Andrew Bryant Psychotherapy
This privacy notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information in relation to my psychotherapy, couples therapy and supervision practice.
I am committed to treating your personal information carefully, respectfully and confidentially.
Who is responsible for your information?
Andrew Bryant is the data controller for information collected through this practice.
Contact: andrewdbryant@gmail.com
Phone: 07917 860 869
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, or about how your information is used, you can contact me using the details above.
What information I collect
If you contact me or begin working with me, I may collect and hold some or all of the following information:
Your name
Contact details, such as email address, phone number and address
Information you provide when enquiring about therapy, couples therapy or supervision
Relevant GP or emergency contact details, where appropriate
Session times, attendance and payment records
Brief clinical notes relating to the work
Information discussed in sessions, where this is relevant to clinical record keeping
Correspondence between us, such as emails or text messages
Information needed for invoicing, accounts, insurance, legal or professional purposes
In psychotherapy and couples therapy, some of the information you share may be sensitive. This may include information about your mental health, relationships, family history, sexuality, trauma, medical history or other personal circumstances.
Why I collect this information
I collect and use personal information in order to:
Respond to enquiries
Arrange initial consultations and ongoing appointments
Provide psychotherapy, couples therapy or supervision
Keep appropriate clinical and administrative records
Manage payment and accounts
Communicate with you about appointments or practical arrangements
Meet legal, professional, insurance and safeguarding obligations
Maintain safe and ethical practice
I only collect information that is relevant to the work or necessary for the running of the practice.
Lawful basis for using your information
I process personal information where it is necessary for providing a professional service, managing the therapeutic or supervisory relationship, maintaining appropriate records, and meeting legal or professional obligations.
Where information includes sensitive personal data, such as information about health or personal circumstances, it is processed only where this is necessary for the provision of psychotherapy, couples therapy or supervision, or where there is another lawful reason to do so.
Confidentiality
Psychotherapy, couples therapy and supervision are confidential. I treat what you tell me with care and respect.
There are limited circumstances in which confidentiality may need to be broken. These include:
If there is a serious risk of harm to you or to another person
If there is a safeguarding concern involving a child or vulnerable adult
If disclosure is required by law
If information is needed in relation to a legal, insurance or professional matter
If there is a serious crime, terrorism concern, or money laundering issue that I am legally required to report
Wherever possible, I would aim to discuss any disclosure with you before taking action, unless doing so would increase risk or would not be legally possible.
Supervision
Like other psychotherapists, I undertake regular clinical supervision. Supervision is a confidential professional setting in which therapists reflect on their clinical work in order to practise safely and thoughtfully.
In supervision, I do not use your full identifying details unless this is necessary for clinical, ethical or safeguarding reasons.
Couples therapy and confidentiality
In couples therapy, confidentiality applies to the therapeutic space for the couple.
If one partner contacts me separately, I will usually treat that communication as something that may need to be brought back into the joint work. I do not usually hold separate confidential information for one partner that is withheld from the other, unless there is a serious clinical or safety reason to do so.
These arrangements can be discussed at the beginning of couples therapy.
How information is stored
Personal information is stored securely. This may include password-protected electronic records, secure email correspondence, and any necessary paper records kept in a secure location.
I take reasonable steps to protect your information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure.
How long information is kept
I keep clinical and administrative records only for as long as necessary for clinical, legal, insurance and professional purposes.
Clinical records are usually retained for 7 years after the end of the work, unless there is a lawful reason to keep them for longer. After this period, records are securely deleted or destroyed.
Financial records may be kept for the period required by HMRC and accounting obligations.
Sharing information
I do not sell, rent or share your personal information for marketing purposes.
I may need to share limited information in the following circumstances:
With your consent
With a supervisor, in anonymised or minimally identifying form
With a GP, emergency contact, safeguarding authority or emergency service where there is serious risk
Where required by law
With an insurer, legal adviser, accountant or professional adviser where necessary
With secure service providers used for email, website hosting, online sessions, payment or administration
Only the minimum necessary information would be shared.
Email, phone and online communication
Email, text and phone communication are useful for practical matters such as arranging appointments, but they may not be completely secure.
Please consider this when deciding what to include in emails or messages. If you need to discuss sensitive clinical material, it is usually better to do so in a session.
Online sessions, where used, take place through an agreed online platform. I take reasonable steps to ensure privacy, and I ask that you also attend from a private and confidential space.
Website and cookies
This website may collect limited technical information, such as basic analytics or information needed for the website to function properly.
If cookies or analytics are used, this information is used to understand website traffic and improve the site. It is not used to identify you personally or to market to you directly.
You can adjust cookie settings through your browser.
Your rights
Under data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal information. These may include the right to:
Be informed about how your data is used
Access personal information held about you
Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
Ask for information to be erased in certain circumstances
Ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances
Object to certain uses of your information
Raise a concern or complaint about how your information is handled
Some rights may be limited where information needs to be retained for legal, clinical, safeguarding, insurance or professional reasons.
Accessing your information
You can ask to see personal information I hold about you by contacting me in writing.
I will respond to requests in accordance with data protection law. In some circumstances, information may be withheld, for example where disclosure would affect another person’s confidentiality, create serious risk, or conflict with legal or professional obligations.
Complaints
If you have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact me first so that I can try to address the issue.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the UK regulator for data protection.
Changes to this privacy notice
This privacy notice may be updated from time to time.
Last updated: July 2026