Legal Proceedings

Counselling is not conducted in preparation for litigation, and the roles of therapist and expert evaluator cannot be held at once. We will, however, consider a written request for a report or letter where there is no conflict of interest, and we decide each request on its own facts.

We will not provide a report or give evidence where:

• any other party to the matter is, or has been, a client of ours — which will ordinarily be the case in divorce, separation, and custody proceedings arising out of couples or family counselling with us;
• we would be asked to give an opinion on a person we have not ourselves assessed, including a parent, a spouse, or an employer;
• we would be asked to attribute fault, assess credibility, or make a recommendation about custody or access;
• doing so would, in our judgement, damage the counselling itself or the trust of another person who has sat in the same room.

Where we do accept a request, we will confirm in writing beforehand what we are able to speak to — ordinarily that you attended, on what dates, what you told us your concerns were, and what we observed of your engagement — and what we are not. We require your written consent, and in any matter arising from couples or family work, the written consent of every person who took part. A fee applies, and we will tell you what it is before we begin.

If a court orders us to produce records or to give evidence, we will comply with that order. We will tell you as soon as we are permitted to do so, and we will disclose only what the order requires.

Email, Video, and Online Forms

Email is not a secure medium. Messages can be intercepted, can be read by anyone with access to your device or account, and remain on both your computer and ours until deleted. The same is true of text messages. Please consider carefully what you send us in writing, and tell us if you would prefer that we contact you by telephone only, or at a particular number, or not at a particular time.

Assessments submitted through this website are transmitted by Web3Forms, a form-delivery service, which relays your responses to us by email. The forms send from your browser directly; there is no Victorious Living server collecting them. Web3Forms carries your answers on their way to us and does not use them. Beyond that single step, your responses reach nobody but us.

Video sessions are held on a secure platform. We ask you to join from a private room where you cannot be overheard. We do not record sessions. If you wish to record a session for your own use, please ask us first — in couples work, both partners must agree.

Our forms are not monitored continuously and are not a route to emergency help. If you are in crisis or in immediate danger, please do not wait for a reply to a form:

Our own numbers, +1-721-524-8731 and +1-721-522-2084, are answered Monday to Thursday during clinical hours, and on a limited basis at week-ends. Counselling sessions themselves are held Monday to Thursday, with Fridays by exception.

Your Records

We keep a confidential file for each client, containing your assessments, session notes, and correspondence. Records are retained for at least fifteen years following your last session, and in some cases up to twenty, after which they are securely destroyed. Where we have seen you as a child or young person, the same period runs from your eighteenth birthday rather than from your last session, so that the record is still there should you wish to see it as an adult.

You may ask us at any time to see what we hold, to receive a copy, to correct anything inaccurate, or to delete your information. Please write to dr.nfranciscotton@victoriouslivingfoundation.com, and we will respond within thirty days. Where a record must be retained for a period fixed by law or by professional standards, we will tell you so and explain why, and we will delete what we are free to delete.

We do not sell your information. We do not share it with advertisers. We do not use it to train any automated system.

Children and Young People

We see children and adolescents from the age of seven. A young person's willingness to speak openly depends on their trusting that what they say is not simply relayed home, and their counselling will not work without it. We therefore discuss with parents at the outset what will be shared and what will be held. As a general practice, we tell parents how the counselling is progressing and what would help at home, rather than repeating what their child has told us. We will always tell a parent or guardian where there is a risk to the young person's safety, and we tell the young person that this is the case before they begin.

Questions and Concerns

If anything here is unclear, or if you are uneasy about how your information has been handled, please raise it with us directly. We would far rather answer the question than have you carry the doubt.