Privacy Policy

The UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) standardise data protection laws and processing across the UK giving people greater rights to access and control their personal information.

The UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) standardise data protection laws and processing across the UK giving people greater rights to access and control their personal information.

Colin Milne Counselling Commitment:

maintaining a data protection system that meets UK GDPR obligations
- dedicated to safeguarding your personal information
- ensuring protection of all held personal information

Colin Milne Counselling practice is summarised below

How Colin Milne Counselling Prepared for UK GDPR:

Colin Milne Counselling has a consistent level of data protection and security and has introduced measures to ensure compliancy.

Policies and Procedures to meet UK GDPR requirements and standards including:
Data Protection Colin Milne Counselling main policy and procedure for data protection has been revised to meet the standards and requirements of the UK GDPR. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that Colin Milne Counselling understands and adequately disseminates and evidences its obligations and responsibilities, with a dedicated focus on privacy and rights of individuals.
- Data Retention and Erasure to ensure that it meets the ‘data minimisation’ and ‘storage limitation’ principles and that personal information is stored, archived and destroyed in accordance with our obligations. Colin Milne Counselling has procedures in place to meet ‘Right to Erasure obligations’.
- Data Breaches Colin Milne Counselling procedures ensure that safeguards are in place to identify, assess, investigate, and report any personal data breach as early as possible.
- Subject Access Request (SAR) Colin Milne Counselling has revised SAR procedures to accommodate the revised 30-day timeframe for providing the requested information and for making this provision free of charge
Privacy Notice/Policy (see below) Colin Milne Counselling has revised Privacy Notice(s) to comply with the UK GDPR, ensuring that all individuals whose personal information is processed have been informed of why it is needed, how it is used, what their rights are, who the information is disclosed to and what safeguarding measures are in place to protect their information.
Obtaining Consent Colin Milne Counselling has revised consent mechanisms for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their data.

Data Subject Rights

Colin Milne Counselling provides easy-to-access information at the start of Counselling outlining an individual’s right to access any personal information that is processed about them and to request information about:

what personal data is held about them
the purposes of the processing
the categories of personal data concerned
the recipients to whom the personal data has/will be disclosed
how long we intend to store your personal data for
if we did not collect the data directly from them, information about the source
the right to have incomplete or inaccurate data about them corrected or completed and the process for requesting this
the right to request erasure of personal data (where applicable) or to restrict processing in accordance with data protection laws, as well as to object to any direct marketing from us and to be informed about any automated decision-making that we use
the right to lodge a complaint or seek judicial remedy and who to contact in such instances.

Information Security and Technical and Organisational Measures

Colin Milne Counselling takes the privacy and security of clients and their personal information very seriously and takes every reasonable measure to protect and secure the personal data processed. There are robust information security procedures in place to protect personal information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

GDPR Roles

Colin Milne Counselling has designated Colin Milne as Data Protection Officer (DPO) responsible for awareness of the UK GDPR, assessing UK GDPR compliance, identifying any gap areas, and implementing the new policies, procedures and measures.

If you have any questions about our GDPR compliance policies, please contact Colin Milne directly.

UK GDPR Statement of Rights last updated: 12th September 2024

Privacy Notice/Policy

Your Personal Data
Client privacy is very important. Colin Milne Counselling adheres to the high standards of data privacy as required by the UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations).

My professional registration with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), requires that I keep information both about you and the work that we do. I cannot offer you counselling services unless you allow me to keep this data, which I will use only to provide the services that you have requested. The information that I will keep falls into two categories:

Basic personal data: your name, address, email, phone number, video conference ID (if online counselling), and GP contact details.
Sensitive personal data: Counselling/therapy records (notes, letters, reports etc.)

Retention of your personal data
will be retained for only as long as it is required to provide therapy, by legislation or to ensure BACP compliance:

Basic personal data will be retained on paper, computer or mobile phone and will be deleted within 6 months of the end of therapy.
Sensitive personal data will be held on paper or work computer, and retained for a period of 7 years after the end of therapy. After this time, it will be deleted (at the end of that calendar year).

Sharing of your personal data
Your personal data will only be shared as follows:

If you are referred by your health insurance provider, or otherwise claiming through a health insurance policy to fund therapy, I will share appointment schedules with that organisation (for billing purposes). I may also share information with that organisation to provide treatment updates.
In cases where treatment has been instructed by a solicitor, with your written consent, relevant clinical information (from therapy records) will be shared with legal services as required

In exceptional circumstances, Colin Milne Counselling might need to share your personal information with relevant authorities:

When there is need-to-know information for another health provider, such as your GP.
When disclosure is in the public interest, to prevent a miscarriage of justice or where there is a legal duty, for example a Court Order.
When the information concerns risk of harm to you, or risk of harm to another adult or a child. I will discuss such a proposed disclosure with you unless I believe that to do so could increase the level of risk to you or to someone else.

