Privacy and Cookie Policy
This policy explains how Ayrshire Counselling & Therapy Centre collects, uses and protects your personal information, and how this website uses cookies.
Last updated: 27 September 2026
Who we are
Ayrshire Counselling & Therapy Centre is a therapeutic centre at 24 Wellington Square, Ayr KA7 1EZ, founded by Michaela Sinclair and Diana Taylor. For the purposes of UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), we are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.
If you have any questions about this policy or your information, email enquiries@actc.co.uk or write to us at the address above.
Information we collect
We only collect the information we need. This may include:
- your name, email address and phone number, when you contact us by phone, email or our contact form
- anything you choose to tell us in your message
- if you become a client, information you share during counselling, which may include details about your health, relationships or other sensitive matters
- if you are an organisation, the contact details of the people we work with
You don’t need to go into detail about why you are seeking counselling when you first contact us.
How we use your information
- to reply to your enquiry and arrange appointments
- to provide counselling, supervision and related services
- to keep the records our professional body, the BACP, expects us to keep
- to meet our legal obligations
We never sell your information or use it for marketing.
Our lawful basis
We rely on your consent when you send us a message through our contact form. When you become a client, we process your information to provide the service you have asked for (contract) and, for health information, under the provisions of data protection law that cover health and social care provided by a registered professional under a duty of confidentiality.
Confidentiality
Everything you share in counselling is confidential. There are some limited circumstances where confidentiality may need to be broken, for example if there is a serious risk of harm to you or to others, or where the law requires it. Your counsellor will explain these at your first session. Our counsellors discuss their work in professional supervision, as required by the BACP, without sharing information that identifies you.
Who we share it with
We don’t share your information with anyone else unless you agree, or we are required to by law. We use a small number of trusted services to run our practice:
- SMTP2GO, which delivers messages sent through our contact form to our inbox
- our email and website hosting providers
These providers only process information on our instructions and must keep it secure.
How long we keep it
We keep enquiries that don’t lead to counselling for no longer than 12 months. Client records are kept securely for up to 7 years after counselling ends, in line with professional guidance, and are then securely destroyed.
Keeping it secure
Paper records are kept in locked storage. Electronic records are password protected. This website uses a secure (HTTPS) connection.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the information we hold about you
- ask us to correct anything that is wrong
- ask us to delete your information, where we are not required to keep it
- object to or ask us to limit how we use it
- withdraw your consent at any time
To use any of these rights, contact us at enquiries@actc.co.uk. We will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Cookies
Cookies are small files saved on your device when you visit a website. We use as few as possible.
Essential
We save your cookie choice on your device so we don’t ask you again on every page. This is stored as actc_cookie_consent and is needed for the site to work properly.
Analytics (optional)
With your permission, we use Google Analytics to understand how people use our website, such as which pages are visited and for how long. This helps us improve the site. Google Analytics sets cookies named _ga and _ga_*, which last up to 2 years. They do not identify you personally.
We do not use advertising or marketing cookies.
Changing your settings
You can change your cookie choice at any time.
You can also delete cookies using your browser settings.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.