Legal

Cookie Policy

Effective date: [Effective date]

This Cookie Policy explains how Sandton Therapy (the practice of Sarah-Jane Lipshitz, Registered Educational Psychologist) uses cookies on this website. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy. We have kept our use of cookies deliberately minimal, in keeping with the sensitive nature of the personal and health information we handle.

What cookies are

Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device (computer, tablet or phone) when you visit. They let the site remember certain information between page views and visits — for example, that you are signed in to a form you are busy completing. Cookies cannot run programs or carry viruses, and on their own they do not identify you by name.

Cookies can be described in a few ways:

Session cookies last only for the duration of your visit and are deleted when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them.
First-party cookies are set by this website; third-party cookies are set by another organisation, such as an analytics or advertising provider.
Strictly necessary (essential) cookies are required for the website to function and to provide a service you have asked for.

Which cookies we use

This website uses only strictly necessary (essential) cookies. We use two, both first-party:

Session cookie — keeps you signed in and preserves your progress as you move through the online booking, onboarding, consent and claims-support steps, so that your details are not lost between pages.
CSRF security token — a security cookie that protects forms against cross-site request forgery, helping to ensure that information you submit (such as booking, consent or medical-aid details) genuinely comes from you and is not tampered with in transit.

These cookies do not track your activity across other websites, do not build an advertising profile, and are not used for marketing.

Cookies we do not use

By default, this website does not use:

Third-party analytics or statistics cookies;
Advertising, marketing or re-targeting cookies; or
Cross-site tracking or social-media tracking cookies.

If we ever decide to introduce any non-essential cookies in future (for example, to understand how the site is used), we will first update this policy, display a clear cookie notice, and obtain your consent before any such cookies are set. You will be free to decline without losing access to our core services.

Why we do not ask for cookie consent

Under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), processing personal information is lawful where it is necessary to provide a service you have requested. The two cookies described above are essential to delivering the secure booking and onboarding service you have chosen to use, and they are not used for monitoring or profiling. For this reason, we rely on the necessity of the service rather than separate cookie consent for these strictly necessary cookies. Where consent is required — for example, for any non-essential cookies we might add later — we will ask for it clearly and in advance.

Visitors from outside South Africa

If you are visiting from the European Union, the United Kingdom or another region with similar rules, please note that under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, strictly necessary cookies are generally exempt from the consent requirement because they are essential to a service you have requested. The cookies we use fall within this category. Should we introduce analytics or advertising cookies in future, we will seek your prior consent in line with those rules.

How to control or disable cookies

You are always in control of cookies on your device. Most browsers let you view the cookies that are stored, delete them, and block some or all cookies. You will usually find these options under your browser's Settings, Preferences or Privacy menu. The browser's help pages explain the exact steps for your version.

Please note that because we use only essential cookies, blocking or deleting them is likely to break key features of this website. In particular, disabling cookies may stop you from signing in, completing the booking and onboarding flow, or submitting consent and medical-aid information securely. If you experience problems after changing your cookie settings, please re-enable cookies for this site or contact us so that we can assist.

How your information is protected

The personal and health information you provide through this site — including your name, contact details, ID number, date of birth, medical-aid details, clinical records and electronic consent records — is handled with strong safeguards. Sensitive identifiers such as ID numbers and medical-aid numbers are protected by field-level encryption, documents are kept in protected storage, and an audit trail records access to your records. Our cookies are not used to collect or carry this information; they simply keep your session secure while you use the site.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. Any updated version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Information Officer, [Information Officer name]:

Practice: Sandton Therapy (Sarah-Jane Lipshitz, Registered Educational Psychologist)
HPCSA registration: PS 0123102 · Practice number: 086 003 0529346
Email: sarahjane@sandtontherapy.co.za
Phone: 083 438 1768
Address: Manor Medical Centre, 189 Kelvin Drive, Morningside Manor, Sandton, 2196, Gauteng, South Africa

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe your personal information has not been handled in line with POPIA.