HOW TO HIRE · HEALTH & WELLBEING

How to hire a psychotherapist in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Nothing in UK law puts psychotherapists on a register. Here are the checks that matter, what to ask, and what the contract should cover.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a psychotherapist in five steps

  1. Know that no register appliesPsychotherapist is not a protected title anywhere in the UK. Ask which voluntary register they belong to and check it.
  2. Ask about the approachPsychodynamic, integrative, systemic, humanistic — and why they think it suits what you bring.
  3. Use an assessment sessionPsychotherapy is often long-term; the first meeting is for both of you to decide whether to go on.
  4. Get the contract in writingFee, frequency, holidays, missed sessions, confidentiality and its limits, and how ending works.
  5. Agree review pointsLong-term work still needs moments to look at whether it is helping.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No statutory register applies to psychotherapists in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and the title is not protected, so anyone may use it. The HCPC lists psychotherapist among the titles that are not protected. Some psychotherapists join accredited voluntary registers, which the HCPC points the public to; that is a choice, not statutory regulation.

Ask which voluntary register they are on, if any, and search their name on that register's own site.

Protected psychologist titles

Plain 'psychologist' and 'psychotherapist' are not protected, but 'clinical psychologist', 'counselling psychologist' and the other practitioner psychologist titles are: only someone on the HCPC Register may use them, and doing so without registration is an offence under the Health Professions Order 2001.

If the psychotherapist uses one of those titles, search them on the HCPC Register under 'practitioner psychologist'. hcpc-uk.org →

Trader status and cancelling a block

A psychotherapist in private practice is a trader under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Sessions booked online or by phone carry a 14-day right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; if you chose to start within the 14 days, you pay for the sessions you had.

Get the psychotherapist's fee, cancellation terms and session length in writing before the first appointment.

Insurance

Because no register applies to a psychotherapist, no law sets an insurance requirement for them. Professional indemnity insurance is still the cover that would pay out if their work harmed you.

Ask the psychotherapist whether they hold professional indemnity insurance and who the insurer is.

VAT

Psychotherapy is standard-rated at 20%; it becomes exempt only when a statutory-registered health professional, such as an HCPC practitioner psychologist or an NMC nurse, provides it within their profession or directly supervises it. A practice whose VAT taxable turnover passes £90,000 must charge VAT and list it on its own line; a psychotherapist below the threshold charges none.

Ask the psychotherapist whether they are on a statutory register, and for the VAT number if VAT is added to the fee. gov.uk →

“What psychotherapy training did you complete, and how long did it take?”

A good answer: A named training of several years with supervised clinical practice — and a voluntary register you can search.

“Which approach do you use, and why for me?”

A good answer: A plain explanation of the psychotherapist's model and how it fits what you have described.

“Is this short-term or open-ended psychotherapy?”

A good answer: An honest view of the likely length, with review points either way.

“Who supervises your psychotherapy work?”

A good answer: Regular clinical supervision with an experienced colleague.

“What are the limits of confidentiality?”

A good answer: The narrow circumstances — serious risk of harm — in which they would share information, and how they would involve you.

“What happens over holidays and missed sessions?”

A good answer: Their breaks announced in advance, and a written rule on what you pay for missed sessions.

“How would we end?”

A good answer: A planned ending with notice, rather than stopping suddenly.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends — the psychotherapist you chose, or a colleague covering, employed or subcontracted
  • The fee per session and its length
  • How often — weekly or more — and how long the psychotherapist expects the work to last
  • The rule on missed sessions and on your holidays and theirs
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on its own line unless a statutory registrant provides the therapy
  • Online or in person, and any difference in price
  • Notice for ending, from either side

Walk away if

  • Uses 'clinical psychologist' or 'counselling psychologist' without HCPC registration
  • No written contract on fees, missed sessions and confidentiality
  • Asks for months of fees in advance
  • Contact outside sessions that feels personal
  • Promises a cure, or advises you to stop prescribed medicine
  • Cannot say who supervises their work
LOW
£45
TYPICAL
£60
HIGH
£120