Security of your personal data
If kept on paper, the container involved will be secured by lock & key.
if kept electronically, the device involved will be password protected. Where possible, individual electronic files will also be individually password protected. Electronic devices holding your personal data will themselves be kept in the personal possession/control of the authorised user, or if not, securely stored.

Your right of access to your personal data
You have a right to access your personal information held by Colin Milne Counselling.
Please contact me to request a copy of your personal data (if any). I will usually be able to respond within 30 days and the records will (usually) be provided on paper.

I may charge an admin fee to cover the work involved
I may require confirmation of your identity
If data held by Colin Milne Counselling is incorrect, you may request that I correct it
If you think that I have not complied with data protection laws, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk)

By engaging Colin Milne Counselling to provide you with counselling services, you are acknowledging and agreeing with the above privacy policy. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions you may have about how I hold your data.

Privacy Notice Policy last updated: 12th September 2024

Ann

24. April, 2026.

I came to counselling carrying a lot from my past that I had never really spoken about. I often felt on edge, overwhelmed, and unsure why certain situations affected me so strongly. From the beginning, Colin created a calm and steady space where I felt safe enough to start exploring these experiences at my own pace. What stood out to me was how he helped me understand the impact of trauma, not just emotionally but physically as well. It helped me realise that my reactions made sense, which was a huge relief. He never pushed too hard but gently supported me in making connections and finding ways to manage what I was feeling. The booklets he provided between sessions were incredibly helpful. They gave me something to come back to during the week and helped me make sense of things in my own time. They often put into words what I was struggling to express and made the work we were doing feel more continuous. I now feel more grounded and better able to understand and respond to my emotions. The work hasn’t always been easy, but for me it has been life-changing.

Stevie

I came to counselling when I kept ending up in failed relationships and just couldn’t figure this out myself. I’d either pull away, get anxious or feel like I was spoiling things on purpose. Working with Colin just made things click. He explains things in a really down-to-earth way, so it never felt heavy or complicated. It just felt like I could properly talk things through and start to see what was going on. I was never judged or pushed into anything. I went at my own pace but still felt like I was getting somewhere. After a month or so practicing things I’d lerarned I started noticing small changes in me about how I react to people, and they’ve actually made a bigger difference than I expected. I feel more like myself again.

Elaine

21. July, 2025.

I contacted Colin after a friend recommended him. I didn’t really know anything about Counselling as I’d never seen a therapist before. I’d recently been given a diagnosis for PTSD and was struggling. I knew exactly where it came from, but nothing I did seemed to help. Colin was really patient, and we went very slowly. He explained how anxiety works, how trauma can get stuck in the brain and body and suggested a technique he called ‘Rewind’ which he thought would help without me having to go too much into my past. I am so grateful we did this. Since we did, I no longer feel that I live with that old fear I’ve been struggling with. It all seems to have calmed down and I can breathe again. I am very grateful.

Stephen

14. July, 2025.

When I contacted Colin I was in a very dark place and had already hurt myself several times. I was in an abusive relationship and could not understand why I seemed so stuck and scared for my future. Colin was able to help me work out how stuff that happened to me in my childhood set me up for problems as an adult. It took many months but he stuck with me and I now know that my childhood was not something I deserved. I wasn’t to blame and he helped me see that and be safe again.

Dan

I went to Colin because I was in a long term relationship which I wanted but didn’t feel I could properly commit to. I was bullied by my father and knew I didn’t want to be a dad like him and this was holding my relationships possibilities back. I also never felt I was up to much at work and could hear myself doubting many of my decisions.

Colin helped me understand that my past didn’t have to set my future life in stone, that I was not a bully myself and was allowed to choose to be better than my earlier experiences. Working through what I now understand about my attachment style and my inner critic has helped me enormously.

Amanda

4. February, 2025.

I went to see Colin when I felt I was living under a very black cloud and struggled to see light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot recommend Colin enough. My sessions with him were in a very safe place where I could open up. Colin helped me understand Narcissistic Trauma. As a result, I now feel I'm in control of my life. The black cloud has gone and I am the happiest I have felt in years.

Hazel

I went to Colin because I felt I was a failure. I never did anything right except love my kids. It was them who had me go to Colin because I was crying so much and got upset even if something nice happened. I didn't feel I deserved anything nice. Colin helped me understand that I learned to think that way because of my earlier trauma. He helped me learn that I was a good person, mum and wife and could treat myself more kindly. I buy myself a little treat each week now because I deserve good things in my life. Colin helped me understand that.

Nicholas

23. January, 2025.

When I first met up with Colin, I was not really sure what was wrong in my life. I just felt I was drifting and when he asked me what gave me joy. I was staggered I couldn't come up with anything to say. As the weeks went by, we looked at my life patterns and I was able to piece together where my happiness had become lost, and it was a relief to find myself again. I am on a better path now and very grateful for Colin's help.