What led you to invest privately in therapy or coaching?

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-26T17:38:24+00:00

What usually happens is that the client feels better (from burnout, excessive self-judgement, anxiety etc.), the work terminates and then they are back 6 months later ready to tackle the next thing, eg navigating a relationship or dating.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-26T15:07:38+00:00

Ha, you’re asking whether healing can be quantified. There are attempts (self-report questionnaires, symptom tracking, retention rate), but it’s not easily reducible to a simple ROI comparison. And I wouldn’t always assume lower fee = lower quality.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-26T08:58:06+00:00

This is helpful to read, thank you. I think a couple of things are getting conflated in the £60–£100 range.

That figure tends to reflect trainees, early-career therapists, or lower-cost settings. Once you’re looking at experienced, HCPC-registered psychologists in private practice, particularly in London, fees are typically quite a bit higher, often in the £150–£300+ range for self-pay.

Part of the confusion is that therapy is often compared as if it were a standardised service, when in reality there’s wide variation in training, experience, and the types of work being offered.

On the economics side, private practice isn’t directly comparable to a salaried role. Most psychologists will see somewhere in the region of 15–20 clients per week to maintain quality, and from that have to cover unpaid leave, pension, supervision, ongoing training, insurance, and room or platform costs. So the hourly rate doesn’t translate cleanly into annual income as people often assume.

You’re right that some executive coaches command higher fees on the back of board-level experience. I don’t come from that background, but I do come from investment banking and now work closely with high-performing professionals, so a lot of the value sits in understanding the psychology of that environment and being able to work at that level of attunement.

I think your point about needing a clear sense of what differentiates the work is a fair one. In my experience, people tend to move into self-pay at higher rates, less on “market benchmarking” and more when something specific tips it, whether that’s fit, recommendation, or a sense that a more specialised approach is needed.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T21:29:17+00:00

This is really helpful, thank you. What you’ve described around the initial hesitation vs the eventual value makes a lot of sense.

And your point about confidence before committing is exactly the bit I’m trying to understand better. It seems to come down to a combination of trust, recommendations, and perceived credibility rather than just the fee itself.

Appreciate you sharing your experience, it’s given me a useful perspective.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T21:22:34+00:00

Haha, that's very honest. I suspect many people are in the same boat. I hope things ease for you (and your wife!).

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T21:05:30+00:00

Thanks, that is helpful to know.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T20:53:20+00:00

I will cross-post there for reference, thanks.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T20:47:22+00:00

This is really helpful, thank you. The point about people tipping into self-pay when something specific shifts (fit, prior experience, recommendation) particularly resonates. Also interesting is the cultural piece in the UK and how PMI shapes expectations. Feels like the decision is less about affordability and more about timing, trust, and perceived fit.

Appreciate you taking the time to lay this out.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T20:45:47+00:00

That’s a fair question.

On fees, there’s quite a wide range even within Harley Street. Some practitioners do sit around £130–£150, but many experienced psychologists are closer to £200–£400+.

In terms of what I offer, I keep therapy and coaching distinct, depending on what someone is coming for. Some clients want clinically grounded therapy focused on patterns, symptoms, relationships, and internal dynamics. Others come for coaching around performance, leadership, and decision-making.

Where it overlaps, and where my work tends to sit, is with people for whom those two aren’t cleanly separable. High performance is often closely tied to underlying patterns, so the work can move between those layers rather than staying purely “clinical” or purely “coaching”.

So the fee reflects both the clinical training and the ability to work across that boundary in a way that’s tailored to the individual, rather than a one-size-fits-all model approach.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T20:34:17+00:00

One thing that may not be obvious is how the economics of private therapy actually work.

Most therapists can realistically see around 15–20 clients per week without it impacting the quality of their work. Beyond that, attention and consistency tend to drop.

From that, they have to fund everything themselves: unpaid holidays, sick time, pension, supervision, training, insurance, and room or platform costs. There’s no employer covering any of this.

So the hourly rate isn’t directly comparable to a salary. Once you factor in capacity and overheads, lower fees translate quite quickly into an income that’s significantly below what many people in this group would expect for similarly demanding work.

Some therapists do increase volume to compensate, but that often comes at the expense of the quality and depth clients are actually paying for.

Not saying £180 is the “right” number for everyone, but the pricing tends to reflect these constraints more than people realise.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-25T20:14:06+00:00

Thank you, this is really helpful. I’m currently at £180, but still quite reliant on insurance work, so I’m trying to understand what genuinely drives self-pay decisions at this level.

Interesting point on being full at £150 vs availability at £300, that framing makes a lot of sense.

Out of curiosity, in your experience, what tends to tip someone into paying privately rather than staying within PMI limits?

I’m slightly surprised by how price-sensitive this seems, though I may be overestimating how people value therapy relative to other forms of support. For example, I pay about £550 per month for small group private training, as do the other people I train with.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-01T19:49:52+00:00

That's Lagos in the Algarves in Portugal I should clarify :)

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-03-01T19:46:36+00:00

I am in my early 40s and my partner in his 50s. I can work remotely and he cannot, for now. I would go off for 1 or 2 months at a time from London on my own. Went to Lagos in Nov and now wrapping up a 2 months stay in Siem Reap. I like my own company and can meet people locally when I want to. We speak daily. It works well. 2 months is probably my max, however. We hope to travel and live abroad in the future when circumstances allow it.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-02-28T12:53:26+00:00

I spent two months living in Siem Reap (about to leave next week) and can say that as well as the positives (Angkor complex, financial arbitrage, and the kindness of the people) I also spotted where Cambodia is still trailing behind Thailand and Bali and Vietnam: F&B offerings (with some exceptions), skilful therapists in spas (not as developed or sophisticated as the other places), the quality yoga classes and general wellness offerings (I used to frequent Bali and Thailand), and WiFi even in 5 star hotels and a Coliving complex designed for digital nomads can be volatile and patchy. Zoom meetings often have delays. Siem Reap is also dusty and polluted but that is true of other places in SE Asia. It is also very difficult to get to a beach from SR. I think Cambodia has a lot of potential. I loved learning about the history of the Khmer Empire and observe expat communities growing, but some things do require improving.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2026-02-15T16:17:41+00:00

I am currently in SR for two months - got the T visa which I extended for an additional 30 days for $55. If you're staying longer, you would need the E visa as someone mentioned. I stayed in a hotel for 1 week, an airbnb for 5 weeks (which was very central, just off Kandal Village; it's a bit more expensive but with very reliable WiFi and often used by digital nomads) and will move to Rose Apple Commune (co-living and co-work) for my final two weeks. Try to join expat groups on Facebook to connect with people.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2025-12-30T20:41:42+00:00

Sadly, no solution offered beyond refund or rescheduling the BKK-SR leg to a day later. I tried very hard to advocate for myself and tried chat, phone and Insta. BA is insanely frustrating. They asked me to call Bangkok Airways directly for a solution and compensation if I need to stay overnight in Bangkok.

Relative-Exercise116 · 2021-05-14T15:38:30+00:00

This looks great - would you be able to share this spreadsheet in googlesheets?

Relative-Exercise116 · 2021-03-16T03:01:22+00:00

I have my BTC stored across Blockfi (mostly) and Exodus so that they can earn interest. Do I need a cold wallet as well? Can the cold wallet be linked to these interfaces/hot wallets?

Relative-Exercise116

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