The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relates to any of your personal information that I may collect, store or share. This page outlines my GDPR/Privacy Policy.

Data controller

Courtyard Natural Healing is a sole trader business owned and run entirely by Nichola, with no employees. Nichola is the data controller for all personal information collected through the business, and is personally responsible for how it is collected, stored, used, and protected.

If you have any questions about this policy or how your information is handled, you can contact Nichola directly at courtyardnaturalhealing@gmail.com.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All information relating to attendance and the client’s records will be kept entirely confidential. No disclosure will be made to a third party, including any member of the client’s own family, without the client’s consent, unless it is required by due process of the law.

LAWFUL BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR INFORMATION

Some of the information collected (such as medical background, pregnancy status, or allergies) is classed as "special category data" under GDPR. This information is collected and processed only with your explicit consent, given at the time of your initial assessment or Intake Form. You may withdraw this consent at any time, as set out in "Your rights" below.

PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT I COLLECT

When you contact me and as part of the initial assessment, I will ask you for the following:

• Name, address, email address and telephone number and date of birth.

• Emergency contact telephone number and relationship to you.

• Brief medical background, any medications and recent operations.

• Therapeutic/healing history and current reasons for seeking Reiki or any other complementary therapy you may be receiving.

• Information on any areas of concern.

• If you are sensitive to touch.

• If you are sensitive to fragrance.

• If you are pregnant.

• If you have any allergies.

• If there is anything else I should be aware of.

As part of my practice, I offer Reiki, crystal-infused Reiki, sound-infused Reiki, sound bath meditation, and ThetaHealing®. Any personal or health information you share is used solely to support your wellbeing within these services and is kept entirely confidential in accordance with GDPR.

I will also complete a Client Documentation Sheet at the end of each session, so a thorough record is kept. This again will be kept entirely confidential (see Confidentiality above).

PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR THE PERSONALISED MANIFESTATION MEDITATION

For the Personalised Manifestation Meditation service, the personal information I collect relates to your life circumstances, feelings, and personal dreams and desires, which you share via the Intake Form. This is used solely to create your personalised meditation and is treated with the same strict confidentiality outlined above.

HOW I STORE YOUR INFORMATION

Mobile phone — I may store some or all your personal information or session notes on a mobile device. This allows me to contact you, when necessary, preferably by WhatsApp but could be via social media messaging, text message, email or by phone call. Any correspondence between us will be stored there. My mobile phone is password protected and kept locked when not in use.

Personal computer — I may store some or all your personal information or session notes on a personal computer, which is password protected and kept locked when not in use.

Paper — I may store some or all your personal information or session notes by a paper-based filing system. These will be stored out of sight in a filing cabinet in my home or office when not in use.

THIRD PARTIES WHO PROCESS INFORMATION ON MY BEHALF

I use a small number of trusted third-party services to help run my business, which may process some of your information as part of providing that service: my website platform, for general enquiries and website interactions; my booking system, for appointment bookings and scheduling; my payment provider, for processing card payments; and my email marketing platform, for anyone who has opted in to receive newsletters or updates. Each of these providers has its own privacy and data protection safeguards in place.

HOW I MAY SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Emergencies — in the event of a physical or mental health emergency, I will always seek your consent to share your contact information with an emergency healthcare service wherever it is possible to do so. Where you are unable to give consent at the time (for example, if you are unconscious or in crisis), I may share the minimum necessary information with emergency services in order to protect your safety or the safety of others.

Legal requirement — I may also be required by law to share information with the police or relevant authorities, including where I believe you or a member of the public may be at risk (see Confidentiality above).

HOW LONG WILL I HOLD YOUR INFORMATION

I will hold on to your session information (written or electronic) for up to seven years from the time of your last consultation. This applies equally to general personal information, health information, and Personalised Manifestation Meditation Intake Form data. This is so I have details of our past work in case you return for more treatments or services in the future. After this time has passed, I will shred and permanently delete the session information.

YOUR RIGHTS

Under GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information I hold about you.

• Request that any inaccurate information be corrected.

• Request that your information be deleted, subject to my legal obligation to retain certain records.

• Withdraw your consent to processing at any time.

• Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how your information has been handled.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact me directly using the details at the top of this policy.

With heartfelt thanks for trusting me with your information — your privacy is treated with the same care and respect as the healing space itself 💗