Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 September 2026

Discover Hypnosis is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly.

This privacy notice explains what information I collect, why I collect it, how it is used and stored, who it may be shared with, and your rights under UK data-protection law.

Who I am

Discover Hypnosis is operated by:

Dean Clark, trading as Discover Hypnosis
The Space Manchester
Suite 425
Royal Exchange
St. Ann’s Square
Manchester
M2 7PE

Email: hello@discoverhypnosis.co.uk

For data-protection purposes, Dean Clark is the data controller responsible for deciding how your personal information is used.

What information I may collect

Depending on how you contact or work with me, I may collect:

  • your name and contact details, including email address and telephone number;
  • information you provide when making an enquiry;
  • appointment and booking information;
  • information provided through my client intake form;
  • relevant medical history, medication, mental-health information and other health-related information;
  • information about the issue you would like help with and your therapy goals;
  • notes made during or following hypnotherapy sessions;
  • correspondence by email, SMS or WhatsApp;
  • optional details of your GP or medical practice;
  • order and payment information;
  • information required for bookkeeping, tax and accounting purposes;
  • website usage and analytics information, where you have consented to analytics cookies;
  • testimonials, photographs or case-study information where you have separately agreed to their use.

Health and therapy information is treated as special category personal data and receives additional protection under UK data-protection law.

How I collect information

Information may be collected when you:

  • use the contact form on this website;
  • contact me by telephone, SMS, WhatsApp or email;
  • purchase a session or package through the website;
  • complete a client intake form using Google Forms;
  • attend hypnotherapy sessions in person or online;
  • provide information during the course of therapy;
  • provide a testimonial, review, photograph or case study.

Website contact-form submissions are sent to my business email and may also be stored within WPForms on the Discover Hypnosis WordPress website.

Why I use your information

I may use personal information to:

  • respond to enquiries;
  • decide whether my services are appropriate for your needs;
  • arrange and manage appointments;
  • provide hypnotherapy services;
  • maintain appropriate client records;
  • communicate with you regarding your sessions;
  • process orders and payments;
  • keep financial and tax records;
  • meet professional, legal and regulatory responsibilities;
  • maintain the security and operation of my website;
  • understand how visitors use the website where analytics consent has been given;
  • publish testimonials or case studies where separate permission has been obtained.

My lawful bases for using personal information

Under UK GDPR, I need a lawful reason for using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on:

Contract – where processing is necessary to provide services you have requested or purchased, or to take steps at your request before providing those services.

Legitimate interests – where it is reasonably necessary to operate and administer my practice, respond to enquiries, protect the business or maintain appropriate records, provided this does not override your rights and interests.

Legal obligation – where information must be retained or processed to comply with legal requirements, such as taxation and accounting obligations.

Consent – where you have actively agreed to a particular use of your information, for example testimonials, photographs, certain communications or website analytics.

Where I process health or other special-category information for the purposes of providing hypnotherapy, I will also identify an appropriate condition under Article 9 UK GDPR. Where I rely on explicit consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time, although doing so may affect my ability to continue providing services.

The ICO requires privacy notices to explain lawful bases, recipients, retention, rights and international transfers where relevant. ICO

Client intake forms and health information

Before beginning therapy, I may ask you to complete a client intake form using Google Forms.

This may include information about:

  • physical or mental-health conditions;
  • medication;
  • relevant medical history;
  • lifestyle factors;
  • the issue you would like help with;
  • your goals for therapy;
  • optional GP or medical-practice details.

You should only provide information that is relevant to your therapy.

Your GP details are optional.

I do not routinely contact clients’ GPs. Where contacting a GP or another healthcare professional may be appropriate, I will normally discuss this with you and obtain your permission first, unless disclosure is otherwise required or permitted by law in exceptional circumstances.

Client notes

 I may make written notes relating to your therapy and progress.

At present these are primarily paper records. Client notes will be kept separately from general business records and access will be restricted to me.

The National Council for Hypnotherapy recommends that records relating to adult clients are retained securely for 8 years after the last interaction, subject also to any relevant insurance or legal requirements. Hypnotherapists

Payments and purchases

Hypnotherapy sessions and packages may be purchased through the Discover Hypnosis website using WooCommerce.

Payments may be processed using:

  • Stripe for card payments;
  • PayPal, including Pay in 3 where available;
  • Monzo Business for bank transfers;
  • cash in occasional circumstances.

I do not personally receive or store complete card-payment details. Payment providers process payment information according to their own privacy and security arrangements.

I may retain order, invoice and payment records where required for business, accounting and tax purposes.

Appointment arrangements

Appointment times are arranged manually by email, phone, SMS or other agreed communication methods.

