your browser and does not transmit them to Brain Botanics, this will be explained alongside the resource.
If a resource allows you to download or print your responses, you are responsible for keeping any saved copies secure.
We will not use information entered into self-assessments for marketing purposes without an appropriate lawful basis.
9. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support essential website functionality and, where enabled, understand how visitors use the website.
Essential cookies may be used where necessary for the website to function.
Optional analytics or marketing cookies will only be used where the relevant consent requirements have been met.
You can find further information about the cookies used on our website, including how to manage your preferences, in our Cookie Policy.
[Confirm whether Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, advertising pixels or other tracking tools are installed.]
10. Sharing Your Information
We do not sell or rent personal information.
We may share information with trusted service providers where necessary to operate our practice, such as:
- Website hosting providers
- Appointment booking platforms
- Secure communication providers
- Payment processors
- Practice management systems
- Professional advisers, where appropriate
We may also disclose information where required by law or where another lawful basis permits disclosure.
Where third parties process information on our behalf, we seek appropriate contractual and security safeguards.
11. International Data Transfers
Some service providers may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will ensure that an appropriate transfer mechanism or other legally recognised safeguard is in place, where required by UK data protection law.
This may include transfers to countries covered by UK adequacy regulations or the use of approved contractual safeguards.
12. How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, professional and regulatory requirements.
Different retention periods may apply depending on the type of information.
For example:
Client records: Retained in accordance with the practice’s documented retention policy and applicable professional and legal obligations.
Financial records: Retained for the period required by relevant tax and accounting legislation.
When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or otherwise disposed of.
13. How We Protect Your Information
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
These measures may include:
- Password-protected systems
- Restricted access to client information
- Secure website connections
- Appropriate software and security updates
- Secure storage of client records
- Careful selection of third-party service providers
Although we take reasonable precautions, no method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
14. Your Data Protection Rights
Under UK data protection legislation, you may have the right to:
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
- Object to certain types of processing.
- Request the transfer of your information where the right to data portability applies.
- Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exemptions or other requirements.
To exercise your rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 2.
We will respond to requests in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
15. Complaints
If you have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact Brain Botanics in the first instance so that we can investigate and address your concerns.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent data protection regulator.
Information Commissioner’s Office
You can contact the ICO for further information about your data protection rights or to raise a complaint.
16. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites, services or resources.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external websites you visit.
17. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes to our services, website functionality, legal obligations or data protection practices.
Any changes will be published on this page, together with an updated revision date.
18. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data protection rights or have concerns about how your information is handled, please contact:
Brain Botanics Therapy
Rebecca Mackillop
Glasgow, Scotland
Email: rebecca@brainbotanics.com