Privacy policy
This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit my website, contact me, book an appointment, or use my Psychological Counselling/Coaching or Couples Counselling services.
This Privacy Policy is primarily based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP/DSG) and related Swiss data-protection requirements. Where applicable, other data-protection laws may also apply, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
1. Who is responsible for your personal data?
The person responsible for processing your personal data is:
Sara Nicol
Zürich, Switzerland
Email: contact@saranicolpsychology.com
For data-protection purposes, I am responsible for the personal information that I collect and process in connection with my website and professional services.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact me using the email address above.
2. What personal information do I collect?
Depending on how you interact with me, I may collect and process:
your name;
email address and other contact information you provide;
appointment and booking information;
information you provide when making an enquiry;
payment and invoicing information;
information relevant to your Psychological Counselling/Coaching or Couples Counselling;
information discussed or provided during sessions;
correspondence between you and me, including emails;
information contained in professional notes and records;
information relating to your use of my website, such as IP address, browser and device information, and information collected through cookies or analytics; and
other information that you voluntarily provide to me.
Some information provided in the course of Psychological Counselling/Coaching or Couples Counselling may constitute sensitive personal data, including information relating to health, psychological wellbeing or private life.
I only collect and process information that is relevant to providing and administering my services, maintaining appropriate professional records, fulfilling legal and administrative obligations, and operating my website and practice.
3. How I use your information
I may use your personal information to:
respond to enquiries;
arrange, confirm, cancel and reschedule appointments;
provide Psychological Counselling/Coaching and Couples Counselling;
maintain appropriate professional notes and records;
communicate with you about your sessions and appointments;
process payments and maintain accounting records;
meet applicable legal, tax and administrative obligations;
maintain the security and proper functioning of my website and systems;
manage and improve my services;
respond to lawful requests or protect my legal rights where necessary; and
comply with applicable legal, regulatory and professional requirements.
I do not sell your personal information.
I do not use information from your Psychological Counselling/Coaching or Couples Counselling sessions for advertising purposes.
4. Confidentiality
Information you share with me as part of Psychological Counselling/Coaching or Couples Counselling is treated as confidential.
I will not normally disclose information about you or your sessions to another person without your consent.
There are, however, limited circumstances in which information may need to be disclosed without your consent where this is permitted or required by applicable law. This may include a legal or regulatory requirement or circumstances involving a serious and immediate concern about your safety or the safety of another person.
Where it is lawful and appropriate to do so, I will endeavour to discuss any proposed disclosure with you beforehand.
Couples Counselling
Couples Counselling involves more than one participant. Each participant is an individual client and data subject with their own personal information and data-protection rights.
Information discussed during a joint session is part of the couples counselling process and should not be understood as information that I will keep separately confidential from the other participant.
If one participant communicates with me separately about matters relating to the couples work, I will consider carefully how that information should be handled in the context of the counselling relationship.
I will not automatically agree to keep significant information secret from the other participant where doing so would undermine the purpose or integrity of the Couples Counselling.
I will discuss the boundaries of confidentiality with both participants where necessary.
5. Professional supervision
As part of maintaining good professional practice, I may discuss aspects of my professional work with a suitably qualified professional supervisor or professional consultant.
Where your work is discussed in supervision or professional consultation, I will take reasonable steps to protect your identity and will only share information that is relevant and necessary for the purpose of supervision.
6. Professional records and notes
I keep appropriate professional records and notes relating to my work with you.
These may include information relevant to your work with me, appointment information, administrative information and brief session notes.
Records may be stored in secure cloud-based systems and, where applicable, in Upheal.
Access to your records is restricted to me, except where access by a service provider is necessary to operate, maintain, secure or support the systems used to provide my services.
I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, taking into account applicable legal, professional, accounting and administrative requirements.
Different types of information may therefore be retained for different periods.
When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or destroyed where appropriate.
7. Email communication
I use Zoho Mail for professional email communication.
I use email primarily for administrative communication, including arranging and confirming appointments and other practical matters relating to our work together.
Please be aware that ordinary email is not completely secure and may not be appropriate for sharing highly sensitive or confidential information.
If you choose to share personal or sensitive information with me by email, you do so with an understanding of the limitations of electronic communication.
Email is not monitored continuously and should not be used for urgent or emergency matters.
If you are experiencing an emergency or believe that you or someone else is at immediate risk, please contact the appropriate emergency or crisis service in the country where you are located.
8. Online Psychological Counselling/Coaching and Couples Counselling
Online sessions are provided using Google Meet.
Google may process personal information in connection with the provision and operation of Google Meet. The information processed will depend on how the service is configured and used.
I take reasonable steps to protect the privacy and security of online sessions. However, no electronic communication or online platform can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Sessions will not be recorded by me unless this has been specifically discussed with you and any required consent has been obtained.
I ask that you do not record, photograph or otherwise capture a session without discussing this with me and obtaining my agreement in advance.
