Your privacy is a top priority for us at Mental Health & Astrology. This document explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and how we protect it. It also outlines your rights regarding your data. By using our website and services, you agree to the terms of this policy.
Table of Contents
Who We Are
Our website address is: https://www.mentalhealth-astrology.com.
The owner and data controller is Sander de Bot.
We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal data you entrust to us in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and how we secure it, both for general website visitors and for clients who use our paid, professional services (astrology and coaching/therapy).
You can contact us at privacy@mentalhealth-astrology.com with any privacy-related questions or requests.
I. General Website Data Processing
What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It
We only collect data that is necessary to provide you with our services and improve your experience.
- Comments: When you leave a comment on our site, we collect the data you provide in the comments form, as well as your IP address and browser user agent string. This helps us with spam detection.
- Media: If you upload images to the website, please be aware that images may contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
- Contact Forms: When you use a contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. We use this information solely to respond to your inquiry.
- Newsletter: If you choose to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, we collect your email address. We use this to send you articles, news, and updates about our services. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in every email.
- Astrology Consultations: To perform a natal or progressive chart consultation, we require your date of birth, time of birth, and location of birth. This data is essential for our astrology software to generate your chart.
- Payment Information: For our paywalled videos and services, we use PayPal and Stripe as our third-party payment processors. We do not directly collect or store your credit card details. This sensitive information is handled securely by these payment providers, and their privacy policies govern how they use this data. We receive transaction details from them, such as your name and email, to confirm your payment and provide you with access to our services.
How We Store and Protect Your Data
Your privacy is our priority, and we take data security very seriously.
- Website Data: Our website is hosted by Cloud86 in the Netherlands and is secured with an SSL certificate, which encrypts data transmitted between your browser and our site. We also use a built-in firewall, malware detection, and protection against brute force attacks to secure the website itself.
- Sensitive Data: Any highly sensitive data, such as the birth details for astrology consultations and information from therapy or coaching sessions, is stored on a separate, password-protected device with its own firewall and malware detection.
- Data Backup: For additional security, a copy of this sensitive data is regularly transferred to another device which is only offline available. This device is also password-protected and the protected data is stored securely in a software vault to prevent unauthorized access.
Cookies
We use cookies to improve your experience on our website.
- Comments: If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again. These cookies will last for one year.
- Login & User Experience: If you visit our login page, we set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser. When you log in, we also set up several cookies to save your login information and screen display choices.
- Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. This helps us improve our content and user experience. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect anonymous traffic data.
Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos from YouTube). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
How Long We Retain Your Data
- Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
- Registered Users: For users that register on our website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
- Other Data: We retain other personal data for as long as it is necessary to provide our services and for legitimate business purposes, such as resolving disputes or complying with our legal obligations.
II. Your Rights Over Your Data
Because you are a valued member of our community, your privacy rights are extremely important to us. When you are a resident of the EU, you have the following rights under the GDPR. We are fully committed to upholding these rights.
- The Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- The Right to Rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
- The Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You have the right to request that we delete your personal data. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
- The Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to ask us to limit the way we use your data.
- The Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- The Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
- The Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we process your data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please go to your account tab or contact us at privacy@mentalhealth-astrology.com. We will respond to your request promptly and in a caring manner.
As a member you can go to your Account Tab, where you can:
- Request your data
- Remove your data
- Delete your Account
Where We Send Your Data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. We use third-party services that may transfer data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), such as Google Analytics, PayPal, and Stripe. We ensure these services have appropriate safeguards in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses, to protect your data.
III. Data Handling for Professional Services: Confidentiality & Informed Consent
This section specifically addresses data collected during private, paid services, which are separate from general website usage. This information is considered highly sensitive and is managed with the strictest security and professional ethical standards.
Data Collected for Professional Services
To provide you with our specialized one-on-one services, we collect the following data:
- Astrology Consultations: To perform a natal or progressive chart consultation, we require your date of birth, time of birth, and location of birth. This data is essential for our astrology software to generate your chart.
- Therapy/Coaching Sessions: We collect personal, medical, and mental health information that you choose to share verbally or in writing during your sessions, as well as session notes. This data is necessary to provide effective, ethical professional support.
Professional Confidentiality and its Limits
Your privacy during Therapy and Coaching Sessions is paramount, and your sessions are treated with strict professional confidentiality as required by therapeutic ethics. However, professional confidentiality has legal limits which constitute the core of the Informed Consent agreement:
- Duty to Warn: If the therapist believes you pose an imminent and serious risk of harm to yourself or to another identified person, the law requires us to take action to ensure safety, which may include breaking confidentiality to notify emergency services or the identified person.
- Child Abuse or Neglect: If we receive information suggesting that a child or vulnerable adult is currently being abused or neglected, we are legally mandated to report this to the appropriate authorities.
- Legal Proceedings: Confidentiality may be overridden if a court of law issues a legally binding subpoena for your records.
By engaging in Therapy or Coaching, you acknowledge and accept these necessary limits to confidentiality.
Security and Storage of Sensitive Client Data
To ensure the highest level of security for your most sensitive information (birth data for astrology and all therapy/coaching session data):
- Dedicated Storage: This highly sensitive data is stored on a separate, password-protected device with its own firewall and malware detection. This device is strictly limited in its connectivity to external networks.
- Offline Backup: For additional security and integrity, a copy of this protected data is regularly transferred to another device which is only available offline. This device is also password-protected and the protected data is stored securely in a software vault to prevent unauthorized access.
Data Retention for Services
We retain your personal and professional service data for as long as it is necessary to provide services and to meet our professional and legal obligations. This retention period often exceeds that of general website data.
- Therapy/Coaching Records: Session notes and records are retained for the minimum period required by Dutch legal and professional guidelines for mental health practitioners.
- Astrology Data: Your birth data is retained to allow for follow-up consultations and the provision of continuous services unless you specifically exercise your right to erasure.
Complaints
If you have complaints about how we process your personal data, please contact us via the email address above. You always have the right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority for data protection in the Netherlands: the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP)
