Setting up in independent private practice

When you set up in independent private practice as a family and systemic psychotherapist, you also become your own boss and a service provider. It’s an exciting and rewarding career. You’ll need to have strong boundaries and feel confident managing complex dynamics outside of being part of an organisation.

Other things to consider if you’re thinking about working as a family and systemic psychotherapist in independent private practice are below.

Registering with a professional body

The Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (AFSP) requires members in independent private practice to be part of a registering body like the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). You can register with UKCP through AFSP. Doing this protects yourself and your clients. You’ll have access to a support network and your clients will know that you meet stringent professional criteria.

To maintain your registration with UKCP through AFSP, you need to do regular continuing professional development (CPD).

Insurance

You will need to get professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance and, potentially, cyber liability insurance if you’re offering online therapy. You need to make sure your practice is covered against possible claims for damages for negligence, malpractice or accidental injury.

Enhanced criminal record check

If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and work with children or vulnerable adults, you need an ‘enhanced DBS check with barred list check(s)’ from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This is the highest-level criminal record check and confirms whether a person is barred from working with children or adults who are vulnerable. Clients may ask to check your DBS certificate. We require you to have one to be registered with the UKCP through AFSP.

In Scotland, the equivalent check is with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.

Legal structure

Think about whether you want to become a sole trader, who is self-employed, or set up a limited company. Each has different implications for tax and liability. It’s best to speak to an accountant about your options.

Ethical considerations

Members of AFSP sign up to our Code of Ethics and Practice (PDF, 203KB) which you might want to communicate to your clients in your agreement with them. Other ethical considerations are:

• How will you manage confidentiality when multiple family members are involved?
• How will you document sessions with several people?
• What is your policy if one person discloses something privately?
• What are your safeguarding procedures?
• Do your consent forms reflect systemic practice?

Thinking about who you work with

It helps to be clear about who you want to work with. Then you can focus on this in your marketing and you’ll get appropriate referrals. For example, you might want to focus on families with young children, couples or neurodivergence.

Portfolio career

Taking the leap to work in independent private practice might seem huge when you’ve been part of a big organisation, like the NHS. But it doesn’t have to be all-consuming. Many of our members in independent private practice have a portfolio career, doing some teaching, research, supervision or contract work in addition to offering therapy on a case-by-case, independent basis.

Price

Generally, independent private practice family and systemic psychotherapists charge between £60 and £240 per session. There’s a wide range because it will depend on a number of factors, including your experience and location and whether you rent a room. Check out prices in your local area and don’t forget to factor administration time into your fees.

Visit our working in private practice page to find out more about how much you could earn.

Other things to think about related to finances include:

• If you want to have a sliding scale for clients, offering lower fees for people on lower incomes, or fixed fees
• Your cancellation policy. Will you have a 48 hour cancellation policy, for example, and charge for missed sessions?
• Your monthly outgoings, including rent, insurance, supervision, tax and pension payments
• Allowing for around 6 months at the beginning of starting out in independent private practice to build up your client base

Your therapeutic space

You will need a space to practise. Whether this is a space to do your online sessions or to see clients face to face, it needs to be quiet, confidential and safe.

Think about whether you have a suitable space at home and would feel comfortable having people see you there. If you need to rent a room, consider a shared therapy space or private office. You’ll need a large enough room, which is soundproofed and has a flexible seating arrangement.

Systems

If you’re seeing people online, you’ll need an encrypted video platform, so do some research about what best meets this requirement and your needs.

You might also want to investigate getting a system to help you make appointments and you’ll need a secure email address.

As you’ll be managing personal data, you will need to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Explain to clients that you might keep short notes of sessions and you’ll keep these securely and in an anonymised form.

Supervision

You will need to have regular family and systemic supervision. Consider joining a peer supervision group as well as having individual supervision. You could look to build a local referral network with people in the group.

Marketing yourself

This might be the first time you’ve had to market yourself so it may feel uncomfortable. Think about what a client would like to know to help them decide to reach out to see if you could work together. Consider:

• Creating your own website. Include a clear explanation of family and systemic therapy as many people don’t know what it is. Have a look at our What is family and systemic therapy? page to help.
• Joining our AFSP directory of family and systemic psychotherapists, which is free for members. You can also create a profile on the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) Find a therapist directory if you are registered with them and join others, like the Counselling Directory.
• Contacting local GPs, schools, social workers, hospices, charities and therapy networks so they could potentially refer appropriate clients to you.

Policies and contracts

You’ll need to think about whether you want to have policies for:

• Confidentiality
• Data protection
• Safeguarding
• Complaints
• Cancellations
• Working with separated/divorced parents
• Court reports
• Being subpoenaed

It’s a good idea to have a therapy contract or agreement with clients which sets out detail about fees, missed appointments and your terms and conditions.