Most UK practitioners set their fee once, when they were least experienced, and then leave it. This guide covers where private fees actually sit in 2026, how to structure them, and how to raise them without losing your caseload.

Typical UK private fees in 2026

Indicative ranges for a standard session, before VAT considerations and outside central London (which typically runs 20-40% higher):

Discipline	Initial	Follow-up
Counselling / psychotherapy	£60-£110	£55-£95
CBT (accredited)	£90-£140	£70-£120
Clinical psychology	£150-£220	£110-£180
Physiotherapy	£55-£90	£45-£75
Nutrition	£90-£180	£50-£90
Health / life coaching	£80-£150	£60-£120

These are market ranges, not recommendations. Your position within a range should reflect specialism, demand and outcomes - not how long you have been in practice.

Fee structure matters more than fee level

Three structures, in ascending order of stability:

1. Per session. Simple, and entirely dependent on this week's bookings.
2. Packages. An agreed block with a review point. Better attendance, predictable income, clearer commitment.
3. Programmes or memberships. A defined outcome over a defined period, priced as one thing. This is how nutrition, coaching and longevity practices reach sustainable income without adding hours.

Moving from structure one to structure two typically does more for annual income than a £10 fee increase.

What justifies a higher fee

• A named specialism with demonstrable outcomes, rather than general practice.
• Accreditation that gates access to insurer panels and corporate work.
• Assessment or prescribing scope, which changes what an appointment is worth.
• Turnaround and access - same-week availability and fast reports are genuinely valuable and clients pay for them.

How to raise your fees without losing clients

1. Set the new fee for new clients only, from a fixed date. Existing clients continue at the current rate.
2. Give existing clients notice, typically two to three months, and a single clear reason. Do not apologise or over-explain.
3. Raise it once, meaningfully. A £5 increase costs you the same conversation as a £20 increase.
4. Review annually on a set date. Fees left unchanged for five years fall behind inflation by roughly a fifth in real terms.

In practice, most practitioners lose very few clients to a well-communicated increase, and the ones who leave are usually the least engaged.

Low-cost and sliding scale places

Reserving a small number of reduced-fee slots is both ethically sound and commercially sensible: it keeps access open without discounting your whole practice. Define the number of slots and the criteria in advance rather than negotiating case by case.

Corporate and employer-funded work

The same hour typically pays two to three times more when an employer buys it. Occupational health referrals, EAP overflow, workplace assessments and employer-funded programmes are the fastest route to a higher effective rate without raising consumer prices.

Be transparent about price

Practitioners who publish fees get fewer enquiries and more bookings. Hiding the price filters out nobody except the people who were going to book.