What therapy costs: statistics

What does therapy cost, who pays for it, and is it worth the money? Published figures answer each question in part.

Session fees here come only from public fee schedules, payer tariffs and the published guidance of professional bodies. Each figure names the scheme or payer and the currency, and the year its prices apply to where the source gives one. We never convert currencies or average across countries, so read each figure as its source states it.

Private fees vary widely, and therapists set their own. Our country guides, linked below, give private ranges and the cheaper routes in each place.

What a session costs in Australia

Australia's Medicare Benefits Schedule sets a fee and a benefit for each psychology item. The figures below are for a session with an eligible clinical psychologist for a referred patient, in Australian dollars. The gap between the schedule fee and the benefit is what a patient would pay if the psychologist charges exactly the schedule fee. A psychologist may charge a different amount. Our guide on how much therapy costs in Australia covers private fees and cheaper routes.

• Medicare's schedule fee for a session of at least fifty minutes with an eligible clinical psychologist, on referral, is 175.30 Australian dollars. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁵
• Medicare pays a benefit of 149.05 Australian dollars for a session of at least fifty minutes with an eligible clinical psychologist, which is eighty-five percent of the schedule fee. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁵

What a session costs in France

Mon soutien psy is France's state scheme for sessions with a psychologist who has joined it. It is for people with mild to moderate distress. Amounts are in euros. The government page we read carries a notice that it is an older article. Every figure below is as of the year shown, so check the current rules with the national health insurer. The yearly package renews only after a consultation with a doctor and a psychologist. Our guide on how much therapy costs in France covers private fees and cheaper routes.

• As of 2025, under France's Mon soutien psy scheme, a session with a participating psychologist cost 50 euros, and the psychologist could not charge more. (administrative records, 2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶
• As of 2025, France's national health insurance paid 60% of the cost of Mon soutien psy sessions; a complementary insurer could pay the rest, depending on the contract. (administrative records, 2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶
• As of 2025, Mon soutien psy covered up to 12 sessions with a psychologist in a calendar year, for people with mild to moderate psychological distress. (administrative records, 2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶

What a session costs in Quebec, Canada

Quebec has no fee schedule for private psychotherapy, and each psychologist sets a fee. The province's professional order for psychologists publishes an indicative usual range for a fifty-minute session in private practice, from its survey of members, and says more than four in five respondents fell in this range. It is guidance, not a fee schedule. Amounts are in Canadian dollars; the undated page prints only a dollar sign. Our guide on how much therapy costs in Canada covers private fees and cheaper routes.

• Quebec's professional order of psychologists gives 120 Canadian dollars as the lower limit of its indicative usual fee for a fifty-minute psychotherapy session in private practice, from its 2023 survey of members. (survey, 2023 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁷
• Quebec's professional order of psychologists gives 180 Canadian dollars as the upper limit of its indicative usual fee for a fifty-minute psychotherapy session in private practice, from its 2023 survey of members. (survey, 2023 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁷

What public care costs in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Hospital Authority charges gazetted fees at public hospitals and clinics, in Hong Kong dollars, for eligible persons. The specialist clinic fee is not specific to mental health: it applies to specialist clinics of any kind. Our guide on how much therapy costs in Hong Kong covers private fees and cheaper routes.

• At Hong Kong's public specialist clinics, for any specialty and not only mental health, eligible persons pay 250 Hong Kong dollars per attendance, plus a charge per drug item. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁸
• From 2026, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority has an annual cap of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars on public medical fees and charges, with no financial assessment needed. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁸

Who pays: the worldwide picture

When a health system does not cover care, people pay out of their own pockets. The World Health Organization tracks how many people face financial hardship from health costs, and how much governments put into mental health.

• In 2022, 2.1 billion people worldwide faced financial hardship from paying for health care. (modelled estimate, 2022 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹
• In 2022, 26% of the world's population faced financial hardship from paying for health care. (modelled estimate, 2022 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹
• Across the countries reporting data to WHO's Mental Health Atlas, government spending on mental health was around 2% of health budgets. (administrative records published 2021, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ²
• In 2020, national health insurance or reimbursement schemes covered treatment for psychosis, bipolar disorder and depression in 55% of WHO Member States. (administrative records, 2020 data, checked 11 Oct 2026) ²

Who pays: public cover in the Philippines and Kenya

PhilHealth, the Philippine national insurer, sets annual limits for an outpatient mental health package, in Philippine pesos. Under tariffs the Ministry of Health has proposed, Kenya's scheme would pay primary health care facilities a yearly amount per person, in Kenyan shillings. Our guides on therapy costs in the Philippines and therapy costs in Kenya explain how to use these routes.

• PhilHealth's outpatient mental health package covers up to 9,000 Philippine pesos a year for general mental health services, for members and dependents aged ten and above. (administrative records, 2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁹
• PhilHealth's outpatient mental health package covers up to 16,000 Philippine pesos a year for specialised mental health care, for members and dependents aged ten and above. (administrative records, 2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁹
• Kenya's proposed Social Health Authority tariffs set 900 Kenyan shillings per person a year for outpatient care at primary health care facilities, the package that also covers outpatient mental wellness services. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹⁰

How therapists in our directory take payment

These figures describe the TherapyRoute directory itself, not therapy in general. Each therapist can pick one payment option for their profile from a fixed list, and a few pick none. We counted visible TherapyRoute profiles on the date shown, using the rule the directory uses to list them. A profile shows one option only, so a therapist who offers a sliding scale may have picked another option.

