Flavius Counselling Services Privacy Policy
Last updated: 1st June 2026
1. About this privacy notice
This privacy notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information in connection with my counselling practice, Flavius Counselling Services.
I am Sonia Katewu, a therapeutic counsellor providing person-centred counselling to adults, both online and face-to-face in Fitzrovia, Central London.
I am the data controller for the personal information I collect and process in connection with my counselling practice. This means I am responsible for deciding how your personal information is used and for taking appropriate steps to keep it secure.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how your personal information is handled, please contact me:
Email: sonia@flaviuscounsellingservices.co.uk
Telephone: 07745 932 543
Website: www.flaviuscounsellingservices.co.uk
This privacy notice applies to people who contact me about counselling, current and former clients, and visitors to my website.
2. Information I collect
I only aim to collect personal information that is relevant and necessary for providing counselling and running my practice.
When you contact me
When you make an enquiry, I may collect:
your name
your email address
your telephone number
information you choose to provide about why you are seeking counselling
your preferred method of contact
your availability
whether you are seeking online or face-to-face counselling
other information you choose to provide as part of your enquiry
If we arrange an initial consultation or begin therapy
Depending on what is necessary for the counselling relationship, I may collect:
your name and contact details
date of birth
address
GP details, where relevant
emergency contact details, where appropriate
relevant health, mental health or wellbeing information
information about your personal history, relationships, family, work and circumstances
information about your reasons for seeking counselling
relevant information discussed during therapy
brief clinical notes
appointment and attendance information
payment and invoicing information
correspondence relating to your counselling
You are not required to provide information that is not necessary for the purpose for which it is being requested. Where information is necessary to provide counselling safely and appropriately, I will explain this where appropriate.
3. Special category information
Some information collected in the course of counselling may constitute special category data, particularly information concerning your physical or mental health.
Depending on what you choose to discuss and what is necessary for your therapy, this may also include other sensitive information where relevant to your counselling.
I take particular care with this information and only collect and use it where it is necessary, relevant and proportionate to providing counselling, maintaining appropriate records, meeting professional responsibilities, managing safeguarding or fulfilling legal obligations.
The processing of special category data requires both a lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR and an appropriate condition under Article 9. I will identify and document the applicable lawful bases and conditions for the processing I undertake.
4. How I use your information
I may use your personal information to:
respond to enquiries
arrange an initial consultation
arrange and manage counselling appointments
provide counselling
maintain appropriate clinical records
communicate with you about your counselling
manage payments and invoicing
manage cancellations and appointments
maintain appropriate professional, legal and insurance records
meet professional and ethical responsibilities
manage safeguarding or serious risk where necessary
respond to data-protection requests or complaints
maintain the administration and security of my practice
I do not sell your personal information.
5. Lawful basis for processing
Under UK data-protection law, I must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.
Depending on the purpose, I may rely on:
Contract: where processing is necessary to arrange or provide counselling services.
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary to operate my practice safely and effectively, respond to enquiries, maintain appropriate records and protect the interests of both you and my practice.
Legal obligation: where I am required to process or retain information to comply with the law.
Consent: where I specifically ask for your consent for a particular use of your information and consent is the appropriate lawful basis.
Where I process special category data, such as health information, I will also rely on an appropriate Article 9 condition under the UK GDPR and any additional requirements that apply.
Where consent is used, I will explain what I am asking you to consent to and how you can withdraw that consent.
6. Confidentiality
Counselling is confidential, and I take your privacy seriously.
I will not normally share information you provide in counselling unless there is a lawful, ethical, professional or safeguarding reason for doing so.
There are circumstances where confidentiality may need to be limited, including where:
I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person
there is a safeguarding concern involving a child, vulnerable adult or another person at risk
I am required to disclose information by law, court order or legal process
disclosure is necessary to prevent or detect serious crime
there is a medical emergency where information is needed to protect life
I need to discuss aspects of your work with my clinical supervisor as part of safe and ethical practice
Where possible and appropriate, I would aim to discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand. However, this may not always be possible where doing so could increase risk, prejudice safeguarding action, undermine the purpose of the disclosure or otherwise not be appropriate.
7. Supervision
I use clinical supervision to support safe, ethical and effective counselling practice.
As part of supervision, I may discuss aspects of my client work with my supervisor. I aim to minimise identifying information wherever possible and appropriate.
My supervisor is also bound by appropriate confidentiality and professional standards.
8. Clinical notes and records
I keep brief clinical records to support safe and ethical counselling practice.
These may include:
session dates
brief themes discussed
relevant risk or safeguarding information
relevant clinical information
important decisions or agreed actions
contact and administrative information
I do not make full transcripts of counselling sessions.
