my approach

I work with you the way I'd like a therapist to work with me: directly, collaboratively with emotional honesty and transparency.My approach is open, warm, and intuitive. I'll ask questions that encourage you to think differently. I'll call out patterns when I see them. I'll also sit with you in the messy, uncertain parts without rushing to make it all make sense.My training was humanistic, which means I'm less interested in diagnosing you and more interested in understanding how you make meaning, what drives you, where you feel stuck, and what a rich, purposeful life might look like for you specifically.Therapy won't give you easy answers or quick fixes. What I can promise is a space where you don't have to pretend, where you can be honest about where you are at, and where we can work together to figure out what you actually want your life to look like.

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Location

My office is centrally located in Bethnal Green, 2 minutes from the Central Line station and a number of major bus routes. My office 10 minutes walk from Bethnal Green and Cambridge Heath Overground stations and one stop from Liverpool Street. It is easily reached from Hackney, Haggerston, Spitalfields, Hoxton, Stratford, Mile End, Clapton, Walthamstow and Whitechapel as well as the City of London.

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View a copy of my privacy policy

Privacy Policy

Jonathan Humphreys, Counsellor & Therapist MBACP
18 Victoria Park Square, London E2 9PB
jhumphreys.therapist@gmail.com | 07977 448814Last updated: 3rd November 2026---## Summary in plain EnglishThis is a short version. The full notice follows, and you are welcome to ask me about any of it.- Who looks after your information: me, Jonathan Humphreys. I am the "data controller" and I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), number ZB583298.
- What I hold: your contact details, the emails and texts we exchange, session notes, a record that you have read my Practice Information, details of any calls or sessions you book through my online booking calendar (Cal.com), and payment records.
- Where it is kept: pseudonymised session notes are kept in a Google Workspace account Contact details and messages are in my Google Workspace account and on my phone. Booking details are in my Cal.com account and calendar. Payments go through my Starling bank account.
- Online sessions: I use Google Meet through Google Workspace. I do not record sessions and I do not use AI tools with your information. If you would rather not use these platforms, tell me and we can talk about phone or in-person sessions.
- Who sees it: only me, apart from the few exceptions below: my supervisor (using your first initial only), my accountant (payment details only), and my clinical executors if I die or become unable to work.
- When I might share it without your agreement: only if the law requires it, or if I believe you or someone else is at serious and immediate risk of harm. Wherever possible I would talk to you first.
- How long I keep it: 5 years after our work ends, then it is securely destroyed.
- Your rights: you can ask to see, correct, or (in some circumstances) delete your information, and you can complain to the ICO.---## 1. Who I am and how to contact meI am Jonathan Humphreys, a counsellor and therapist and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I work to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, which asks me to keep your information confidential, be open about how I use it, and keep accurate, secure records.I am the data controller for the information described here. ICO registration number: ZB583298.For any question about your information, or to make a request about your rights:- Email: jonny@jonathan-humphreys.com
- Post: Jonathan Humphreys, 18 Victoria Park Square, London E2 9PB## 2. What information I collect and how| What | How I get it |
|---|---|
| Your name, email address, phone number and anything you tell me when you make contact | Through my website contact form, by email or phone, or through a therapy directory (BACP, Counselling Directory) or Meela |
| Emails, texts and call details we exchange (for example about scheduling) | Directly from you and from me |
| A record that you have read my Practice Information (our working agreement) | A short Google Form you complete [confirm what it records, e.g. name, email, date] |
| Booking details for calls and sessions: your name, email address, the date and time booked, your time zone, and anything you choose to add in the booking notes [confirm which fields your Cal.com booking form asks for, e.g. phone number] | From you, when you book through my Cal.com booking page |
| Brief, factual notes of our sessions and the themes we explore | I write these myself during or after sessions |
| Payment records (bank transfer details, the amount and the date) | From my bank account when you pay me |Because of the nature of therapy, session notes and some messages will include special category data, such as information about your health, and sometimes about other aspects of your life such as sexuality, religion or ethnicity. I take extra care with this information. I only record what is relevant and needed for our work.I do not knowingly work with anyone under 18.## 3. Why I use your information, and my legal reasons| What I do | Why | Legal basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Respond to your enquiry and arrange a first session | To answer you and set up our work | Taking steps at your request before a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Contact you about appointments and practical matters | To provide the service you have asked for | Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Let you book calls and sessions online through Cal.com, and send you booking confirmations | To make booking simple and keep my diary accurate | Taking steps at your request before a contract, or contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Keep session notes and records | To deliver safe, good-quality therapy and keep accurate records, as my professional body requires | Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)); for health information, providing health or social care (Art. 9(2)(h) and the Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1 Part 1, para 2), which I do under a professional duty of confidentiality |
