Who I am
Chris Brotherton t/a Men’s Therapy UK is a sole trader practice operating in England and Wales. For the purposes of UK data protection law, Chris Brotherton is the data controller.
Data controller - Chris Brotherton t/a Men’s Therapy UK
Email - chris@menstherapy.uk
Phone - 07368 947 855
Website - menstherapy.uk
Information I collect
I may collect personal information when you contact me by email, phone, WhatsApp, or other messaging platforms; when you book or arrange counselling services; and when you engage in counselling or psychotherapy.
This may include -
- Name and contact details (email, phone)
- Information shared in enquiries
- Appointment and scheduling information
- Emergency contact details, where appropriate
- Administrative and payment records
- Minimal client notes covering administration and brief themes from our conversations
Brief thematic notes or information you share may include health or wellbeing concerns. Where this reveals health information, it is special category data under UK GDPR, even if the note is short. I keep notes limited to what is needed for our work.
Website visitors - this site uses Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads through Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, and Meta Pixel (ID: 25829031056724140). The prompt lets you allow all cookies, decline all, or control analytics and advertising categories separately. Clarity and Meta load only after consent to their respective categories. Google Tag Manager loads with your consent signals set first. When consent is denied, Google tags may send cookieless pings, as explained in the Cookie Policy. Your consent choice is stored in your browser’s local storage. Vercel and Ahrefs also provide cookieless website measurement. See the Cookie Policy for full details, including how Google Consent Mode v2 behaves when you decline.
If you subscribe to the blog or download a resource, I store your name, email address and subscription status so I can send you what you asked for. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can ask me to delete your details at any time.
Where information comes from
Personal information is usually obtained directly from you. In some cases it may also come from -
- Referral organisations
- Legal or regulatory bodies
- Professional partners involved in service delivery
How I use your information
Personal information is used to -
- Respond to enquiries
- Arrange and deliver counselling services
- Maintain professional records
- Meet safeguarding and legal responsibilities
- Manage payments and administrative records
Lawful bases for processing
Under UK GDPR, personal data is processed on the following lawful bases -
Contract
Information is processed in order to provide the counselling services you have requested.
Consent
In some situations, information is processed with your explicit consent. Optional cookies and identifiers used for Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Google Ads and Meta require your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a) and Regulation 6 of PECR). Google Tag Manager uses consent signals and may send cookieless pings when consent is denied. Microsoft Clarity and Meta are loaded only after consent to their respective categories.
You can withdraw that consent at any time using the Cookie preferences link in the footer of every page, which reopens the prompt with your current choices; your saved preferences are updated. For any other processing based on consent, contact me. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that has already taken place.
Vital interests
Information may be processed where necessary to protect the life, health, or safety of you or another person.
Legal obligation
Information may be processed where required to comply with legal or regulatory duties.
How long I keep it
Client notes
Minimal client notes are retained for 7 years after the final conversation under the practice retention policy, subject to any lawful reason to retain or delete them differently.
Financial records
Invoices and financial records are retained for 7 years under the practice retention policy, subject to tax and legal requirements.
Payments made electronically are processed by third-party payment providers. Men’s Therapy UK does not have access to or store card details or bank payment credentials. I receive only the information necessary to confirm payment and maintain accounting records.
Website data
Enquiry emails are kept as part of administrative records. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe or ask for deletion. Client portal accounts are deleted on request once our work together has ended.
When data is no longer required it is securely deleted or destroyed.
Who processes your data
The following services support the website and practice. Their privacy policies explain their roles and how they handle information.
- Ahrefs - provides cookieless website measurement (privacy policy)
- Vercel - hosts this website and collects anonymous, cookieless performance metrics (privacy policy)
- Google - provides consent-gated analytics and advertising measurement via Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads (privacy policy)
- Microsoft - provides consent-gated session replay and heatmaps via Microsoft Clarity, with form fields masked (privacy statement)
- Calendly - handles appointment booking (privacy policy)
- Meta - provides consent-gated analytics and advertising measurement via Meta Pixel (privacy policy)
Sharing information
I treat client information confidentially. Counselling notes are not supplied to advertising platforms. With your cookie consent, advertising tools can receive website activity and technical identifiers as described in the Cookie Policy. Client information may otherwise be shared where necessary.
- Where required by law
- Where there is a safeguarding risk involving a child or vulnerable adult
- Where there is a serious and imminent risk to your life or the life of another person
- With regulatory or legal authorities where required
- With my clinical supervisor (in anonymised form), as required by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society
- With Calendly, for scheduling purposes only (see calendly.com/privacy)
Where possible, I would discuss any disclosure with you before it takes place.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to -
- Access the personal data I hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate data
- Request deletion in certain circumstances
- Restrict or object to processing
- Data portability
- Withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis
To exercise any of these rights, contact chris@menstherapy.uk. I will respond within one month.
A request for deletion is considered against the reason the information is held, the applicable retention policy and any legal obligations. I explain any information I need to retain and why. Information that is no longer needed is deleted.
Complaints
If you have concerns about how your data has been handled, please contact me in the first instance. If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time to reflect legal, technical, or operational changes. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will always indicate the latest version.
Professional standards
Practice adheres to the NCPS Code of Ethical Practice and professional standards. Complaints about professional conduct can be directed to the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society at ncps.com.
By engaging in counselling services with Men’s Therapy UK, you acknowledge that this privacy notice has been provided and that you understand how your personal information may be used.