Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how Therapy Council LLP, a Limited Liability Partnership registered in India (collectively "Therapy Council," "we," "our," "us"), acts as the Data Fiduciary and collects, uses, shares, protects, and otherwise processes your personal information through our website at https://therapycouncil.org/ (the "Platform"). Please note you may browse certain sections of the Platform without registering. We do not offer any product or service under this Platform outside India, and your personal data will primarily be stored and processed in India. By visiting the Platform, providing your information, or availing any product or service offered on the Platform, you expressly agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy, the Terms of Use, and the applicable service/product terms and conditions, and agree to be governed by the laws of India, including laws applicable to data protection and privacy. If you do not agree, please do not use or access our Platform.

Collection

We collect your personal data when you use our Platform and services or otherwise interact with us during the course of our relationship. Information we may collect includes, but is not limited to, data provided during sign-up/registration or use of our Platform such as name, date of birth, address, telephone/mobile number, email ID, and any information shared as proof of identity or address. With your consent, we may collect certain sensitive personal data such as bank account, credit/debit card or other payment instrument details, or biometric information, all in accordance with applicable law. You always have the option not to provide information by choosing not to use a particular service or feature on the Platform. We may also track your behaviour, preferences, and other information you choose to provide on the Platform. This information is compiled and analysed on an aggregated basis.

Health and mental health data. Because our Platform facilitates access to psychological and mental health services, information you share about your mental health, emotional wellbeing, therapy goals, or clinical history constitutes sensitive personal data under applicable law. We process such information solely to match you with appropriate therapists and to enable delivery of the services you request, and only with your explicit consent.

If you receive an email or call from someone claiming to be from Therapy Council requesting personal data such as your debit/credit card PIN or net-banking password, do not provide such information. Report it immediately to the appropriate law enforcement agency if you have already revealed such information.

Usage

We use personal data to provide the services you request. Where we use your personal data for marketing, we will provide you the ability to opt out. We use your personal data to assist in handling and fulfilling orders; enhance customer experience; resolve disputes; troubleshoot problems; inform you about online and offline offers, products, services, and updates; customise your experience; detect and protect against error, fraud and other criminal activity; enforce our terms and conditions; conduct marketing research, analysis and surveys; and as otherwise described at the time of collection. Your access to certain products/services may be affected if permission is not provided to us.

Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share your personal data with other businesses for their own commercial or marketing use.

We may disclose personal data to government agencies or authorised law enforcement agencies if required by law or in good-faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes.

Payment Processing

Session bookings are processed through Cashfree Payments (Cashfree Payments India Private Limited), a licensed payment aggregator regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. When you book a session via our Platform, you will be redirected to Cashfree's payment page at payments.cashfree.com. Any personal and payment data you provide on that page (including name, email, phone number, and card/UPI details) is collected and processed directly by Cashfree under their own Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Therapy Council does not receive or store your card details. We receive only a booking confirmation from Cashfree to schedule your session.

Cross-Border Data Transfers

When you use our Platform, certain personal data is processed by third-party service providers whose servers are located outside India. Specifically:

• Google (USA) — Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager transmit anonymised usage data to Google's servers in the United States under Google's standard data processing terms.
• Meta / Facebook (USA) — Meta Pixel transmits conversion and behavioural data to Meta's servers in the United States, only if you have accepted analytics cookies.
• Microsoft (USA/EU) — Microsoft Clarity transmits anonymised session-replay data to Microsoft's servers, only if you have accepted analytics cookies.
• Google (USA) — Contact form submissions are processed via Google Apps Script and may be stored in Google's infrastructure.

These transfers occur only where you have provided consent (via the cookie banner or the form consent checkbox), or where processing is necessary to deliver the service you requested. We take reasonable steps to ensure these third parties maintain data protection standards consistent with applicable Indian law.

Security Precautions

We adopt reasonable security practices and procedures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access or disclosure, loss or misuse. Once your information is in our possession, and whenever you access your account information, we adhere to our security guidelines to protect it and offer the use of a secure server. However, transmission of information over the internet is not completely secure for reasons beyond our control. By using the Platform, you accept the security implications of data transmission over the internet. Users are responsible for safeguarding their account login and password details.

Data Deletion and Retention

You may delete your account via your profile and settings on our Platform. This action will result in the loss of all information related to your account. You may also write to us at the contact information provided below for assistance. In the event of any pending grievances, claims, or other services, we may refuse or delay deletion of the account. Once the account is deleted, you will lose access to it. We retain your personal data for no longer than is required for the purposes for which it was collected or as required under applicable law. We may continue to retain your data in anonymised form for analytical and research purposes.

Data Breach Notification

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in harm to you, we will notify the Data Protection Board of India and affected individuals as required under applicable law. Notifications will be issued without undue delay and will describe the nature of the breach, the data affected, the likely consequences, and the measures taken or proposed to address it. You may contact our Grievance Officer at the details below to report any suspected breach.

Your Rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and other applicable Indian law, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right to access — Obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and receive a summary of it.
• Right to correction — Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure — Request deletion of your personal data where it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to any legal obligations requiring retention.
• Right to data portability — Receive a copy of your personal data in a commonly used, machine-readable format to the extent technically feasible.
• Right to withdraw consent — Withdraw consent for processing at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.
• Right to grievance redressal — Lodge a complaint with our Grievance Officer. We will acknowledge your grievance within 48 hours and endeavour to resolve it within 30 days.
• Right to nominate — Nominate another individual who may exercise your data rights in the event of your death or incapacity. To register a nominee, write to our Grievance Officer.

To exercise any of these rights, please write to our Grievance Officer using the contact information below.

Consent

By visiting our Platform or by providing your information, you consent to the collection, use, storage, disclosure and processing of your information on the Platform in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You may withdraw your consent by writing to the Grievance Officer at the contact information provided below with the subject line "Withdrawal of consent for processing personal data." Please note that withdrawal of consent will not be retrospective and will be in accordance with the Terms of Use, this Privacy Policy and applicable laws.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate and improve our services. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by your browser.

We use the following third-party cookies:

• Google Analytics (GA4) — measures how visitors use our site (pages visited, session duration). Cookies: _ga, _gid, _ga_*. Retained for up to 2 years.
• Meta Pixel (Facebook) — tracks conversions from Facebook ads and helps us reach people who may benefit from our services. Cookies: _fbp, _fbc. Retained for up to 90 days.
• Google Tag Manager — manages the loading of analytics and marketing tags. Does not set its own cookies but enables the services above.
• Microsoft Clarity — records anonymised session replays and heatmaps to help us improve usability. Cookies: _clsk, _clck. Retained for up to 1 year.

None of these cookies are set until you give your consent via the cookie banner that appears on your first visit. You may withdraw consent at any time by clearing your browser's local storage or cookies. Declining does not affect your ability to use the site — only analytics and advertising features will be disabled.

We also use browser localStorage and sessionStorage strictly to remember your cookie preference and to prevent form submission abuse. These are not shared with any third party.

Language

This Privacy Policy is published in English. If you would like to receive this policy or any privacy notice in another language listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India (including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, or others), please write to our Grievance Officer and we will provide a translated version within 30 days of your request.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Please check this Privacy Policy periodically for changes. We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our information practices and may notify you of significant changes as required by applicable laws.