| Take payment, keep accounts, and share payment details with my accountant | To be paid and meet my tax obligations | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
| Keep records after our work ends | To defend or bring legal claims, to meet my insurer's requirements, and in case you return | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)); for special category data, legal claims (Art. 9(2)(f)) |
| Discuss my work in supervision | To keep my practice safe and ethical | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)); health or social care (Art. 9(2)(h)) |
| Contact your GP or another professional (see section 7) | Only with your agreement, or in an emergency as described below | Your explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a)), or protecting life (Art. 6(1)(d), Art. 9(2)(c)) |Consent. I do not rely on consent as the legal basis for providing therapy, so you are not "consenting" simply by starting work with me. Where I do ask for your consent (for example, to contact your GP, or to use any new digital tool or AI tool with your information), it is specific, you can say no, and you can withdraw it at any time.## 4. Where your information is kept and how I protect it- Session notes: handwritten and kept locked away securely. I identify them by [your initials rather than your full name; confirm]. This is not anonymous, because I can still link the notes to you, so I treat them as fully confidential personal data.
- Emails and contact details: held in my Gmail account (a standard Google account), protected by [a password and two-step verification; confirm].
- Texts and call details: held on my mobile phone, protected by [passcode / device encryption; confirm]. [If your phone backs up to the cloud, say so here.]
- Agreement form responses: held in my Google account.
- Booking details: held in my Cal.com account and in my calendar [which calendar, e.g. Google Calendar; confirm], protected by [password and two-step verification; confirm].
- Payment records: held in my Starling bank account and in the records I give to my accountant.
- I do not record sessions.Emails, texts and messages about our work are kept as part of your record, so that your record is complete and accurate. They are not routinely deleted while I am required to keep your record (see section 9).## 5. Online sessions, digital tools and AIFor online sessions I use Zoom and Google Meet, and I communicate by Gmail and phone. I also use Cal.com, an online scheduling service, so you can book calls and sessions. Please be aware of the following:- These services protect information with encryption while it travels over the internet, but they are not end-to-end encrypted in the way some private messaging apps are. This means the providers' systems handle your information, and a small risk to confidentiality remains.
- These providers may collect technical information such as your IP address, device type and when you connected, under their own privacy policies. They may process data outside the UK, including in the United States. They state that they use approved safeguards for transfers of this kind. [Confirm before publishing.]
- I do not record sessions or calls.
- Booking through Cal.com. When you book, Cal.com collects the details you enter (such as your name, email address, time zone and any notes you add) and sends you confirmation emails on my behalf. Cal.com is run by a separate company, has its own privacy policy, and may process data outside the UK, including in the United States [confirm which data region your Cal.com account uses]. I have not switched on any AI features in Cal.com [confirm]. Booking through Cal.com is optional: if you would rather not use it, please just email or phone me and we can arrange times that way.
- I do not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools (for example for transcription, summarising, note-taking or drafting) with any information about you. If that ever changed, I would explain the benefits and risks and ask for your explicit consent before putting any of your information into such a tool. I am responsible for all my own clinical decisions.
- You have a choice. If you are not comfortable with any of these platforms, please tell me. We can talk about alternatives such as phone sessions or meeting in person.
- Please also think about your own privacy: use a private space and a secure connection, and be aware that anyone with access to your device or email account could see our messages.## 6. Who I share your information withI do not sell your information or use it for marketing. I share it only in these ways:- My clinical supervisor. I discuss my work regularly with a supervisor, who is bound by a confidentiality agreement. To protect your identity I use only the first initial of your first name and keep identifying details to a minimum.
- My accountant. Payment records (such as the date, amount and the reference you used, which is your initials and the date) may be shared with my accountant [name] to prepare my accounts and tax returns. They do not receive session notes.
- My clinical executors. I have a Professional Will naming two clinical executors who are bound by confidentiality. If I die or become unable to work, they will have access to your contact details so that they can let you know. They will then securely destroy contact information and notes, apart from anything the law requires them to keep.