• The TherapyRoute directory listed 11,031 visible therapist profiles on the day we counted. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Of the visible TherapyRoute profiles counted on 10 October 2026, 8.0% list a sliding scale, where the fee depends on what the client can pay. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Of the visible TherapyRoute profiles counted on 10 October 2026, 12.4% list insurance or medical aid accepted. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Of the visible TherapyRoute profiles counted on 10 October 2026, 1.3% list a free or subsidised service, or pro bono places. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Of the visible TherapyRoute profiles counted on 10 October 2026, 31.9% list direct payment by the client. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Of the visible TherapyRoute profiles counted on 10 October 2026, 9.6% list cash practice. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Of the visible TherapyRoute profiles counted on 10 October 2026, 36.6% ask clients to enquire about the fee. (administrative records, 2026 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³

Is therapy worth the cost?

Two kinds of study ask whether treatment repays what it costs. A study in The Lancet Psychiatry modelled the cost and returns of scaling up treatment for depression and anxiety across many countries. These are projections, given as net present values in US dollars, and the abstract gives no price year. An economic evaluation in the British Journal of Psychiatry measured the cost of an early IAPT talking therapies service in England against comparison areas, in pounds; its abstract states no price year. The abstract calls the result uncertain, and a second health measure (the EuroQol instrument) gave a lower cost per quality-adjusted life year. A quality-adjusted life year is a year of life weighted for health, the unit health systems use to compare value for money. Our guide on therapy costs in the UK covers NHS and private routes.

• A model of 36 countries projected that scaling up treatment for depression and anxiety would need 147 billion US dollars, as a net present value. (modelled, 2016-2030 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁴
• In a model of 36 countries, scaling up depression and anxiety treatment had a projected benefit to cost ratio of at least 2.3 to one in every income group, counting economic benefits only. (modelled, 2016-2030 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁴
• In a model of 36 countries, scaling up depression and anxiety treatment had a projected benefit to cost ratio of at least 3.3 to one in every income group, counting health returns too. (modelled, 2016-2030 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁴
• A model of 36 countries projected that scaling up treatment for depression and anxiety would add 43 million extra years of healthy life. (modelled, 2016-2030 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁴
• An economic evaluation of the Doncaster IAPT talking therapies demonstration site in England found a cost of 29,500 pounds per quality-adjusted life year gained against comparison sites, using a Short Form health measure. (2007-2009 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹¹
• At the Doncaster IAPT demonstration site, the cost per reliable and clinically significant improvement was 9,440 pounds per participant, in an evaluation against comparison sites. (2007-2009 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹¹

How to read these figures

Each amount is in the currency its source uses. We have not converted any currency, and the amounts are not comparable across countries: they come from different schemes, years and kinds of care.

A schedule fee is what a scheme sets or pays. A therapist in private practice may charge more, and many do.

The directory figures count what therapists chose on their profiles. They are not a survey of fees.

A projection comes from a model of what could happen. It is not a measured cost.

Cost need not stop you getting help. Some countries have free or low-cost public routes, and some therapists offer sliding-scale or reduced fees. Our guide on how to find the right therapist explains what to look for. If you are in distress right now, see our helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

Cite this page: TherapyRoute. What therapy costs: statistics. https://www.therapyroute.com/article/therapy-cost-statistics-by-therapyroute. Last updated 11 October 2026.

References

1. [1] Universal health coverage (UHC). World Health Organization, 5 December 2025 who.int.
2. [2] WHO report highlights global shortfall in investment in mental health. World Health Organization, 8 October 2021 who.int.
3. [3] TherapyRoute directory: payment options on visible therapist profiles. TherapyRoute, 10 October 2026 therapyroute.com.
4. [4] Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: a global return on investment analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry (Chisholm et al.), 2016 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
5. [5] Medicare Benefits Schedule: Item 80010. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, 1 July 2026 www9.health.gov.au.
6. [6] Mon soutien psy : augmentation du nombre de séances remboursées. Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier ministre), 15 May 2025 service-public.gouv.fr.
7. [7] Combien ça coûte? Ordre des psychologues du Québec, undated page (survey 2023) ordrepsy.qc.ca.
8. [8] Fees and Charges. Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, 1 January 2026 ha.org.hk.
9. [9] New benefit in focus: PhilHealth outpatient mental health package to support invisible pains of Filipinos. Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), 2025 philhealth.gov.ph.
10. [10] Regulatory Impact Assessment for Tariffs for Healthcare Services as Amended 2026. Ministry of Health, Kenya, February 2026 health.go.ke.
11. [11] Cost-effectiveness of an improving access to psychological therapies service. Mukuria C. et al., British Journal of Psychiatry, 2013 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.