What a psychotherapist costs: £45–£120 per session

Psychotherapists charge per session, usually 50 minutes and often weekly over months, so the total depends on how long the work runs. Psychotherapist price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Psychotherapists near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. First contactA call or message about what brings you, availability and fees.
  2. AssessmentOne or two sessions exploring your history and whether this psychotherapist and approach suit you.
  3. The contractFee, frequency, confidentiality, holidays and missed sessions agreed in writing.
  4. Ongoing sessionsRegular sessions, usually weekly, often over months.
  5. Review and endingPlanned reviews and an ending agreed with notice.

Voluntary register
A register a psychotherapist chooses to join — not statutory regulation.
Psychodynamic
An approach that explores how past experience shapes the present.
Integrative
An approach drawing on several models.
Clinical supervision
Regular review of the psychotherapist's work with an experienced colleague.
Therapeutic frame
The fixed arrangements — time, place, fee — that hold the work.
Practitioner psychologist
The HCPC-protected titles, such as clinical psychologist.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the contract and receiptsUseful for insurance claims and if you move to another psychotherapist.
Reflect on the endingA planned last session to look back at what changed and what you take forward.
Ask about returningWhether you can come back for a review later, and how.
Review the bookingTell the next family or client how the psychotherapist did. Something to fix first? The make-it-right step gives them the chance before your review goes live.

STEP 1Start with a message to the psychotherapistSet out the facts and the outcome you want, and keep a copy. Reasonable care and skill is implied into every service contract by section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015; if the therapy fell short, the psychotherapist must redo it or reduce the bill under section 54.
STEP 2Try the make-it-right stepUnder four stars for a booked psychotherapist, Locufy asks whether to pass it to them first; we follow it through before the review goes up.
STEP 3No regulator — but titles are protectedThere is no regulator for psychotherapists. A psychotherapist who will not engage can be referred to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales (0808 223 1144 in Welsh), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland; if the psychotherapist claimed a protected psychologist title, tell the HCPC.
STEP 4Small claims as the last stepWhere the psychotherapist still refuses, the small claims routes run to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure and £5,000 in Northern Ireland, with no solicitor needed.

Hiring a psychotherapist: questions people ask

No. No statutory register applies to psychotherapists in any UK nation and the title is not protected. Some join accredited voluntary registers, which you can search.

No. 'Clinical psychologist', 'counselling psychologist' and the other practitioner psychologist titles are protected by law and need HCPC registration; 'psychotherapist' is not.

It varies — some work is a few months, some years. Agree review points at the start.

£45 to £120 a session, typically around £60. Specialist work and London practices cost more; some keep reduced-fee places. Our psychotherapist price guide explains the range; searching your town above shows psychotherapists who cover it.

Possibly. The health exemption in VAT Notice 701/57 does not reach practitioners who are not on a statutory register, so a VAT-registered psychotherapist charges 20%.

Tell them in writing; a psychotherapist trading as a business owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Ask their voluntary register how it handles complaints, and report misuse of a psychologist title to the HCPC.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in health & wellbeing

How to hire: CounsellorHow to hire: CBT TherapistHow to hire: HypnotherapistHow to hire: Life CoachHow to hire: Mindfulness CoachHow to hire: Holistic TherapistHow to hire: Wellness CoachHow to hire: Occupational TherapistAll 701 hiring guides →

Psychotherapists near you

Psychotherapists in LondonPsychotherapists in ManchesterPsychotherapists in BirminghamPsychotherapists in GlasgowPsychotherapists in BelfastAll psychotherapists on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. HCPC — understanding the regulation of psychologists
  2. HCPC — professions and protected titles
  3. HCPC — misuse of title
  4. gov.uk — Health professionals and pharmaceutical products (VAT Notice 701/57)
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  7. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started in the cancellation period
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  9. Health professionals and pharmaceutical products (VAT Notice 701/57) — 2.5 Services that are not exempt from VAT (taxable at the standard rate)
  10. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register