What I Spent: The therapy you actually get for £100, £50 or free on the NHS

Many people have to pay out of pocket to see a professional (Picture: Getty Images)

While there are options available through the NHS, many people in the UK will have to pay out of pocket for talking therapy.

According to services marketplace Bark, this will set you back an average of £60 per session. But it all depends on the type of therapy you have, where you’re based, and the provider you go for — and to make it extra ambiguous, many don’t tell you their rates until you get in touch.

Then there’s weighing up the cost for each visit versus the long-term outlay. For example, while certain therapeutic methods may seem more expensive, you may only need a limited number of sessions, so it could work out cheaper overall compared to ongoing counselling.

It’s important to do your research beforehand, as clinical psychologist Marianne Trent explains: ‘I’m aware of some people (even unqualified people) charging £300 plus per session and coaching sessions can be astronomical too!’

The fact is though, professional support can be invaluable, and only you can decide whether the results are worth the investment.

So if you’re considering it, these three Metro readers’ experiences can give you a better idea of what you can expect to spend.

£100 a session

Dina doesn’t mind the extra cost as it’s only short-term (Picture: Supplied)

Dina Grishin, 39, is a career coach and coaching psychologist based in London, spending £100 on each 50-minute session she has with an EMDR therapist trained in the Polyvagal approach.

‘This is a combination I’ve been looking high and low for so I’m happy I found her, even though this is the most I’ve ever spent on a therapist,’ Dina tells Metro. 

‘I’ve been seeing her nearly weekly for a few months now (we’re on session 10) but it’s not therapy that will last years so knowing there’s an end date this year – perhaps within a couple of months – also helps justify the cost.’

She also visits an EFT therapist once every three to eight weeks (‘on a “when needed” basis after working more intensely at the beginning’) paying £90 for each 90-minute session. And prior to that, she paid £60 per session for CBT and £50 for talking therapy. 

£75 a session

Abbey sought coaching to manage ADHD symptoms (Picture: Supplied)

Personal stylist Abbey Booth, 49, has been visiting a CPD certified hypnotherapy and anxiety coach, Jo – who charges £75 for 60 minutes – around once or twice a month for the last eight months.

A spate of menopause-related anxiety and panic attacks led the Herts-based mum to seek out regular support, but she also books additional sessions when things are especially difficult, to help give her the tools to cope.

In fact, she’s so impressed with her ‘brilliant’ therapist, she paid for her son to see Jo when he was dealing with exam stress.

Alongside working with Jo, Abbey recently began having ADHD coaching at a price of £150 for a block of three 45-minute sessions too.

She tells Metro: ‘During busy times I can get inertia/blocks or hyper focus, so It’s really helped with coping strategies when the noise gets too much and I need time away to recalibrate and refocus.

‘These sessions are run online and I’ve been having them for a few months. There’s also contact in between via email and voice notes – brief check-ins which I find very useful.’

Free on the NHS

Johnny previously paid for counselling, but didn’t find it particularly useful (Picture: Supplied)

Johnny Seifert, 32, from London, previously underwent seven sessions of private counselling at £50 per 55-minute appointment, but found he would often end up ‘talking almost for the sake of talking, without being given any coping mechanisms to help actually make a difference.’

After asking his GP for help with his anxiety, the host of mental health podcast Secure the Insecure was referred for an assessment with the NHS. Three months later, he had a phone consultation, and two weeks after this, was offered eight weekly group therapy sessions over Zoom.

However, Johnny was unable to attend these lunchtime calls due to work commitments and was looking for something ‘more one on one’, so requested an alternative option.

Around a month later, he was then offered a six-week programme of Self Guided Help. This involved Johnny working through a booklet and going through his behaviours with a Trainee Psychological Trainee Practitioner in 30-minute weekly phone sessions.

‘Each week, 24 hours before the session, I am sent a questionnaire that has a risk assessment and assesses my anxiety levels,’ he tells Metro.

Towards the start, the course specifically focused on ‘validating’ what Johnny was feeling. Now on session four, he’s progressed to learning tools ‘such as Worrying Time Management to manage the time you actually worry’ – which he says has been ‘really useful’.

‘As it’s on the NHS, I do sometimes feel that I am just a number,’ says Johnny. ‘It’s very much about the present week rather than looking into past traumas and triggers of where the worrying (in my case) has come from, understanding those root causes so that the behaviours do not happen again in the future.’

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