You are responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect your own privacy during online sessions. Where possible, you should attend from a private location, use a private device and use a secure internet connection.
9. Upheal
I use Upheal as part of my professional note-taking and record-keeping processes.
Depending on how the service is used, information processed through Upheal may include your name, email address, session information, notes and, where applicable, audio, transcripts or information generated from a session.
Upheal is a third-party service provider. Information processed through Upheal may be stored or processed outside Switzerland, including in the United States.
Where I use Upheal to process your information, I take reasonable steps to use the service in a manner consistent with applicable data-protection requirements.
Upheal has its own privacy and security policies, which provide further information about how it processes personal information.
10. Appointments and Acuity Scheduling
Appointments may be booked through Acuity Scheduling, which is provided by Squarespace.
When you book an appointment, Acuity may collect information such as your name, email address, appointment details and any information you choose to provide through the booking process.
I use Acuity to manage appointment availability, bookings, cancellations and related administrative information.
If you provide additional information through an Acuity intake or booking form, that information may also be processed through the Acuity/Squarespace system.
Squarespace provides further information about how Acuity Scheduling handles personal information in its privacy documentation.
11. Payments
Payments may be processed through third-party payment providers, including Stripe or PayPal, depending on the payment method you choose.
Payment providers may collect and process information required to process your payment.
I do not store your full payment card details as part of your professional client records.
I may retain payment and invoicing information where necessary for accounting, tax, legal or administrative purposes.
12. Website and cookies
My website is hosted and operated using Squarespace.
When you visit my website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including information relating to your device, browser, IP address and use of the website.
The website may use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for the operation, security and functionality of the website.
Where analytics tools are enabled, information about website use may also be collected to help me understand how visitors use the website and improve its content and functionality.
You can control or restrict cookies through your browser settings and, where applicable, through the cookie settings available on the website.
13. Third-party service providers
I use selected third-party providers to operate and administer my website and professional practice.
These may include:
Squarespace – website hosting and website services;
Acuity Scheduling – appointment booking and scheduling;
Zoho Mail – professional email;
Google Meet – online sessions;
Upheal – professional notes and session-related information;
Stripe – payment processing; and
PayPal – payment processing.
These providers may process personal information on my behalf or as separate controllers where applicable.
I take reasonable steps when selecting and using third-party providers and only use information for legitimate purposes connected with the operation of my website and practice.
14. International transfers of personal data
Because I use international technology and service providers, your personal information may in some circumstances be processed outside Switzerland.
Where personal information is transferred outside Switzerland, I take the measures required under applicable Swiss data-protection law for international transfers.
Depending on the destination and circumstances, this may include relying on an adequate level of data protection or appropriate contractual or other safeguards.
Some of the third-party providers I use may process information in the United States or other countries outside Switzerland.
Swiss data-protection law requires appropriate safeguards or another permitted basis where personal data is transferred to countries that do not provide an adequate level of protection.
15. Data security
I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
These measures may include password protection, device security, access controls and secure cloud-based storage.
However, no electronic storage system or transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
16. How long I keep your information
I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.
Different types of information may therefore be retained for different periods.
Accounting, tax and business records may be retained for the period required by applicable Swiss law.
Professional records and notes will be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for professional, legal and administrative purposes, taking into account any applicable requirements.
Information held by third-party providers may also be subject to their own retention and deletion processes.
When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or destroyed where appropriate.
17. Your data-protection rights
Under applicable Swiss data-protection law, you may have rights in relation to your personal information, including:
the right to request information about whether I process personal data about you;
the right to request access to personal information held about you;
the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
the right to request deletion of personal information, subject to legal or other legitimate reasons why information may need to be retained;
the right to object to certain processing;
the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances; and
the right to data portability where the legal requirements are met.
These rights are subject to applicable legal restrictions. For example, I may need to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Swiss law provides individuals with rights to obtain information about their personal data and, where appropriate, request correction or deletion, subject to applicable restrictions.
If you would like to exercise a data-protection right, please contact me at: contact@saranicolpsychology.com
I may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.
18. Withdrawal of consent
Where I rely on your consent to process particular personal information, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before the withdrawal.
Please note that information may continue to be processed where another lawful basis or legal obligation applies.
19. Marketing communications
I do not use information from your Psychological Counselling/Coaching or Couples Counselling sessions for marketing purposes.
If I send informational or marketing communications, these will only be sent where I have an appropriate legal basis to do so and, where required, your consent.
You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the relevant unsubscribe mechanism or by contacting me directly.
I do not sell your contact information or provide it to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
20. Changes to this Privacy Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my services, technology, third-party providers or applicable legal requirements.
The current version will be published on my website together with the date it was last updated.
21. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact me:
Sara Nicol
Zürich, Switzerland
contact@saranicolpsychology.com
Last updated: October 2026