How Much Does Therapy Cost in Cardiff in 2026?

Therapy in Cardiff costs roughly £45 to £110 a session, depending on who you see. Counsellors and psychotherapists in the city who publish their fees sit between £45 and £75 for a 50-minute session; a clinical psychologist in Cardiff publishes £110; private psychiatry runs several times higher again, with one Cardiff clinic listing £375 for a first consultation. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy reports that more than half the therapists listed in its UK directory advertise £40 to £60 a session. Fees track seniority and qualification rather than postcode.

The £40 to £60 range is what more than half the therapists in the BACP's UK directory advertise. It is not an official rate.

The free route first

The cheapest route is free, and you do not need your GP to reach it. SilverCloud through NHS Wales is "a free online mental health support service available through NHS Wales without a GP referral", for people aged 16 and over who live in Wales or are registered with a Welsh GP, with mild to moderate difficulties such as anxiety, depression, stress and poor sleep. You "sign up online and choose one of the easy-to-use, interactive online mental health and wellbeing programmes to complete over 12 weeks", with written feedback from a trained NHS supporter every two weeks.

For difficulties beyond the mild to moderate range, your GP refers you into Cardiff and Vale University Health Board's Primary Mental Health Support Service, "a dedicated service for adults aged 18 and over who are dealing with common mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety". It assesses by phone and offers brief psychological interventions, therapeutic groups and onward referral.

Lower-cost counselling in Cardiff

Cardiff Mind (registered charity 1020633) runs free counselling and a lower-cost service staffed by counsellors in the final years of their training. The free service carries a long wait; the paid one is usually offered within two weeks. Platfform Wellbeing in Roath, the counselling arm of the Welsh charity Platfform (registered charity 1000889), charges from £60 an hour with a £30 initial assessment, and holds low-cost places with student counsellors for people who are not earning. You contact both directly.

If you are paying privately

Ask three questions before you commit: what the fee is and how long the session runs; whether a lower-fee or trainee place exists, because many practices hold a few and do not advertise them; and whether online sessions are charged differently. Two practitioners in the same building may charge very differently, and ringing three practices is worth the twenty minutes.

Who is who, and why it changes the price

• Psychiatrist: a medical doctor, registered with the General Medical Council. Can prescribe. The most expensive route.
• Psychologist: "practitioner psychologist" is a title protected by the Health and Care Professions Council.
• Counsellor and psychotherapist: the titles are not protected in the UK, which is why membership of a body such as BACP or UKCP is worth asking about. Fees are generally lower than psychologists' fees.

If you need someone now

In Wales, call 111 and press 2 for urgent mental health support. It is free from a landline or a mobile, runs 24 hours a day, every day, and connects you to a mental health practitioner in your local health board team. Samaritans are free to call on 116 123, at any hour. In immediate danger, call 999.

Sources

• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, How to get therapy: "More than half of the therapist listings on our directory advertise costs of between £40 to £60 per session", and the routes into therapy.
• Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, NHS Wales, SilverCloud: the no-referral access, eligibility and programme structure, read at source.
• Welsh Government, NHS 111 Press 2: the free 24-hour urgent mental health line, all ages, across Wales.
• Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Primary Mental Health Support Service: who it is for and how referral works.
• Cardiff Mind, Counselling: the free, low-cost trainee and paid options, waiting times and its charity registration.
• Platfform Wellbeing, Counselling and talking therapies: its published fees and low-cost student places.

Reviewed August 2026. The BACP figure is the association's own published range. The Cardiff figures come from fees published by practices and charities in the city, read at their own pages in August 2026; therapists set their own fees and change them.