Contracting and fees for counsellors: the commercial side of private practice

TL;DR: Many UK counsellors in private practice set their fees once and never revisit them, carry no written contract, and handle the money conversation awkwardly because training rarely covers it. The result is underpayment relative to experience, frequent missed-payment disputes, and a therapeutic relationship that starts on uncertain ground. This article sets out how to structure a counselling contract that protects both parties, how to think about fee-setting in the UK private therapy market, how to handle the money conversation without losing clients, and what to do when someone doesn't pay. None of it is legal advice. All of it is based on the realities of running a private practice in the UK.

Private-practice counselling is a professional service. The commercial side of that (the fees, the contracts, the missed-session policies) is often the last thing covered in training and the first thing to cause problems in practice.