Are you thinking about counselling and wondering if you can afford it?
Private counselling costs anything from £50 to £120 or more per session. Wondering why counsellors charge such different fees?
You may have seen that I charge £110. What do you get for this?
Here's 9 reasons I charge what I do.
1 – I'm a Specialist
If you find a counsellor charging a lot less than me, it’s likely they are newly qualified and/or a generic counsellor without specialist knowledge and experience in a particular area.
For the past 10 years I’ve worked in LGBTQ+ communities in various roles including mental health, youth work and counselling. I also train other counsellors in this area.
I have run workshops quality checked by The National Counselling Society and given many talks to large audiences at universities.
This extensive experience earned me accreditation with Pink Therapy as a Gender, Sexuality and Relationships Therapist.
In addition, I've undertaken specialist advanced online counsellor training in addition to my initial in person counselling qualification.
2 – Dedication to Each Client.
By charging more I can see less clients and give each client more focus and attention.
In the past when I used to see a lot more clients, I found it difficult to have space to reflect on each individual session and to get enough support to explore everything I needed with my clinical supervisor to help each person.
I offer you a high quality service where you are remembered and taken care of.
3 – More Options to Meet Me
Do you find it difficult to express yourself by speaking?
Working with me gives you the option to express yourself through writing. This is very helpful if you like more time to process your thoughts, or are worried about being overheard.
Both instant message and email counselling are popular ways for my clients to access sessions. I have completed advanced specialist additional online training which included text based counselling.
I am experienced and have been offering this additional service since 2018.
4 – High Quality Specialist Clinical Supervision
Your fees go towards me paying for high quality specialist clinical supervision.
Supervision provides me with regular in depth reflection of my work. This helps me to ensure I am working safely and ethically with you. Supervision is mandatory for all counsellors (regardless of experience) to provide a professional service.
I regularly see two excellent supervisors. Both have decades of experience in counselling and working with gender and sexual diversity.
Investing in LGBTQ+ specialist supervision means I get expert support and advice for the counselling sessions I offer you.
This means they are very familiar with the themes and topics that can arise in the LGBTQ+ community. So what you talk about it likely to be something they have a lot of experience supporting counsellors to work with.
With this specialist support I can help you better.
5 - Professional Office Space
If you work with me, you won’t see cats walking across the screen or a TV in the background.
I work from a confidential professional office space, not just a kitchen table. I find it very important that even when working online, the space I invite you to join me in is welcoming.
I aim to make my counselling room relaxing with plants and books to help you feel more comfortable and able to open up.
6 – Professional Phone
You might be wondering; am I always in a private space when I answer my phone? Could someone else see your text? Could I reply over the weekend after a few drinks, and would Facebook recommend us as friends?
For all these reasons I've always had a separate phone for my work. It stays in my office and gets turned off in the evenings and weekends, and locked in my filing cabinet.
Having a separate work phone means that I can have a professional voicemail too. I hope this puts your mind at ease when you feel ready to get in touch.
7 - Professional Email
You may wish to write a little bit about yourself in an initial email.
I make every effort to keep your emails safe.
I don't use a free email account such as Gmail, or Hotmail as they scan emails to sell data to advertisers. Instead I pay to use a professional email service called ProtonMail which is secure, private and encrypted.
I hope this makes you feel more comfortable to get in touch when you are ready.
8 – Ongoing Training
A minimum of 30 hours professional development training each year is mandatory for all counsellors.
With less clients I have more time to invest to keep learning and often do a lot more training than the minimum.
I believe it's essential to keep up to date with ever changing language, laws and experiences in the LGBTQ community.
I love attending training workshops, reading new books and I’m an avid podcast listener. I love learning and believe there is always more to learn.
My ongoing learning helps me to support you better.
9 - My Self Care
Self-care is so important to me.
Looking after my health helps me avoid burn out. When I saw a lot more clients each week, I was exhausted and often eating my lunch at my desk.
Your fee helps me to see less clients each week. This means I can give you more of my energy and not have it watered down among loads of people.
I make every effort to look after myself, which helps me to help you.
Are you thinking about having counselling with me?
Click here to read more about what happens in an introductory session.