Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 2026

I take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit my website, contact me about counselling, or work with me as a client.

Becoming & Belonging is a counselling practice operated by Alex Legge.

1. Who I am

I am the data controller responsible for your personal information.

If you have any questions about how your information is used, or would like to exercise your data protection rights, you can contact me using the details provided on the Becoming & Belonging website.

2. What information I collect

Depending on how you interact with Becoming & Belonging, I may collect:

  • Your name.

  • Email address.

  • Telephone number.

  • Information you provide through my website contact form.

  • Information you provide when arranging or attending an initial introduction call.

  • Information relevant to providing counselling, including information about your experiences, circumstances and wellbeing.

  • Appointment and session information.

  • Payment and invoicing information.

  • Information relating to accessibility or communication needs where you choose to provide it.

  • Technical information relating to your use of my website, such as your IP address and information collected through cookies or similar technologies.

3. How I use your information

I may use your personal information to:

  • Respond to enquiries or requests for information.

  • Arrange and manage initial introduction calls.

  • Arrange and manage counselling sessions.

  • Communicate with you about your sessions.

  • Maintain appropriate counselling and professional records.

  • Process payments and maintain financial records.

  • Respond to requests relating to your data protection rights.

  • Meet legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

  • Maintain the security and appropriate functioning of my website, systems and services.

I do not use your personal information to send marketing emails or newsletters.

4. Counselling information and sensitive personal data

Counselling may involve you sharing information about your mental or physical health, relationships, experiences, identity or other personal circumstances.

Information concerning health is classed as special category data under UK data protection law and requires additional protection. I only collect and use information that is necessary and appropriate for providing counselling and managing my professional relationship with you.

I will treat information shared within counselling as confidential, subject to the normal limits of confidentiality that will be explained to you when you begin counselling. These may include circumstances where I have serious concerns about your safety or the safety of another person, safeguarding concerns, or where I am legally required to disclose information.

5. Lawful basis for using your information

Under UK data protection law, I must have a lawful basis for collecting and using personal information.

Depending on the purpose, I may rely on:

  • Contract: where processing is necessary to provide counselling services that you have requested.

  • Legal obligation: where I need to process information to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement.

  • Consent: where I ask for your consent for a specific purpose and where consent is the appropriate lawful basis.

Where I process special category information, I will also rely on an appropriate additional condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

6. Who I share your information with

I do not sell your personal information or share it for third-party marketing.

I may use trusted service providers who process personal information on my behalf in order to operate my practice. These may include:

  • Squarespace: website hosting and website services.

  • Google Workspace: professional email and related business services.

  • Calendly: appointment scheduling services.

  • Zoom: online counselling sessions host.

  • WriteUpp: secure management of counselling/client records.

These organisations may process personal information as part of providing their services. I take reasonable steps to use reputable providers and to ensure that personal information is handled appropriately.

7. Telephone and Zoom

If you choose to communicate with me by telephone, your contact details and communications may be processed through those services. For counselling sessions conducted online, I use Zoom. I do not record counselling sessions.

8. How I store and protect your information

I take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

Client counselling records are maintained using WriteUpp.

Business communications are managed through Google Workspace, and I use a business telephone for client communications.

I aim to collect only information that is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and to keep information accurate and secure.

9. How long I keep your information

I will retain personal information only for as long as it is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, taking into account my legal, professional, regulatory and insurance obligations.

Different types of information may therefore be retained for different periods.

I maintain a retention schedule for my practice and securely delete or dispose of personal information when it is no longer required.

10. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights including:

  • The right to ask for access to the personal information I hold about you.

  • The right to ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

  • The right to ask for your information to be erased in certain circumstances.

  • The right to ask me to restrict how your information is used in certain circumstances.

  • The right to object to certain processing.

  • The right to data portability in certain circumstances.

  • The right to withdraw consent where I am relying on consent as the lawful basis for processing.

These rights are subject to certain legal exemptions and may not apply in every circumstance.

If you would like to exercise one of these rights, please contact me using the details on the website.

I will normally respond to a valid data protection request without undue delay and within one month.

11. Cookies and website analytics

My website is hosted by Squarespace. Squarespace and other third-party services used on the website may use cookies or similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function, while others may be used for preferences, analytics or other purposes.

The cookies and technologies actually used on this website may change over time. Where required, I will provide appropriate information and obtain consent for non-essential cookies.

12. International data transfers

Some of the technology providers used by Becoming & Belonging may process or store personal information outside the UK.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, I will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is carried out in accordance with applicable UK data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

13. Your right to complain

If you have concerns about how I have handled your personal information, I would encourage you to contact me first so that I have the opportunity to address your concerns.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection.

You can find information about making a complaint on the ICO website:

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my practice, the services I use, or applicable data protection requirements.

The latest version will always be made available on the Becoming & Belonging website.

Last updated: August 2026