Janet Gothelf · MBACP (accred) MA
Last updated: September 2026
Introduction
Thank you for reading this privacy notice.
We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice will inform you how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
This privacy notice is provided in a layered format so you can find the area you need.
1. Important information and who we are
Purpose of this privacy notice
This privacy notice aims to give you information on how we collect and process your personal data, including any data you may provide to us directly, in person, by phone or email, or via our website.
It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you, so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data.
Controller
Janet Gothelf, practising as Clearer Perspectives, is the controller and responsible for your personal data (referred to as “Clearer Perspectives”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy notice). Janet Gothelf works as a sole trader.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details below.
As a member of the BACP
Clearer Perspectives follows the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. This sets additional standards for confidentiality, record-keeping and client care, alongside and in addition to our obligations under data protection law.
Contact details
Our details are:
Practitioner: Janet Gothelf (practising as Clearer Perspectives)
Email address: [email protected]
Postal address: c/o TC Murray Harcourt, 6 Queen Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, LS1 2TW
Telephone number: 07958 700168
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.
Changes to the privacy notice and your duty to inform us of changes
This version was last updated in September 2026 and historic versions can be obtained by contacting us.
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during our work together.
Third party links
Our website may include links to third party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.
2. The data we collect about you
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you, grouped together as follows:
Identity Data includes first name, last name, title, and date of birth, where relevant to our work together.
Contact Data includes address, email address and telephone numbers.
Financial Data includes bank account details used to pay fees for sessions.
Transaction Data includes details of payments made for sessions and services provided to you.
Health Data (Special Category Data) includes information about your mental and physical health, personal history and circumstances that you share during sessions, and clinical notes made in the course of providing therapy. This is the core category of data processed in the therapeutic relationship, and it is treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting, and other technology used to access our website, where applicable.
Profile and Usage Data includes your preferences and how you use our website, where applicable.
Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving communications from us.
We do not collect Special Categories of Personal Data other than Health Data described above (this would include, for example, information about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, or trade union membership), except where you choose to share this as part of the therapeutic work, in which case it is held with the same duty of confidentiality that applies to your Health Data. Nor do we collect information about criminal convictions and offences, save where this is relevant and disclosed by you in the course of therapy.
If you fail to provide personal data
Where we need certain personal data to provide our services to you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to provide the service you have asked for. In this case, we will let you know if this is the case at the time.
3. How is your personal data collected?
We collect data directly from you — when you make an enquiry, book a session, or correspond with us — and occasionally from third parties where relevant, such as a referral from a GP, another health professional, or an existing client. If you interact with our website, some technical data (like cookies and server logs) may also be collected automatically.
4. How we use your personal data
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
We do not rely on consent as the general legal basis for processing your personal data, other than in relation to your Health Data where explicit consent is the appropriate basis, and in relation to any marketing communications sent by email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
Change of purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason that is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to understand how the processing for a new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
5. Disclosures of your personal data
We do not routinely share your personal data, and in particular your Health Data, with third parties. We may need to share your personal data in limited circumstances, including with:
Where required by law, or where there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person, we may need to disclose limited information to relevant authorities. Where possible, this will be discussed with you first, in line with the BACP Ethical Framework.
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our processors to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process it for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
6. International transfers
We do not routinely transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom. If this ever becomes necessary, we will ensure an adequate level of protection is in place, as required by UK GDPR. Please contact us if you would like further information.
7. Data security
We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent your personal data being lost, misused, or accessed without authorisation. Clinical notes are kept securely with access limited to those who need it, subject to confidentiality. If a data breach ever occurred, we would notify you and the regulator where legally required.
8. Data retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including to satisfy any legal, accounting, or professional requirements.
In line with BACP guidance, clinical notes and records of our work together are retained for a period after the end of therapy appropriate to the nature of the work, to protect both your interests and ours, and are then securely destroyed. Basic financial records are kept for at least six years, as required for tax purposes.
Records are kept as brief, personal notes to support continuity of care, rather than detailed transcripts of sessions, in line with data protection principles of only holding what is necessary. If you or a court lawfully request these records, we would provide an explanation of any shorthand or personal notation used.
In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data, and in some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
9. Your legal rights
Under data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal data, including the right to:
Please note that where records form part of your clinical notes, your right to erasure or restriction may need to be balanced against our professional obligation, under the BACP Ethical Framework, to keep an accurate record of the therapeutic relationship. We will explain this to you if it applies to your request.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us using the details in section 1.
No fee usually required
You will not usually have to pay a fee to access your personal data, or to exercise any of the other rights. We may charge a reasonable fee, or refuse to comply, if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive.
What we may need from you
We may need to request specific information from you to confirm your identity and your right to access your personal data, or to exercise any of your other rights. This is a security measure to ensure personal data is not disclosed to anyone who has no right to receive it.
Time limit to respond
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take longer if your request is particularly complex. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.