How Much Does Therapy Cost in the UK? 2025 Guide

What therapy costs in the UK in 2026

Private therapy fees in the UK are set by each practitioner, and the UK practices rarely publish theirs. We are not publishing a the UK price list, because we do not print figures we cannot trace to a source that charges them. The one UK-wide published figure worth knowing is the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's: counselling through its directory typically costs £40 to £60 a session. Experienced psychologists and psychotherapists charge more, sometimes several times more, and the fee tracks seniority and qualification rather than postcode.

These are guiding estimates. Therapists set their own fees.

The free route first

In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing your GP first. The service is free, a course typically runs 8 to 16 sessions of 50 to 60 minutes, and it covers the common difficulties that bring most people to therapy: anxiety, depression, stress, phobias and more. The honest trade-offs, which the BACP itself names, are limited choice of therapist and waiting times that vary by area. Search "NHS Talking Therapies" with your postcode, or ask your GP surgery for the local service.

Scotland

Scotland's route into NHS talking therapies runs through your GP: self-referral is not the standard door here as it is in England, so the first step is a GP appointment, and your GP can refer you to the local psychological therapies service. NHS inform is the national source for what is available in your health board area.

Breathing Space is Scotland's free, confidential phone line for anyone feeling low, anxious or distressed; its number and hours are on NHS inform. For any hour of the day, Samaritans are on 116 123.

Wales

Wales runs something England does not: free online therapy with no GP referral and no waiting list. 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 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 trained NHS staff every two weeks.

For difficulties beyond the mild to moderate range, your GP is the route into the local mental health team. Samaritans are on 116 123 at any hour.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland the route into Health and Social Care talking therapies runs through your GP: there is no general self-referral door as there is in England. The Belfast Trust provides cognitive behavioural therapy and psychotherapy services on referral, and your GP can also point you to the community and voluntary-sector counselling that often has shorter waits for mild to moderate difficulties.

Samaritans are on 116 123 at any hour, free.

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

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: the UK-wide £40 to £60 directory figure and the routes into therapy.
• NHS, Counselling and NHS talking therapies: self-referral, session numbers and session length.
• NHS inform, mental health: the national listing of support routes in Scotland.
• Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, NHS Wales, SilverCloud free online mental health therapy: the no-referral access, eligibility and programme structure, read at source.
• Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychotherapy: the Trust's referred services.

Reviewed July 2026. The BACP figure is the association's own published range. We do not publish city price lists we cannot trace to sources that charge them, and the UK practices rarely publish fee schedules.