Working in independent private practice

Working in independent private practice as a family and systemic psychotherapist offers autonomy, flexibility and the opportunity to develop specialist interests that reflect your skills and passions.

As you’ll be self-employed, you’ll also need to run a small business alongside your clinical work. This might feel exciting but could also be daunting at first.

Over time, independent practice can become a sustainable career, with progression often involving specialising, supervising, teaching or building a larger practice.

What the work is like in private practice

As a family and systemic psychotherapist, you could work with individuals, couples and families, particularly parents and children who need support to improve their relationships.
Common issues include:

• Parenting difficulties
• Relationship conflict
• Adolescents in distress
• Trauma or family breakdown
• Divorce/blended families

Sessions are usually 60 to 90 minutes, depending on how you choose to structure your practice. Many therapists see between 3 and 6 clients a day. This can involve evening work because families are often only available after school and work.

As well as seeing clients, you’ll spend time:

• Preparing for sessions
• Writing clinical notes
• Doing relevant continuing professional development (CPD)
• In supervision
• Carrying out administration tasks, like liaising with clients to organise sessions

Running a business

As you’ll be working for yourself, rather than an employer, you’ll need to consider:

• How you’ll manage your accounts and tax, either yourself or with support from an accountant
• Being listed on directories like our find a therapist tool or the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) tool so people can find you
• Having your own website to market your services and reach potential clients
• Having a private space to see clients from if you work face to face. This might be in your own home or you can rent a room if there are suitable spaces available locally
• Using an online platform if you see clients remotely
• Data protection, including having policies in place for how you manage people’s data and registering with the Information Commissioner’s Office
• Getting professional indemnity insurance for your practice
• Applying for an enhanced criminal record check

Find out more about these considerations by visiting our page about setting up in independent private practice.

How much you could earn

Session fees vary depending on where you live but they could range from around £60 to £240. Once established, many therapists choose to work fewer than 5 days a week as they may increase their fees or combine independent private practice with other roles.

To predict how much you’d earn, think about how many clients you’d want to see in a week. If, for example, you saw 15 clients a week and your session fee was £80, you could turn over around £51,000 a year before expenses, with 5 weeks’ holiday.

However it’s important to remember you’ll have to deduct tax, room rental, supervision, insurance, CPD and directory and website fees from your income.

Also, bear in mind when setting your rates that you’ll need to pay your own pension and won’t receive benefits like full maternity pay as a self-employed person.

Benefits and challenges

Many family and systemic psychotherapists in independent private practice value:

• The freedom to choose what work they take on and when
• The ability to specialise in specific areas
• Not being constrained by the rules of an organisation
• Building relationships with colleagues they choose to work with
• Developing long-term relationships with clients

Challenges can include:

• Feeling isolated, especially if you work alone or from home
• Holding emotionally heavy work on your own – good supervision is essential
• Having a variable income that may not always be consistent
• Marketing yourself, which might not feel natural
• Running a business if that’s not something you initially set out to do

Career progression

In the early stages of their career, many family and systemic psychotherapists start to build a small independent private practice alongside an employed role, often within the NHS.

Later in their career, they may increase the number of private clients they see, reduce their employed hours, or leave employed work altogether. With more experience, therapists often charge higher fees and develop specialist interests, such as family conflict, neurodiversity, trauma or adolescent mental health.

As therapists gain further experience, they may also:

• Become a supervisor for other therapists
• Teach on systemic therapy courses
• Specialise further in particular areas
• Run a practice with other therapists
• Deliver their own training programmes

Many family and systemic psychotherapists in independent private practice work into their 60s or 70s, often reducing their client work and focusing more on supervision or teaching to share their experience.