Journal · Practical · 8 min read
How much does therapy cost in the UK? (2026 guide)
Typical private fees, what drives them, the free NHS route and its realistic waits, low-cost options and what health insurance actually covers. Including my own fees, because it would be odd to leave them out.
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Harjeet Hayre
Integrative Psychotherapist · BACP Registered Member · NHS-experienced Reviewed September 2026 · About Harjeet
Typical private fees
BACP reports that more than half of the therapists listed on its directory advertise between £50 and £80 a session and that many offer a free introductory session and reduced rates for people on low incomes. London runs higher: Psychology Today's directory currently shows an average of around £80 a session in the capital. As a rough ladder, counsellors tend to charge less, psychotherapists and CBT therapists sit in the middle, and clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are at the top, where £100 to £180 or more is common.
Cost is a genuine barrier. In BACP's 2026 survey, 35% of people who had considered therapy but not gone said cost was the reason. The same survey found 37% of UK adults have now seen a therapist and 72% of them found it helpful.
My fees, for the record
£70 for a 50-minute session online, by phone, messagine or face-to-face in Ealing; £80 for walk and talk therapy in Kew with entry included; the introductory call is free. No VAT is added. Full details are on the fees page.
What affects the price
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Training and registration. Registered and accredited therapists have completed substantial training and are bound by an ethical framework; you can check any BACP therapist on the public register.
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Location. Central London room rents are passed on. Outer London and online are cheaper.
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Session length. Fifty minutes is the norm; some therapists offer 60 or 90.
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Specialism. Trauma-focused treatments, assessments and psychiatry cost more.
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Format. Online sessions are often the same price, occasionally less; research finds them equally effective.
The free route: NHS Talking Therapies
In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP, if you are registered with a GP and aged 18 or over (16 in some areas).5 It is free and it works: in 2024/25 around 670,000 people completed a course of treatment and just over half reached recovery, in line with the national target. Waits to a first appointment average around three weeks, though the gap between the first and second appointment is often considerably longer and analysis suggests that in 2023/24 only 37% of referrals went on to complete treatment. A typical NHS CBT course is 5 to 15 sessions.
The honest framing: the NHS route is excellent value and genuinely effective for many people, but it is structured, time-limited and mostly CBT. People choose private therapy for choice of therapist, choice of approach, open-ended work and starting this week.
Low-cost options
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Training clinics attached to counselling courses, where supervised trainees see clients for a fraction of the private rate.
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Charities and community services with sliding scales.
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Therapists who hold reduced-fee places; BACP's directory lets you filter for them and I keep a small number myself.
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Fortnightly rather than weekly sessions, once the work is established.
Does health insurance cover therapy?
Sometimes, with conditions Insurers generally require therapists to hold Accredited rather than Registered BACP status; AXA Health, for example asks for full accredited membership of BACP, BABCP or UKCP. Policies also cap the number of sessions. If you hope to claim, check your policy and your therapist's status first. Sessions with me are self-funded.
Cancellations and the small print
BACP says it is usual for therapists to set a notice period for cancellations, commonly 24 or 48 hours and that it must be in your written agreement. Ask about it before you start, along with payment timing and how fee increases are handled. A good therapist will have already told you.
Wondering what actually happens once you have paid? Read what to expect in your first therapy session.
Most BACP directory listings advertise £40 to £60; the London average is around £79.1, 2
Yes, through NHS Talking Therapies in England, with self-referral and typically a few weeks' wait to a first appointment.5, 6
Often, but insurers usually require accredited therapists and cap sessions. Check before booking.9
Sources
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BACP. How to get therapy.
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Psychology Today UK (September 2026). Counsellors in London.
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Select Psychology (2023). How much does private therapy cost?
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BACP (2026). Public perceptions survey.
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Nuffield Trust (2026). NHS Talking Therapies programme: quality indicators.
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Nuffield Trust (2024). Does the NHS Talking Therapies service have an attrition problem?
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AXA Health. Individual provider recognition.
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BACP (2026). Fees (Client Ethics blog).
This article is general information from a registered psychotherapist, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you are in crisis, call 999, NHS 111 and select the mental health option or the Samaritans free on 116 123.
Ready when you are.
A free introductory call, no forms and no obligation. Just a quiet conversation to see whether working together feels right.