Privacy Policy

Willow Connection collects only the information needed to respond to your enquiry and, if you choose to proceed, to arrange and provide counselling appointments.

Through the website enquiry form, this typically includes:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your phone number, if you choose to provide it
• Your preferred appointment type
• Anything you write in the optional enquiry message

If you contact the practice by email or SMS instead, the details you send in that message are received in the same way.

Information you provide is used to:

• Respond to your enquiry
• Arrange, confirm and reschedule appointments
• Keep appropriate records of the counselling work you have requested
• Meet professional, ethical and legal obligations that apply to social work and counselling practice

Your information is not sold, rented or used for advertising, and Willow Connection does not add enquirers to marketing mailing lists.

The website enquiry form is designed for general enquiries only. Please do not include detailed information about your health, diagnosis, trauma history or other highly sensitive matters in the form, by email or by SMS. That kind of detail is best shared in a session, or in a conversation you have agreed to.

If you send sensitive information anyway, it will be handled with care — but limiting what is written in an initial enquiry is the safest approach.

Enquiry information and counselling records are kept securely, and access is limited to Sharon as the practitioner responsible for the practice. Records are retained only for as long as they are needed for the purposes described on this page, or as required by professional and legal obligations, and are then securely destroyed.

The website enquiry form is delivered over an encrypted HTTPS connection. Email and SMS are convenient but are not perfectly secure channels; if you would prefer not to use them, you are welcome to ask about alternatives when you make contact.

Information is not disclosed to anyone else without your consent, with limited exceptions that apply to counselling practice. These can include situations where there is a serious risk to your safety or someone else's, where a child is at risk of harm, or where disclosure is required by law or a court order.

These limits are explained clearly before counselling begins, so you know what confidentiality does and does not cover.

This website does not use advertising cookies or tracking for marketing purposes. Standard technical information — such as the pages visited and the browser used — may be recorded by the website host as part of keeping the site secure and working correctly.

Photographs on this site are either supplied by the practice or licensed stock photography used for atmosphere. No images of clients are used.

You are entitled to ask what information the practice holds about you, to ask for a correction if something is inaccurate, and to ask questions about how your information is handled. Requests can be made by email to Willowconnection@outlook.com.

Records relating to counselling sessions are clinical records, so there may be circumstances where access is limited — for example, where providing access could cause harm. If that ever applies, the reason will be explained to you.

What you discuss in a counselling session is treated as confidential, and this is explained in full at the start of the work together. If you would like to understand how confidentiality applies to your situation before booking, you are welcome to ask during the free introductory consultation.