In-person sessions take place at hired therapy rooms booked under my own name. Client information is not routinely provided to the room provider.

Online sessions

Online hypnotherapy sessions are normally provided using Zoom Workplace.

Sessions are not routinely recorded.

If there were ever a reason to record a session, this would be discussed with you beforehand and appropriate consent would be obtained.

Email, SMS and WhatsApp

I may communicate with clients using:

  • Microsoft 365 email;
  • telephone calls;
  • SMS/text messaging;
  • WhatsApp where agreed or appropriate.

These are mainly used for enquiries, appointment arrangements, session-related communication and administration.

I do not currently use my client list for routine email marketing.

If I introduce newsletters or promotional emails in future, appropriate consent and unsubscribe arrangements will be put in place where required.

Testimonials, photographs and case studies

Testimonials, client photographs and identifiable case studies are only published where the client has given separate permission.

Agreeing to receive hypnotherapy does not mean agreeing to publicity.

Where possible, permission is obtained in writing, such as by email or text message.

Clients may contact me if they subsequently wish to discuss withdrawing permission for future use.

Website hosting and service providers

To operate Discover Hypnosis, I use a number of third-party services which may process personal information on my behalf or as independent data controllers.

These currently include:

  • GoDaddy – website hosting and associated services;
  • Microsoft 365 via GoDaddy – business email;
  • WordPress and WPForms – website and contact-form management;
  • WooCommerce – website orders;
  • Google Forms/Google services – client intake forms;
  • Stripe – card-payment processing;
  • PayPal – payment processing;
  • Monzo Business – banking;
  • Zoom Workplace – online hypnotherapy sessions;
  • Google Analytics – website analytics where consent has been given.

I may also provide limited financial information to my accountant where required for bookkeeping, taxation and accounting. Wherever possible, information provided for this purpose is anonymised or limited to what is necessary.

I do not routinely share therapy notes or sensitive client information with third parties.

International data transfers

Some technology providers used by Discover Hypnosis operate internationally or may process information outside the UK.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, the relevant provider must use an appropriate lawful mechanism or safeguard under UK data-protection law, such as an adequacy arrangement or approved contractual protections.

You can contact me if you would like further information about safeguards applying to a particular service.

Cookies and Google Analytics

This website uses cookies and may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the website.

Analytics cookies are not essential to providing the website and should only be used where appropriate consent has been obtained.

Visitors must be told what non-essential cookies do and be given a genuine choice before those cookies are placed on their device. ICO

A separate cookie notice or consent tool may provide further information about the cookies used and allow you to manage your preferences.

How long I keep information

I do not intend to keep personal information indefinitely.

Typical retention periods are:

Client intake information, therapy records and relevant client correspondence: normally 8 years after the last interaction with an adult client, in line with current NCH guidance, subject to legal or insurance requirements. Hypnotherapists

Enquiries that do not become clients: normally deleted when they are no longer reasonably required for responding to or following up the enquiry.

Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by HMRC. Self-employed businesses generally need to retain relevant records for at least 5 years after the 31 January tax-return submission deadline for the relevant tax year. GOV.UK

Testimonials and photographs: retained while they continue to be used with permission or until they are no longer required.

Information may occasionally need to be retained for longer where there is a legal, regulatory, insurance or dispute-related reason for doing so.

How I protect your information

I take reasonable steps to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, misuse or disclosure.

These measures include:

  • password or biometric protection on devices used to access business information;
  • two-factor authentication on key accounts where available;
  • limiting access to client information;
  • secure storage of client records;
  • using reputable service providers;
  • keeping sensitive client information separate from unnecessary business information where practical.

Security arrangements are reviewed periodically as my systems and working practices change.

Children

Discover Hypnosis primarily provides services to adults.

If I agree to work with someone under the age of 18, appropriate privacy, consent and safeguarding arrangements will be considered separately.

Automated decision-making

I do not use automated decision-making or profiling to determine whether someone receives hypnotherapy or how their therapy is provided.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis being used, you may have rights including:

  • the right to be informed about how your information is used;
  • the right to request access to your personal information;
  • the right to ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
  • the right to request deletion in certain circumstances;
  • the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
  • the right to object to certain uses of your information;
  • the right to data portability in certain circumstances;
  • the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

Not all rights apply in every situation.

To exercise your rights, contact:

hello@discoverhypnosis.co.uk

I may need to verify your identity before providing certain information.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled, please contact me first so I have an opportunity to address your concerns.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection.

Information is available from the ICO at ico.org.uk.

Changes to this privacy policy

This privacy policy may be updated occasionally where my services, systems, legal obligations or working practices change.

The latest version will always be published on this website.

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