Confidentiality policy

 

What stays between us

What you share in coaching stays between you and me. That's true whether you pay for coaching yourself, your employer arranges it, or it's funded through Access to Work.

I'm an ICF-credentialed coach (ACC) and follow the ICF Code of Ethics, which sets clear standards on confidentiality.

In practice, that means:

  • I won't share what we talk about with anyone without your permission, except in the rare situations set out below

  • I won't confirm to anyone that you're my client unless you've told me that's okay, or they're already paying for your coaching

  • I won't use your story in my marketing, even anonymised, unless you've given me written permission first

  • You're free to share anything you like about your own coaching, with whoever you choose

  • If you mention other people, such as colleagues, managers, friends or family, I keep what you tell me about them private too

  • If I coach more than one person from the same organisation, I never share anything between you, or confirm to one of you that the other is a client

You can be honest here

Coaching works best when you can be honest about where things are, including the messy parts. Mistakes, setbacks and things you’d rather keep to yourself are all part of it. None of these are reasons I’d ever share anything, and there’s no judgement here.

If your employer or Access to Work pays

When someone else funds your coaching, they need enough information to pay for it. They don't need to know what we talk about.

What they'll hear from me

  • Your name and the dates of your sessions

  • The number of hours used and remaining

  • Invoices for the sessions

What they won't hear, unless you agree in writing

  • Anything you say in sessions

  • Your session notes, or anything beyond the goal-setting and progress updates agreed in the scope

  • Anything about your health, diagnosis or personal life

Goal-setting and progress updates

When your employer arranges coaching, a goal-setting conversation at the start and progress check-ins along the way may be part of the agreed scope. You'll know before we begin what's included and when it will happen. Those conversations cover your goals and overall progress, not the detail of what you've said in our sessions.

If your manager or HR contacts me directly, I'll let you know and won't share anything without checking with you first.

Access to Work

Access to Work may ask me to confirm sessions have taken place so your grant can be paid. I'll only confirm dates and hours, nothing about the content of our sessions.

If coaching stops early

If our sessions stop before the funded hours are used, I don't tell your employer or Access to Work why. I stop invoicing for further sessions.

When confidentiality has limits

These situations are rare, but I'd rather you know about them now than be surprised later.

I may need to share information without your permission if:

  • I believe you, or someone else, is at serious risk of harm

  • I'm worried about the safety of a child or a vulnerable adult

  • the law requires it, for example a court order, or information about terrorism, fraud or money laundering

Wherever it's safe and possible, I'll talk to you first, and only share what's needed with the right people, such as emergency services where you are, or the emergency contact you've given me.

Coaching isn't therapy or crisis support. If I think therapy or crisis support would help you more right now, I'll talk to you about it honestly, stop our sessions, and help you think about where to find the right support.

Supervision

Like many experienced coaches, I work with a coaching supervisor. Supervision helps me keep my practice ethical and keep learning, so you get better coaching. When I talk about my work, I never use names or details that could identify you.

Notes, messages and recordings

  • Pre-call questions: your answers help us make the most of our time, and only I see them.

  • Session notes: after each session, you'll get a follow-up email with a link to your notes, which are stored securely in Google Workspace - a short recap of what we discussed and the actions you chose. Your notes are shared between you and me only. They can only be opened by someone logged in to the Google account the notes are shared with, and no one else has access, including your employer or funder.

  • Voxer: if you choose Voxer coaching, your voice notes and messages are just between us.

  • Recordings: I never record sessions, and I don't use an AI notetaker.

  • Your own notes and recordings: you're welcome to use an AI notetaker or take your own notes. It's your responsibility to keep any recordings, notes and access to your email account secure.

  • Work email and devices: if your notes link goes to a work email address, or you open it on a work laptop, your employer's IT team may be able to see it. For extra privacy, give me a personal email address for your notes.

  • After coaching ends: you'll have access to your notes for one month after our final session, so you can save a copy. After that, I archive them and delete them 12 months later. What we discussed stays confidential after coaching ends too.

How I store your information, and how long I keep it, is in my Privacy Policy. You can ask for a copy of your notes, or for them to be deleted, at any time.

Questions

If anything here isn't clear, or you'd like to talk through what confidentiality looks like for your situation, email me at hello@victoriatretis.co.uk. We can also cover it on a discovery call before you decide anything.

If you ever feel I haven't kept to this statement, please tell me so I can put it right. You can also raise a concern with the ICF, which has its own process for reviewing coaches' ethical conduct.

This statement applies wherever you're based, in the UK or elsewhere.

Victoria Tretis-Casey, Tretis Limited (company number 10939008)

Last updated: 3 October 2026