- Service providers. Google (Gmail, Google Meet, Google Forms [and Google Calendar, if used]), Zoom, Cal.com, and Starling Bank handle information as part of providing their services to me.
- Directories and referral platforms. If you found me through BACP, Counselling Directory or Meela, those organisations have their own privacy notices and are responsible for the information you gave them. If you came through Meela, Meela also takes payment for our sessions.
- Where the law requires or permits it, as set out in section 7.## 7. Limits of confidentialityWhat you tell me is confidential. There are only a few situations where I may need to share information without your agreement:1. Serious risk of harm. If I believe you, or someone else, is at serious and immediate risk of harm, including suicide risk, I may need to share information to keep people safe. I would only do this in exceptional circumstances, and I would share the minimum necessary.
2. Legal requirements. I may be required by law to disclose information, for example under a court order, or where the law requires reporting of terrorism, money laundering, serious crime, or child abuse or other safeguarding concerns.
3. Contacting your GP or another professional. Wherever possible, I encourage you to contact them yourself, and I will only contact them with your agreement (ideally in writing). The exception is where I believe you are at high risk and you do not agree, but my duty of care means I must take steps to keep you safe. In that case I would contact the most appropriate service (for example your GP, a crisis team or the emergency services) and share only what is needed.In every case, where it is safe and possible, I will talk to you first, explain my reasons, and consult my supervisor before acting. If I have had to act without telling you beforehand, I will tell you afterwards what I did and why, where it is safe to do so. I record my reasoning for any decision to break confidentiality.## 8. SafeguardingI work only with adults and do not offer services to children or young people. I am nonetheless aware that clients may sometimes tell me about risks to children or to adults who may be at risk, and I understand my legal and professional duties in those situations. [Add: the safeguarding training you have completed, and who you would contact, e.g. your local authority adult or children's safeguarding team, the police or the NSPCC. If you hold a written safeguarding policy, say so and say how clients can see it.] If you have a safeguarding concern about my practice, you can raise it with me directly or with BACP (see section 14).## 9. How long I keep your information| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that do not lead to us working together | [X months], then deleted |
| Session notes, contact details, emails, texts, booking records (Cal.com and calendar), and the signed agreement record | [X years] after our work ends, then securely destroyed |
| Payment and accounting records | As long as tax law requires (currently at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year) [confirm with your accountant] |While we are working together, I keep your information for as long as we work together. After our work ends, I keep it for the period above to meet my insurer's requirements, to defend any legal claim, and in case you decide to return to therapy. When the time is up, handwritten notes are shredded and digital records, emails, texts and booking records (including your booking history in Cal.com and my calendar) are permanently deleted.## 10. Your rightsYou have the right to:- be informed about how I use your information (this notice);
- access the information I hold about you and receive a copy;
- have it corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
- ask for it to be erased. This is not absolute. I may need to keep some information, for example financial records, or records I need in order to defend a legal claim. If so, I will explain why;
- ask me to restrict how I use it, or object to certain uses;
- data portability in certain limited cases;
- withdraw consent at any time, where I have relied on consent.To use any of these rights, email or write to me using the details in section 1. I will normally respond within one month. I may need to confirm your identity first. There is normally no charge. If a request is complex, I can extend the time by up to two further months, and I will tell you if so.## 11. If something goes wrong with your informationIf there is a data breach that puts your rights or privacy at risk, I will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. If the risk to you is high, I will also tell you without undue delay. I will explain honestly what happened, what the likely effects are, and what I am doing to limit harm, and I will apologise.## 12. My websiteMy website has a contact form. It collects the details you type in [e.g. name, email address, message] and sends them to me [by email via your website provider; confirm]. My website does not use analytics or advertising cookies [confirm with your website provider that no cookies are set, including any essential cookies]. If you book through Cal.com, you will be using Cal.com's booking page, which is run by Cal.com and may use cookies under its own policies [confirm whether the booking page is embedded in your website or reached by a link]. Please avoid putting sensitive details in the contact form. It is better to wait until we speak.## 13. Accessibility and reasonable adjustmentsIf you would like this notice, or my Practice Information, in another format (for example large print, plain text, audio, or another language) or if you need any

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