How to make counselling affordable for everyone?
Prices are on the increase along with everyone's stress levels.
Pair the rising cost of living with the decline of people's mental health and it stands to reason more people will be looking for help. People will be looking for a space to speak, to vent, to find a counsellor who will work with them.
But organisations, the NHS, and charities, are overwhelmed with the amount of people looking for affordable/free counselling and therefore the waiting lists are at an all time high.
Counselling shouldn't be something you have access to if you are 'lucky' or willing to wait.
I have had clients who have come to me after receiving free counselling elsewhere but they were only offered a maximum of six sessions due to the overwhelming demand. This can leave clients with a counselling process that feels incomplete and sometimes people even feel abandoned by the place they went to for help in the first place.
This is infuriating and so wrong. Counselling should be two things, readily available and affordable. I always try to respond to enquiries within 24hours and get an introductory call arranged for that same week or the week after.
Wanting to better yourself shouldn't bring with it financial stress.
More often than not people are having to make decisions between buying food and putting fuel in the car. More and more people are counting the pennies. With vital things like food and electricity taking priority with peoples mental health falling to the back of the list.
Alternatively, you have people who decide to cut the costs elsewhere as they want to dedicate some time to their mental health. However, once they then start looking for a counsellor they realise that they don't have the funds to pay £50, £60, sometimes more, for a single session.
So how can I help? How can I offer affordable prices while surviving financially myself?
Firstly I offer a free introductory call. I offer 20minutes cost free to answer any questions that you may have and to talk you through the counselling process as a whole. This will allow you to learn about me and my way of working. This way you can decide if I am the right fit for you before parting with any money.
Also, I can work with you on a price that will work for the both of us. If needed we can work on an honesty policy of paying what you can afford for that particular session. The lowest I would be able to go for a session is £25 with the standard price being £40. If you think this kind of sliding scale will work for you then please let me know. I want counselling to be something that will help to relieve some of the pressure and stress of life, not for it to be an added burden.
A flexible approach to session frequency and session cost is the way to go.
One session, ten sessions, or one hundred sessions.
Sessions once a week, once a month, or as and when.
Flexibility is key.
I will work with you as frequently as you would like. Everyone's counselling journey is different and the situations that bring people to counselling are different. Some people only need a session every couple of months while others consistently attend once a week. This is something that is entirely up to you. I do not have a strict policy and want you to know that I will make space for you regardless of how frequently you have sessions.
If you want to start counselling but are worried about finances, please still reach out.
Rest assured I will always do the best that I can to work with you to offer a service that is affordable and that you are comfortable with. If you have any queries or questions be it about the counselling process, how I work, or the price of sessions, please contact me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.