TherapyGuide (therapy-guide.com) helps people understand different approaches to therapy, find information about therapeutic modalities, and connect with practitioners. This policy explains what personal information we collect when you use the site, why we collect it, and the choices and rights you have.

This policy is written to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

01 Who we are

TherapyGuide is operated by Latitude Psychology ("we", "us", "our"), based in the United Kingdom.

We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy — meaning we decide why and how it's processed.

ICO registration number: [ZB662174]

02 Information we collect

Information you give us directly

• Newsletter sign-up — your email address, when you subscribe.
• Enquiries and contact forms — your name, email address, and the content of your message, when you contact us.
• Practitioner directory listings — professional details submitted by practitioners applying for or maintaining a listing (name, qualifications, registration/accreditation numbers, contact details, practice information).
• CPD membership — name, email address, and payment details, when the £99/year CPD membership is purchased. Payment card details are collected and processed by our payment provider, not stored by us.

Information collected automatically

• IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on the site, referring website, and general location (derived from IP address, not precise location)
• Search terms entered into the site's therapy/practitioner search tool

We collect this automatically through Google Analytics (GA4) and, where applicable, Google AdSense — see the cookies section below for details.

03 Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device. We use the following categories:

Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to display advertising on TherapyGuide. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on a visitor's prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.

You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ad Settings, or opt out of third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting aboutads.info.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how the site is used. Google Analytics collects information anonymised or pseudonymised at source where possible. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

04 How we use your information, and our legal basis

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use your information to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects without human involvement.

05 Who we share your information with

• Hostinger — our website hosting provider, which stores site data on our behalf.
• Google (Analytics and AdSense) — as described above.
• [Email/newsletter service provider] — used to send the TherapyGuide newsletter and manage the mailing list.
• [Payment provider] — processes CPD membership payments securely; we do not see or store full card details.
• Professional advisers (accountant, solicitor) and regulators or law enforcement, where we're legally required to share information.

We do not share your information with third parties for their own independent marketing purposes.

06 International transfers

Some of the providers we use (including Google) may process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where this happens, we rely on safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, or Standard Contractual Clauses, depending on the provider.

07 How long we keep your information

• Newsletter subscribers — until you unsubscribe.
• Enquiries — typically 12 months from your last contact, unless a longer period is needed to resolve the matter.
• CPD membership records — for the duration of membership, plus up to 6 years afterwards for accounting and tax record-keeping requirements.
• Practitioner directory listings — for as long as the listing is active, plus a reasonable period afterwards in case of dispute.
• Analytics data — retained in Google Analytics according to our configured retention setting (typically 14 months).

08 Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Ask us to delete your information, in certain circumstances
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information
• Receive your information in a portable format
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including for direct marketing
• Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent (e.g. by unsubscribing, or adjusting cookie settings)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. If you're not satisfied with how we've handled your information, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

09 Children's privacy

TherapyGuide is intended for general adult audiences. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will remove it.

10 Links to other websites

TherapyGuide links out to third-party practitioner directories and professional bodies (such as Psychology Today, the Counselling Directory, and BACP) to help you find a practitioner. Once you leave our site, their own privacy policies apply — we're not responsible for how those sites handle your information.

11 Keeping your information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including secure hosting and restricted access to personal data. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, but we work to protect your information to industry standards.

12 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, particularly as new features (such as CPD membership payments and the practitioner directory) go live. We'll update the "last updated" date at the top of this page when we do.