Privacy Policy

Heart to Heart Counselling is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is collected and used lawfully, transparently, and securely in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website or contact us.

1. Personal Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following personal information when you interact with our website or services:

Name and surname
Email address
Contact number
Any information you voluntarily provide via contact or enquiry forms

We only collect information that is necessary to respond to your enquiry, provide counselling services, or communicate with you appropriately.

2. Purpose for Collecting Personal Information

Your personal information may be used for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and requests for counselling services
To communicate appointment information or relevant updates
To personalise and improve your experience with our services
To improve our website and service offerings
To send newsletters or practice updates where you have given consent

Heart to Heart Counselling will not process your personal information for purposes other than those stated above unless required or permitted by law.

3. Lawful Processing and Consent

Personal information is processed lawfully and in a reasonable manner that does not infringe your privacy. By submitting your information via our website or contacting us, you consent to the collection and processing of your personal information as described in this policy.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us in writing.

4. Disclosure of Personal Information

Heart to Heart Counselling will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

Your information may only be shared with trusted service providers who assist us in operating our website or services, and only where they agree to maintain confidentiality and comply with POPIA.

We may disclose personal information where required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Heart to Heart Counselling or others.

5. Security Safeguards

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Our website uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to ensure that information submitted through forms is transmitted securely. Sensitive personal information is not stored on our website unless necessary for lawful purposes.

6. Data Retention

Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

7. Cookies

Our website may use cookies to improve functionality and user experience. Cookies do not collect personally identifiable information.

You may disable cookies in your browser settings; however, certain website features may not function correctly if cookies are disabled.

8. Your Rights Under POPIA

In terms of POPIA, you have the right to:

Request access to your personal information
Request correction or deletion of your personal information
Object to the processing of your personal information
Withdraw consent at any time
Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

Requests relating to personal information can be submitted in writing.

9. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. Heart to Heart Counselling is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external websites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Heart to Heart Counselling reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be posted on this page, and the updated version will apply from the date of publication.