Privacy Policy for Towards A Better You

Towards A Better You provides counselling, child and adolescent support, school wellbeing programmes, corporate wellbeing programmes, workshops and wellbeing retreats. We respect the privacy of clients, parents, guardians, students, employees, organisational representatives, website visitors and other people who interact with us.

This policy applies to information collected through our website, enquiry forms, email, phone, WhatsApp, in-person interaction, online sessions, workshops, programmes and other service-related communication.

It does not replace any additional confidentiality terms or consent documentation used for counselling or specialised services.

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

• Identity and contact information: name, age or date of birth, phone number, email address, postal address and emergency contact details.
• Appointment and service information: preferred date, session mode, selected service, referral source, attendance history and scheduling communication.
• Counselling and wellbeing information: information you voluntarily share about emotions, relationships, health, family circumstances, education, work, stress, goals and personal experiences.
• Parent or guardian information: details required when counselling or wellbeing support involves a child or teenager.
• Organisation and programme information: company, school or institution name, role, programme requirements, participant details and authorised contact information.
• Payment and transaction information: payment status, invoice details and transaction references.
• We may not directly store full card or banking credentials where a third-party payment provider is used.
• Website and technical information: IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, referring source, approximate location and cookie or analytics data.
• Communication records: messages, emails, enquiry details, feedback, complaints and other correspondence.

We may use personal information for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and help you identify an appropriate counselling, wellbeing or programme service.
• To book, confirm, reschedule and manage appointments or programme participation.
• To provide counselling, wellbeing support, workshops, retreats and related professional services.
• To maintain appropriate clinical, administrative, safeguarding, accounting and service records.
• To communicate session instructions, reminders, updates, invoices, receipts and service-related information.
• To protect the safety and wellbeing of clients, participants, staff and other people.
• To operate, secure, maintain and improve our website, communication systems and services.
• To meet legal, regulatory, contractual, professional, insurance, tax and accounting obligations.
• To send optional updates or promotional communication where permitted and where you have not opted out.

Information shared during counselling or wellbeing services may be sensitive and deeply personal. We treat this information with additional care and restrict access to people who reasonably need it for professional, administrative, safety or legal purposes.

Counselling notes, assessment information and session-related records are not used for unrelated marketing.

Where information is discussed for professional supervision, training or consultation, reasonable steps are taken to protect identity and limit disclosure.

Confidentiality may be limited in circumstances such as:

• Where there is a serious or imminent risk of harm to you or another person.
• Where child protection, safeguarding or abuse concerns require action.
• Where disclosure is required by applicable law, court order or lawful authority.
• Where information is needed to obtain emergency assistance or protect vital interests.
• Where a client has authorised specific disclosure to another person or service provider.

When services involve a child or teenager, we may collect information from the young person, parent, legal guardian, school or authorised representative.

We aim to explain privacy and confidentiality in age-appropriate language and to involve parents or guardians in a manner that supports safety, trust and the young person’s best interests.

The level of parent or guardian access to session information may depend on the child’s age, maturity, safety needs, the nature of the service, professional judgement and applicable requirements.

Information may be shared where necessary for safeguarding or where legally required.

Our website may use cookies, local storage, analytics tools and similar technologies to support essential website functions, remember preferences, understand website performance, prevent misuse and improve user experience.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function. Other cookies or analytics technologies may be optional.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings, although blocking certain cookies may affect website functionality.

Third-party services embedded on the website, such as maps, videos, social-media links or analytics tools, may place their own cookies or collect technical information under their respective privacy policies.

We do not sell or rent personal information. We may share limited information with:

• Authorised counsellors, facilitators, employees and contractors who require information to provide or support the service.
• Professional supervisors, consultants or specialists where appropriate safeguards and confidentiality obligations apply.
• Technology, hosting, email, communication, scheduling, payment, accounting or security service providers.
• Schools, employers, organisations or programme sponsors where sharing is authorised, necessary for the programme, or limited to agreed reporting.
• Emergency services, safeguarding bodies, courts, legal advisers, insurers or public authorities where disclosure is necessary or legally required.
• A successor organisation in connection with a legitimate restructuring, merger or transfer, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

Wherever reasonably possible, we limit the information shared to what is necessary for the relevant purpose and expect service providers to protect personal information appropriately.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, to maintain professional records, protect safety, resolve disputes, meet legal obligations and support legitimate business requirements.

Different categories of information may have different retention periods.

Counselling, safeguarding, payment, tax and legal records may need to be retained for a defined period even after services end.

We use reasonable administrative, technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, misuse or disclosure.

However, no website, email service, messaging platform or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

• Access to sensitive information is limited according to role and professional need.
• Reasonable password, device, communication and storage safeguards are used.
• Documents and records are disposed of or anonymised when they are no longer required.
• Privacy or security concerns are reviewed and addressed as reasonably appropriate.

Subject to applicable law, professional duties and reasonable identity verification, you may have the following rights.

Some rights may be limited where information must be retained for safeguarding, legal, professional or contractual reasons.

Our website or communication may link to external services such as WhatsApp, Google Maps, payment gateways, video-conferencing platforms, social-media websites or other third-party tools.

We do not control the privacy, security or data-handling practices of those services.

Before using an external platform, review its privacy policy and settings. Information you send through a third-party platform may be processed by that platform independently of Towards A Better You.

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our services, website, professional practices, technology or legal requirements.

The updated version will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.

Where a change materially affects how personal information is handled, we may provide an additional notice through the website, email, counselling documentation or another appropriate communication channel.

For questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise a privacy right, or to raise a concern about personal information, contact Towards A Better You using the details below.

Please include enough information for us to understand and review your request.