Privacy, plainly put.

Who we are

Stillroom is an independent therapy practice at 9 Malta Gardens, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH3. For the purposes of UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), Stillroom is the controller of the personal information described in this policy, and we are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Maya Okafor, our founder, is responsible for how the practice handles personal information. You can reach her on 0131 496 0742 or at hello@stillroomtherapy.co.uk.

What we collect

We collect only what we need to offer you a safe, useful service.

• When you get in touch or book a free call: your name, email address, phone number, the kind of support you’re interested in, any therapist you’d like to see, and anything you choose to tell us in your message.
• If you become a client: your contact details, date of birth, GP’s name and surgery, an emergency contact, and the information you share in your assessment and sessions. Some of this is health information, which the law treats as special category data.
• For payments: invoices, the date and amount of each payment and how it was made. Card details are handled by our payment provider and never stored by us.
• When you use this website: basic technical information such as your browser type and the pages you visit, collected without advertising or tracking cookies.

Why we use it, and our lawful basis

We use your information to arrange calls and sessions, provide therapy, take payment, keep you and others safe, and meet our legal and professional duties.

• Contract: to arrange and deliver the service you ask for, and to invoice you.
• Legitimate interests: to run the practice well, for example keeping an appointment diary and replying to enquiries.
• Legal obligation: to keep financial records and respond to lawful requests.
• Health information: we process this because it is necessary for the provision of health care and treatment by professionals bound by a duty of confidentiality (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h)).
• Consent: for our monthly newsletter, which you can leave at any time with one click.

Session notes

Your therapist keeps brief, factual notes after each session: the date, the main themes and anything agreed. They are not a transcript, and they are written so that you could read them.

Notes are kept separately from your contact details and identified by a client code rather than your name. Paper notes are locked away in the house; digital notes are stored in an encrypted, UK-hosted practice management system that only your therapist and Maya can access.

You can ask to see your notes at any time. Your therapist may want to talk them through with you first, but they will not refuse a request without a lawful reason.

Confidentiality and its limits

What you say in sessions stays between you and your therapist. Every Stillroom therapist discusses their work in regular clinical supervision, which is a professional requirement; this is done anonymously, without names or identifying details.

There are a small number of situations where we may need to share information without your consent:

• if we believe there is a serious risk of harm to you or to someone else;
• if we have a safeguarding concern about a child or an adult at risk;
• if we are required to by a court order;
• where the law requires it, for example under terrorism or money laundering legislation.

Wherever it is safe and possible, we will talk to you first and share only what is necessary. Your therapist will explain this at your first session.

Who we share it with

We never sell your information or use it for advertising. We share it only with:

• Service providers who work for us: our practice management system, secure email, video calling, payment processing and accountancy. Each works under a written contract that limits what they can do with your data, and stores it in the UK or under equivalent safeguards.
• Your GP or another professional: only with your explicit consent, or in the circumstances described under confidentiality.
• Your health insurer: only if you ask us to, and only the minimum they require, such as session dates.

How long we keep it

• Enquiries that don’t lead to sessions: deleted after six months.
• Client records and session notes: kept for seven years after your last session, in line with professional guidance and our insurers’ requirements, then securely destroyed.
• Financial records: six years from the end of the tax year they relate to, as HMRC requires.
• Newsletter: until you unsubscribe.

If a therapist leaves Stillroom or becomes unable to practise, a named colleague acts as their clinical executor, so that your records stay confidential and you are contacted with care.

Online sessions

Video sessions use an end-to-end encrypted platform that meets health-care security standards. Sessions are never recorded by us, and we ask that you don’t record them either.

Your therapist will always join from a private room. We suggest you do the same, use headphones if others are nearby, and avoid shared or work devices where you can.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information, where we have no legal or professional reason to keep it;
• ask us to restrict or stop using your information in certain circumstances;
• receive your information in a portable format;
• withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it.

To use any of these rights, contact Maya. There is no charge, and we will reply within one month.

Cookies and this website

This website uses only the small number of cookies and local storage it needs to work properly. We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not track you across other sites.

Forms on this site send your details over an encrypted connection. Please don’t include anything sensitive in a form or email that you would rather say on the phone.

Keeping it safe

We use encrypted, password-protected systems with two-step sign-in, lock away paper records, and limit access to the people who need it. Everyone at Stillroom is bound by confidentiality. If something ever went wrong, we would tell you and, where required, the ICO promptly.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please talk to us first on 0131 496 0742 or at hello@stillroomtherapy.co.uk. We would like the chance to put it right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy every year and whenever the way we work changes. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. If a change affects you directly, we will tell you before it takes effect.