Privacy Policy — Peaches of Chelsea

Who We Are

Peaches of Chelsea is a child and adolescent counselling practice. Counselling is provided by Parin Somaiya, BACP Registered Member (Membership No. 01025684, Register No. 413924).

Practice Name: Peaches of Chelsea
Practitioner: Parin Somaiya, MBACP
Email: contact@peachesofchelsea.com
Website: www.peachesofchelsea.com
Data Controller: Peaches of Chelsea Ltd.
Practice location: Online (clients based in the United Kingdom)

If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, please contact us at contact@peachesofchelsea.com.

What Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Contact information — name, email address, telephone number, and postal address of the parent or guardian
Child's information — name, date of birth, age, school, and GP details
Health and clinical information — presenting concerns, relevant medical history, previous therapeutic support, and clinical session notes
Emergency contact details — name and telephone number of an additional trusted adult
Records of payments made (date, amount, what the payment was for) — we do not collect or store card details, which are handled directly by our payment processor
Communications — emails, messages, and correspondence between you and Peaches of Chelsea
Newsletter and marketing — email address and preferences if you subscribe to our newsletter

Special Category Data: Health and clinical information relating to children is considered Special Category Data under UK GDPR. This data is handled with the highest level of care, stored securely, and only accessed by Peaches of Chelsea.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data in the following ways:

When you complete our online intake or enquiry form
When you book a session or introductory call via our website or booking system
When you complete and return a parental consent form
Through email, telephone, or written communication with us
During the course of therapy sessions — clinical notes are recorded by the practitioner
When you subscribe to our newsletter or download a complimentary resource

Why We Use Your Data & Our Legal Basis

Under UK GDPR, every use of your personal data must have a "lawful basis" — a specific legal justification that permits us to use that data. This is a core requirement of UK data protection law and one of the six grounds under Article 6 of UK GDPR (with additional grounds under Article 9 for sensitive information such as health data). Below is each way we use your data, and the lawful basis under which we do so:

To provide therapy services — lawful basis: Contract and Legitimate Interests (clinical records are necessary to deliver safe, consistent therapeutic care)
To communicate with you about sessions — lawful basis: Contract
To process payments — lawful basis: Contract
To fulfil safeguarding obligations — lawful basis: Legal Obligation (we are required by law to act if a child is at risk of harm)
To send our newsletter — lawful basis: Consent (you may withdraw at any time)
To deliver digital resources purchased or downloaded — lawful basis: Contract
To maintain clinical records — lawful basis: Legitimate Interests (good practice guidance from BACP requires practitioners to keep clinical records)

Confidentiality & Its Limits

Confidentiality is central to the therapeutic relationship. Everything shared within sessions is treated with the strictest professional confidence.

However, confidentiality has limits. Parin Somaiya has a professional and legal duty to act if information is shared that suggests a child or young person is at risk of serious harm — to themselves or others. In such circumstances, information may need to be shared with appropriate authorities. Where possible and safe to do so, this will be discussed with the parent or guardian first.

Clinical session notes are kept securely and are not shared with third parties except in the following limited circumstances:

Where there is a serious risk of harm to the child or another person
Where disclosure is required by law or court order
Where you have given explicit written consent for specific information to be shared (e.g. with a school or GP)
In clinical supervision — notes may be discussed in anonymised form with Parin Somaiya's clinical supervisor, as required by BACP ethical practice

How We Store & Protect Your Data

Your personal data is stored securely using the following measures:

Clinical notes and client records are stored in a password-protected, encrypted system accessible only by Peaches of Chelsea
Email communications are stored in a secure, password-protected professional email account
Online sessions are conducted via Proton Meet — a Swiss-based, end-to-end encrypted video platform with strict GDPR compliance
Paper documents (if any) are stored in a locked, secure location
Payment information is processed by Stripe — we do not store your card details

⚠️ Data Breach: In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours of becoming aware, as required by UK GDPR.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain personal data for the following periods in line with BACP guidance and legal requirements:

Clinical records (children): Retained until the child's 25th birthday (or 26th if treatment ended after age 17), or for 8 years from the last contact — whichever is longer. This is in line with NHS and professional guidance for child health records.
Adult client records: Retained for 7 years from the date of last contact
Financial records: Retained for 6 years in line with HMRC requirements
Newsletter subscribers: Retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion
General enquiry correspondence: Retained for 2 years from last contact

After these periods, all personal data is securely deleted or destroyed.

Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access — you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification — you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to erasure — you may ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances (note: clinical records may need to be retained for legal or professional reasons)
Right to restrict processing — you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances
Right to data portability — you may request your data in a portable format
Right to object — you may object to processing based on legitimate interests
Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent (e.g. newsletter), you may withdraw at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@peachesofchelsea.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies — small files placed on your device to help the site function. We use only essential cookies necessary for the website to operate. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may affect how the website functions. A cookie consent banner will appear on your first visit to our website.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our practice. Each has its own privacy policy and data protection measures:

Vercel (website hosting) — vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy
Proton (professional email via Proton Mail; appointment booking via Proton Calendar; encrypted video sessions via Proton Meet — Swiss-based, end-to-end encrypted) — proton.me/legal/privacy
Stripe (payment processing) — stripe.com/privacy
Newsletter platform (email newsletter — provider to be confirmed)
Contact form provider (to be confirmed)

We do not sell, rent or share your personal data with any third parties for marketing purposes.

Changes to This Policy

We review this Privacy Policy annually and whenever our working practices change significantly. Any material changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Where changes significantly affect how we use your data, we will notify active clients by email.

This policy was last reviewed: May 2026

Contact Us

For any questions, concerns or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at contact@peachesofchelsea.com.