Would you pay for...

[Teesstar]

Someone to talk to in confidence?

I mean would you pay to spend an hour with someone who couldn’t judge you just getting everything off your chest, not wanting advice or answers, or therapy just to share how you feel?

If so how much would you pay per hour session?

Isn't that the same as talking to a councillor or Samaritans ?
Varies from free to megabucks depending on who you see

No, I'd probably contact the Samaritans in that instance.

I don't think I would. If I was paying to talk to someone I would hope to get something more out of it - i.e. advice - than simply unburdening myself to a stranger who was being paid to listen.

If I was despairing/suicidal I would phone the Samaritans because what you describe is very much what they offer.

No there are already lots of free providers of this service so I would use them if needed

Lots of charities provide this for free

No I wouldn't. I go to someone with proper training.

OP, if this is a business idea have you thought about training as a specific type of counsellor?

I don't think there would be a market for it.

Those who want to just talk, ring the Samaritans or similar for free and those who want help/guidance use a therapist and pay.

But maybe I'm missing something

Thank you for your responses!

I have worked in mental health for years and have loads of experience, everyone always says it just helps to have a chat with me, I am wanting to change and work independently, but you all answered the question, that this probably wouldn’t work and that’s ok 🙂

Thanks for the feedback.

It sounds as though you would make a good counsellor, OP, so why not explore that as an independent option?

The 'just having a chat' isn't likely to work without some focus because people will either have friends/family they can vent to, or they'll use a free service such as Samaritans.

Have a look at Creative Counsellors. They offer quite diverse therapy, think - while out walking or running, sewing etc etc. I don’t know if they practice in a specific theory. But its maybe a model to look at if you wanted to offer a sort of tea & talk thing.

I think given your experience it could work actually but im not sure how much id pay

The problem is that once people start paying you they will want more than someone to just listen . You’d need to think about confidentiality and your ethical stance on pretty complex issues by which time you’d be as well getting proper training.

It probably does help some folk to talk to you, but if they’re paying you an hourly rate you move from offering a friendly ear to providing a service and your responsibilities change accordingly.

Thank you for the feedback I really appreciate it.
I have been doing this kind of work for years like I said, also goal setting and I have a certificate in motivational interviewing from Sheffield uni.

I have a degree in nursing and I am currently doing a masters in creative writing with a view to running writers workshops, courses and therapeutic writing, plus writing books.

I am just really hoping to branch out on my own and want to throw a few ideas around 🙂

I was thinking of charging £20 an hour because most coaches charge around £40-50 near me and I think it’s a bit pricey. I would happily pay £20 to have someone with my experience listen to me pour my heart out without judging me! Haha!

Counsellors working privately need professional indemnity insurance, regular supervision and they should work to a code of ethics, all of which is important to ensure you’re working safely for the Cliebt and for yourself. You’d need to be clear that you aren’t offering counselling/therapy and also be clear about how you’d keep your service safe, eg how it differs from coaching, counselling and therapy.

I agree that just chatting can be therapeutic, I’d be concerned about how you kept yourself safe and well.