Privacy and your data

A plain account of what I hold, why, and what you can ask me to do with it.

Who is responsible for your data

I am. Gary Keene, counsellor and coach in Kingston upon Thames, registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can reach me at gary@garykeene.co.uk, or by post on request.

What I collect, and why

When you enquire, I collect the details you send me, such as your name, contact details and anything you choose to tell me about what brings you. I use these only to respond to you and, if we go on to work together, to arrange and provide that work. The lawful basis is your consent when you enquire, and the performance of our agreement once we’re working together.

If we work together I keep brief, secure notes, which are part of responsible practice and a requirement of my professional body and insurer. These are kept to what’s necessary and are stored securely.

For work that happens online, I also ask for a mobile number, an emergency contact and your GP’s details. The mobile number is so we can reach each other if the video connection fails. The other two I would use only in a rare situation involving a serious risk to life, and wherever possible I would talk to you first. Please do tell whoever you name that you have given me their details.

Where coaching is funded by your employer or another organisation, there is a second agreement alongside ours, and a limited amount of information may go back to them: that sessions took place, for instance, or a summary we have written together. What that covers is settled with you before we start and does not go beyond it, and what you say in the sessions themselves is not reported. The lawful basis for that sharing is the performance of those agreements.

Who sees it

Your information is not shared or sold. I discuss my work in confidential clinical supervision, where your identity is protected. In rare situations involving a serious risk to life, I may be obliged to share limited information with another party such as a GP or emergency service; wherever possible I’d discuss this with you first.

This website is hosted by Krystal Hosting, and enquiry-form messages are handled by Formspree. Online sessions take place over Proton Meet, which is end-to-end encrypted, meaning the content of the session can be read only by the people in it and not by Proton or by anyone else. These providers process data on my behalf under their own privacy terms. I do not record sessions.

How long I keep it

If you enquire but we don’t go on to work together, I delete your enquiry within six months. Where we do work together, I keep records for seven years after our work ends, in line with my professional indemnity insurer’s requirement, and then securely destroy them.

Your rights

You can ask to see what I hold about you, to have mistakes corrected, or in many cases to have information deleted. You can withdraw consent to being contacted at any time. To do any of these, just contact me. If you’re ever unhappy with how I’ve handled your data, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

Cookies and third parties

This site sets no cookies of its own and does not track you for advertising or analytics. Its typefaces are served from this website itself, so your visit isn’t shared with any font provider. The only third party involved in your visit to this site is Formspree, which processes your message if you choose to submit the enquiry form, in order for it to reach me, under its own privacy terms. Proton Meet is used for sessions rather than for browsing, so visiting this site involves it not at all.