Last updated: 07 September 2026

Who I am

Jonathan Butterworth is the data controller responsible for the personal information collected and used through this website and in connection with my counselling and psychotherapy practice.

My contact details are:

Ready To Listen

Tŷ Myrddin, Old station Road, Carmarthen, SA31 1LP

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephone: 07716 115551

ICO registration number: ZB895608

My commitment to your privacy

Your privacy is important to me. This statement explains what personal information I collect, why I collect it, how it is used and stored, and the rights you have in relation to it.

I only collect information that is relevant to providing my services, managing my practice and meeting my professional, ethical and legal responsibilities.

Information I may collect

Depending on how you contact me and the services you receive, I may collect:

• your name and contact details;

• your date of birth;

• your emergency contact details;

• information provided through an enquiry or contact form;

• information about your physical or mental health;

• relevant personal, family, relationship and medical history;

• session appointments and attendance information;

• brief therapy or clinical notes;

• correspondence between us;

• information provided by a referrer, GP, insurer, employer, solicitor or other professional, where relevant;

• payment and invoicing information;

• website and technical information, such as your IP address, browser type and cookie preferences; and

• any other information that you choose to share with me during our work together.

Counselling and psychotherapy information is confidential and may include special-category personal data, particularly information concerning your physical or mental health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life or sexual orientation.

Please do not send detailed sensitive or clinical information through an ordinary website contact form unless it is necessary.

How I collect your information

I may collect information:

• directly from you by telephone, email, contact form, assessment form or during therapy sessions;

• through this website;

• from a parent, guardian or person acting on your behalf;

• from another professional or organisation that has referred you; or

• from another source where you have authorised this, or where there is another lawful reason for the information to be provided.

If information is received from another person or organisation, I will normally tell you unless you already know, there is a lawful reason not to do so, or doing so would place someone at risk.

Why I use your information

I may use your personal information to:

• respond to enquiries;

• assess whether my services are appropriate for you;

• arrange and provide counselling, psychotherapy or supervision;

• manage appointments and communicate with you;

• maintain appropriate professional records;

• process payments and maintain financial records;

• manage referrals and communicate with other professionals when appropriate;

• protect your vital interests or those of another person;

• manage safeguarding concerns;

• obtain confidential clinical supervision;

• maintain the safety, security and administration of my practice;

• comply with professional, insurance, tax and legal obligations; and

• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

I will not use your therapy information for advertising or unrelated purposes.

My lawful basis for using your information

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, I must have a lawful basis for using personal information. Depending on the circumstances, my lawful bases may include:

• Contract: where the information is necessary to provide a service you have requested or to take steps before entering into a therapy agreement with you.

• Legitimate interests: where it is necessary for the responsible administration and protection of my practice, provided that your rights and interests do not override those interests.

• Legal obligation: where I need to retain or use information to comply with the law.

• Vital interests: in exceptional circumstances where using or sharing information is necessary to protect someone’s life.

• Consent: where I have asked for your clear permission for a particular use of your information. You may withdraw this consent at any time, although this will not affect information already processed.

Special-category information

Information about your health and therapy is special-category personal data and receives additional protection.

My condition for processing this information is:

• you have given explicit consent under Article 9(2)(a) of the UK GDPR.

Other conditions may apply in exceptional circumstances, including protecting someone’s vital interests or establishing, exercising or defending a legal claim.

Confidentiality and sharing information

Information discussed during counselling or psychotherapy is treated as confidential. I will not normally share it without your knowledge and agreement.

There are, however, circumstances in which I may need to share limited information. These may include:

• where there is a serious and immediate risk of harm to you or another person;

• where I have a safeguarding concern involving a child or an adult at risk;

• where disclosure is required by law or ordered by a court;

• where it is necessary to prevent or detect serious crime;

• where it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim;

• with your GP, healthcare provider, referrer or another professional, where you have agreed or where another lawful basis applies; or

• with service providers that support the secure operation of my practice.

Where possible and appropriate, I will discuss a proposed disclosure with you first. Any disclosure will be limited to information that is relevant and necessary.

Clinical supervision

As part of responsible and ethical practice, I discuss aspects of my work with a qualified clinical supervisor. Wherever possible, identifying details are omitted or minimised.

My supervisor is also required to maintain confidentiality.

Service providers

I may use trusted organisations to provide services such as:

• secure email and electronic communications;

• website hosting;

• practice-management or appointment systems;

• video conferencing;

• secure cloud storage;

• payment processing;

• accounting; and

• IT support.

These organisations may process limited personal information on my behalf. Where they act as data processors, they must handle the information securely and only in accordance with my instructions and applicable data-protection law.

My principal service providers are: Counselling Directory, Psychology Today, Youcan Consulting on behalf of IONOS.

How long I retain information

I only retain personal information for as long as it is reasonably required for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet my professional, insurance, tax and legal responsibilities.

My usual retention periods are:

• initial enquiries that do not result in therapy: 12 months

• client and therapy records: 7 years

• financial and taxation records: 6 years

• contact-form messages and routine correspondence: 7 years; and

• website technical or analytics information: [PERIOD].

At the end of the relevant retention period, information will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised unless there is a clear reason for retaining it for longer.

How I protect your information

I take reasonable and proportionate measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or alteration.

These measures may include password protection, encryption, device security, access controls, secure storage, backups and the secure destruction of records.

Please be aware that ordinary email and internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you have concerns about communicating sensitive information electronically, please discuss this with me.

Website contact forms and email

When you contact me through this website or by email, I use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry and, where appropriate, to arrange services.

Submitting an enquiry does not commit you to beginning therapy. Unless we agree otherwise, please avoid including extensive confidential or clinical information in your initial message.

Cookies and website analytics

This website may use essential cookies required for it to operate.

With your permission, it may also use analytics or other non-essential cookies to understand how visitors use the website. Non-essential cookies should not be placed unless you have given the required consent.

Further information can be found in my cookie policy.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information I hold about you;

• ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected;

• ask for your information to be deleted;

• ask me to restrict how your information is used;

• object to particular uses of your information;

• receive certain information in a portable format;

• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and

• raise a concern about how your information has been used.

These rights are not absolute. For example, I may need to retain certain information to comply with a legal obligation or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

To exercise a right, please contact me using the details at the beginning of this statement. I may need to verify your identity before responding. I will normally respond within one month.

Automated decision-making

I do not use personal information to make decisions about you solely through automated means where those decisions would have a legal or similarly significant effect.

Concerns and complaints

If you have a concern about how I use your information, please contact me first so that I can try to resolve it.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Changes to this statement

I may update this privacy statement when my services, working practices or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this website with its revision date.