Confidentiality Statement
Practice Details
Practice Name: HollyTree Wellbeing Services
Counsellor: Holly Webb
Email: hollytreewellbeing@gmail.com
Effective Date: July 2026
Review Date: July 2027
Version: 1.0
My Commitment to Confidentiality
Confidentiality is at the heart of the therapeutic relationship.
Whether you are seeking counselling for yourself, your child or a young person in your care, you should feel confident that what you share will be treated with respect, sensitivity and professionalism.
Creating a safe, trusting and confidential environment is an essential part of effective counselling. I am committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining confidentiality in accordance with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
What Confidentiality Means
Information shared during counselling sessions will be kept confidential and will not normally be shared with anyone else without your knowledge and, where appropriate, your consent.
This includes:
Information shared during counselling sessions.
Personal details provided during registration.
Written counselling records.
Session notes.
Correspondence relating to your counselling.
Confidentiality helps create a safe space where thoughts, feelings and experiences can be explored openly and without fear of judgement.
Working with Children and Young People
When working with children and young people, confidentiality is respected in the same way as it is for adult clients.
Parents, carers and those with parental responsibility play an important role in supporting a young person, and I encourage open communication wherever it is appropriate and in the young person's best interests.
However, to help build trust within the counselling relationship, I will not routinely share the content of counselling sessions with parents or carers unless:
the young person has agreed that information can be shared;
there is a safeguarding concern;
there is a significant risk of harm to the young person or another person;
or I am legally required to disclose information.
Wherever possible, I will discuss any proposed sharing of information with the young person first unless doing so would increase the risk of harm.
When Confidentiality May Need to Be Broken
Although confidentiality is a fundamental part of counselling, there are some exceptional circumstances where I may need to share information without your consent.
These include situations where:
I believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or another person.
There are concerns that a child or vulnerable adult is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect.
I am required to disclose information by law or by a court.
Disclosure is necessary to prevent or detect a serious crime.
Professional or regulatory obligations require disclosure.
Where it is safe and appropriate to do so, I will always aim to discuss this with you before sharing information.
Only the minimum amount of information necessary will be shared, and only with those who need to know.
Professional Clinical Supervision
As a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), I attend regular professional clinical supervision.
Supervision is an essential part of safe and ethical counselling practice. It provides an opportunity to reflect on my work, ensure I am providing the best possible support to my clients and maintain high professional standards.
During supervision:
Client names and identifying details are removed or anonymised wherever possible.
My clinical supervisor is bound by professional confidentiality and ethical standards.
Discussions focus on the counselling process rather than identifying the individual client.
Record Keeping
To support safe and effective practice, I keep brief factual counselling records.
These records are stored securely and handled in accordance with UK data protection legislation.
Further information about how records are stored, retained and protected can be found in my Privacy Notice.
Confidential Communication
I take reasonable steps to ensure that emails, telephone calls, text messages and online communications are handled securely.
However, please be aware that standard email is not always completely secure. For this reason, I recommend that highly sensitive or confidential information is discussed during counselling sessions wherever possible.
Online Counselling
Where counselling takes place online, I use secure platforms wherever possible.
While every reasonable effort is made to maintain confidentiality, no online communication can ever be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Clients are encouraged to:
Join sessions from a private, quiet space.
Use a secure internet connection.
Protect their own devices with passwords where possible.
Ensure other people cannot overhear the session.
Your Privacy
Your personal information is processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Please refer to my Privacy Notice for detailed information about:
How your information is collected.
How it is stored.
How long records are kept.
Your rights under data protection law.
Questions About Confidentiality
If you have any questions about confidentiality before, during or after counselling, I encourage you to ask.
I believe it is important that you fully understand how confidentiality works so that you can make informed decisions about your counselling.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding this Confidentiality Statement, please contact:
Practice Name: HollyTree Wellbeing Services
Email: hollytreewellbeing@gmail.com
Related Policies
Please also read my:
These documents explain how I protect your personal information and fulfil my professional responsibilities.
Policy Review
Document Owner: Holly Webb
Version: 1.0
Effective Date: July 2026
Review Date: July 2027