Privacy Policy
This policy explains how Ascending Minds Psychology collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when you visit this website or enquire about our services. We take your privacy seriously and handle all personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Who We Are
Ascending Minds Psychology is a private psychology practice offering psychological therapy and assessment services in Birmingham and online across the UK. The data controller is Dr David King.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Our ICO registration number is ZC086944.
Contact: enquiries@ascendingmindspsychology.com
2. What Data We Collect
When you use this website or contact us, we may collect the following:
- Name, email address, telephone number
- The nature of your enquiry or the service you are seeking
- Technical data including IP address, browser type, and pages visited (collected automatically via Google Analytics)
- Any additional information you choose to provide in a contact or enquiry form
If you proceed to become a client, additional clinical data will be collected as described in our separate Client Terms of Engagement, which you will receive before your first appointment.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use the data you provide to:
- Respond to your enquiry and assess whether our services are appropriate for you
- Arrange appointments and manage ongoing clinical work
- Comply with our legal and professional obligations as an HCPC-registered practice
- Improve this website and understand how it is used (via anonymised analytics data)
We do not use your personal data for marketing without your explicit consent. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for commercial purposes.
4. Lawful Basis for Processing
We process your personal data on the following lawful bases:
- Contract: to provide the clinical service you have requested
- Legal obligation: to comply with professional regulatory requirements
- Legitimate interests: to respond to website enquiries and maintain basic website analytics
- Vital interests: where there is a serious and credible risk of harm and confidentiality must be overridden
Health data is a special category under UK GDPR. Where we process health data, our additional lawful basis is Article 9(2)(h): processing necessary for the provision of health or social care.
5. How We Store Your Data
All personal data is held securely. Electronic records are encrypted. Clinical records and session notes are held in a GDPR-compliant practice management system. Paper records, where used, are stored in a locked environment and destroyed securely when no longer needed.
We do not store personal data outside the United Kingdom. Any third-party tools we use (including AI-assisted documentation tools, if used) are required to hold data within the UK and operate under a formal data processing agreement. Clients are informed before any AI-assisted tool is used in their care, and may decline without impact on their treatment.
6. Data Retention
Clinical records are retained for a minimum of seven years following the end of our work together, in line with BPS guidance and our professional indemnity insurance requirements. Enquiry data where no clinical relationship was established is deleted within 12 months.
Anonymised website analytics data is retained in accordance with Google Analytics retention settings, which you can review at policies.google.com/privacy.
7. Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:
- The right to access the personal data we hold about you
- The right to have inaccurate data corrected
- The right to request deletion of your data (subject to our professional retention obligations)
- The right to restrict or object to processing
- The right to data portability
- The right to withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at enquiries@ascendingmindspsychology.com. We will respond within one month. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk.
8. Cookies and Analytics
This website uses cookies. Please see our separate Cookie Policy for full details of the cookies we use and how to manage them.
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use this website. This collects anonymised data including pages visited, time spent on the site, and broad geographic information. This data does not identify you personally. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
9. Contact Forms
Our contact and enquiry forms are provided by WPForms, a GDPR-compliant WordPress plugin. Data submitted via these forms is sent securely and stored within our WordPress environment, which is hosted on SiteGround's UK-based servers.
10. Third-Party Links
This website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their policies before sharing any personal data.
11. Changes to This Policy
We review this policy periodically. Any significant changes will be reflected in an updated date at the top of this page. Continued use of this website following a change constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.