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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder how people afford counselling privately?

237 replies

MedianRange · 14/03/2015 13:15

Counselling where I live starts at £40 per hour 50 minutes with some charging £50 or £60. Concessions for unwaged are minimum £35 per hour.

The average salary where I live is £19k.

How do people afford it??

I am unsure how much benefit people get if they are not working but I'm pretty sure they are unlikely to have £35 left over a month let alone each week or fortnight.

I'm also thinking that most people who would require counselling have had life issues that has probably impacted their earning potential.

But then if the counsellors get very few clients at these rates, it would make sense that they would charge less so I am honestly confused.

Any ideas anyone??

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 21:28

My day job is in addiction Tutt but not in counselling. I went part time a few months ago to do a stint as an employed counsellor bit I found it too difficult to reconcile the two paid roles so I gave it up.
I did get my supervision costs paid which was good but I didn't particularly enjoy it and am happy only to do self employed counselling work now.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 21:29

My employment role was in group counselling. I enjoyed the role but working in a counselling organisation wasn't for me.

jemimapuddleduck208 · 14/03/2015 21:35

A counselling hour is 50 mins.

Yeah, it is, and that is such bullshit. It's not an "hour", counselling or other. They're saying it's an hour, charging as such, yet only giving the patient 50 minutes of their time. I'd love to know where they get off trying that. Imagine if anyone else went to work and said "Sorry boss, I'm only going to work 50 minutes in every hour". Yeah, right.

Perhaps if these counsellors who like to rake in 50 quid an hour (sorry, per 50 minutes) worked for the NHS instead, more people would get better counselling for free, as it should be. Instead, the greedy fuckers try to bleed people in distress dry, which is a fucking disgrace.

JillyR2015 · 14/03/2015 21:35

I can set myself up tomorrow as a counsellor without any training and charge £5, £10, £50, £120 or £240 an hour. It is not a regulated work like doctor or nurse is. However chartered psychologists charging the standard BUPA rates of about £110 an hour will have the qualifications. Obviously it is up to people what they choose to pay and whom they use and as people have said above some can be covered in the NHS.

Is your friend down the pub who thinks he knows law better than a qualified accountant - probably not but you never know. It is a very difficult thing buying professional services and deciding what is worth the money and what isn't. I wrote two books on how you value these kinds of services and price them.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 21:38

jemima I make it clear it's 50 minutes. I don't try to pass it off as an hour. I need a few minutes to finish with a client and prepare for the next one. That's fairly standard.
My couple's sessions are an hour and I timetable accordingly.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 21:41

Jilly counsellors who are members of regulated bodies have to have the appropriate professional qualifications.

Yes anyone can call themselves a counsellor but I can't see them getting much work if they don't have the qualifications and they wouldn't be working ethically.

RandomNPC · 14/03/2015 21:44

Jemima, get over yourself. Completely misdirected anger.

SharkCat · 14/03/2015 21:46

So how many sessions are available on the NHS?
How exactly does conselling help people?

SharkCat · 14/03/2015 21:47

counselling

Tutt · 14/03/2015 21:50

Why the nastiness on here?
Counsellors are transparent to their clients, above board, ethical and regulated.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 22:05

Any decent counsellor is Tutt, I agree. One or two of these comments are really unpleasant.

WayfaringStranger · 14/03/2015 22:10

Please bear in mind that there are unethical and non transparent counsellors out there and that people have bad experiences. You can't assume that they're not hurt and damaged by these experiences.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 22:13

Of course there are Wayfaring and of course some people have sadly had bad experiences. That doesn't mean that those of us who work transparently and ethically can't defend ourselves, or that we should have to accept abusive comments.

RandomNPC · 14/03/2015 22:13

And yet without my therapist, I'd most probably be dead now.

WayfaringStranger · 14/03/2015 22:15

Abusive comments should be reported to HQ but I can't say I've seen a lot of that.

ILovePud · 14/03/2015 22:18

There are good and bad within all professions. I think those in caring professions are in a sensitive position though as they are working with people at vulnerable points in their lives. Most counsellors/therapists I've met are genuine, caring and professional people who do the job because they want to help people rather than because they are hoping to make a quick buck. The few unethical ones I have met have been a huge cause for concern though, some have been struck off/suspended from professional registers but continue to practice privately which is why it is really important to check your therapist is registered with the appropriate accrediting body.

Tutt · 14/03/2015 22:22

Decent sorry ilovesooty, I forgot to add that word :)

Me too Random and that is why I trained, completely turned my life around (took a very long time but I got there) maybe I was lucky but I do attribute the majority of my recovery to my counsellor.

Sharkcat I don't know about the amount of sessions on the NHS but if you ask your GP they can tell you and put you in touch with the right people, some surgeries have in-house counsellors.

I work for a charity that only offers 6 sessions max.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 22:22

Agreed ILovePud

Personally I think referring to counsellors in general as "greedy fuckers" and "bleeding people in distress dry" with the implication that we're all guilty of this behaviour is grossly insulting to those of us who work ethically but I won't bother to report it.

ILovePud · 14/03/2015 22:25

Agreed ilovesooty I think the poster who wrote that is on a general wind up mission tonight.

kim147 · 14/03/2015 22:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 22:46

kim your struggle sounds incredibly distressing but you've managed to communicate that without insulting other people and the way they work professionally.
I hope you do manage to access some affordable help.
I'm going to PM you.

Alibabsandthe40Musketeers · 14/03/2015 23:06

jemima what are you suggesting then, that counsellors work for free?

The reason that they don't work for the NHS is because there is no funding to create those posts. It is very likely that many counsellors would earn more if employed by the NHS, and I think it is pretty clear from this thread that the vast majority are not in it for the money.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 23:19

The NHS also employ counsellors trained in specific models - the models I trained in are different.

I've also exposed briefly why self employed counselling suits me, but I'll elaborate. When I left teaching my experience in my last job left me ill and traumatised. Over the past 11 years I've been lucky enough to be employed by a company where I've been able to rebuild my confidence. It's a very special place and I'm more grateful than I can say. My brief experience of working elsewhere last year confirmed for me that being employed in another setting isn't for me.
I know I just wouldn't cope with being an NHS employee.
I shouldn't have to consider being one just because NHS provision is inadequate.

ilovesooty · 14/03/2015 23:19

Explained not exposed but I think my meaning is clear Smile

niddy · 15/03/2015 01:15

Just returned to this thread. Just to clarify to the PP, that is my genuine, 'in general' experience of 18 years of counselling.

A lot of work can be done within 6 counselling sessions and it is okay to dip in and out of it as a lot of processing, changes can be made within those sessions if a client is 'ready' and has a suitable counsellor for them. It is not easy. It can be very challenging to engage within the therapeutic process.

I give a full 60 minute hour to my clients. It is not easy work. We work within a lot of life's 'grey'. Suicide and finding a way out of life is not uncommon.

As a former Staff Nurse it was easier, break confidentiality. As a qualified, registered counsellor, exploring the stuff that makes a person feel this way is far more risky (possible prison sentence). Ironically, it can by through taking these risks can move a person forward from this.

The personal element is that even with supervision, counselling can be very taking of a person, leaving very little for their own family. Ultimately we are two human beings making contact.

However, observing a person grow, develop, blossom is priceless! No amount of money is as fulfilling to me.

I do however have a mortgage to pay, bills etc,, so do need to have a fee.

For perspective, I do often spend time researching, note taking, room preparing etc. for my client, often the best part of a morning. For one client.

My friend, who is (an excellent) decorator charges more fees than I do for a mornings work. That is not to belittle his work in any shape or form. Simply perspective