My records are intended to be proportionate, relevant and appropriate to the counselling relationship.
9. How long I keep information
I retain personal information only for as long as it is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, taking account of legal, professional, ethical, insurance and accounting requirements.
As a general guide:
information relating to an enquiry where therapy does not begin will normally be deleted when it is no longer required
client counselling records may be retained for up to seven years after therapy ends, subject to my professional, legal, insurance and record-retention requirements
financial and accounting records will be retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting requirements
emails, messages and administrative information will be reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer required
There may be circumstances where information needs to be retained for longer, for example where there is an ongoing safeguarding, legal, insurance, complaint or professional matter.
I review my retention practices periodically to ensure that information is not retained for longer than necessary.
10. Where your information is stored
Depending on how you contact me and how we work together, your information may be stored or processed using:
Website: Squarespace
Email: Google/Gmail services
Practice management / client records: Kiku
Online counselling: Google Meet and/or Microsoft Teams
Payments and invoicing: Monzo, where applicable
Cloud storage: iCloud, where applicable
Telephone and messaging: my business telephone and, where used, SMS or WhatsApp
I use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information. These may include password protection, device security, two-factor authentication, restricted access and secure storage.
Third-party service providers may process information on my behalf. Where I use such providers, I take reasonable steps to ensure that they provide appropriate safeguards for personal information.
11. Online counselling
Online counselling is provided using Google Meet and/or Microsoft Teams, depending on the arrangements agreed with you.
I take reasonable steps to protect confidentiality from my side.
I also ask that you choose a private space for your sessions where you are unlikely to be overheard or interrupted.
Online platforms may process technical information such as IP address, device information and connection data. You may wish to review the privacy notice of the relevant platform for further information about how it processes this information.
12. Recording, transcription and AI
I do not record or transcribe counselling sessions, and I do not use AI tools to record, transcribe or analyse therapy sessions.
I may use digital tools for general practice administration, writing, planning or professional education. I take confidentiality and data protection into account when deciding whether and how such tools are used.
I do not intend to place identifiable client information into general-purpose tools where doing so would be inappropriate or inconsistent with my confidentiality and data-protection responsibilities.
13. Website visitors and cookies
When you visit www.flaviuscounsellingservices.co.uk, some technical information may be collected automatically by the website or services supporting it. This may include information such as your IP address, device type, browser type, pages visited and information about how you use the website.
My website is hosted through Squarespace.
The website may use cookies or similar technologies that are necessary for the website to operate, maintain security, improve performance or understand website usage.
Where cookies or similar technologies require your consent under applicable law, the website will provide the appropriate information and choices.
You can also control or restrict cookies through your browser settings.
14. Sharing your information
I do not routinely share your personal information.
Where necessary, proportionate and lawful, I may share limited information with:
my clinical supervisor
professional advisers, such as an accountant, insurer or legal adviser
my professional body where required in relation to a complaint or professional matter
safeguarding services or emergency services where necessary
your GP or another healthcare professional where there is a serious risk or safeguarding concern and disclosure is lawful and appropriate
a court, legal authority or other organisation where I am legally required to do so
trusted service providers who process information on my behalf
Where information is shared, I aim to share only the information that is relevant and necessary for the specific purpose.
Where a service provider processes information outside the UK, I will take appropriate steps to ensure that any transfer or processing is carried out in accordance with applicable data-protection law.
15. Your data-protection rights
Under UK data-protection law, you may have rights including the right to:
be informed about how your personal information is used
request access to the personal information I hold about you
ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
ask for your information to be deleted in certain circumstances
ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances
object to certain processing
request transfer of your information in certain circumstances
complain about how your personal information has been handled
These rights are not absolute and may depend on the circumstances and the legal basis on which information is being processed.
If you wish to exercise a data-protection right, please contact me using the details at the beginning of this notice.
I will normally respond to a valid subject access request without undue delay and within one month. Where permitted by law, this period may be extended by up to a further two months where a request is complex or where I receive a number of requests.
16. Data-protection concerns and complaints
If you have a concern about how I have handled your personal information, I would encourage you to contact me first so that I can understand and address your concern.
You can contact me using:
Email: sonia@flaviuscounsellingservices.co.uk
I will consider your concern and respond without unnecessary delay.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully or your data-protection rights have not been respected.
Information Commissioner's Office
Website: www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
17. Changes to this privacy notice
I may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in my counselling practice, the services and systems I use, legal requirements or professional guidance.
The latest version will be published on my website.
Flavius Counselling Services
Sonia Katewu
sonia@flaviuscounsellingservices.co.uk
07745 932 543
www.flaviuscounsellingservices.co.uk
