- 1-2-1
- Online
- Weekly
- 50 mins
FAQ's
What is online counselling like? How long is a "session"? When will I have my sessions? Where will it take place?
Our standard session fee for online counselling is £30 per 50-minute session (£25 + vat).
We keep fees as low as possible to ensure our service remains affordable and accessible to those who need it most.
As a Community Interest Company, we reinvest our profits into local community initiatives and likeminded Charities that we believe will offer the most support.
Unlike other health services, including psychologists and art/dance therapies, counselling is not exempt from VAT and we are required by law to add 20% VAT to our fees which gets paid to HMRC.
We are actively campaigning alongside many other organisations in calling on the Government to expand the VAT exemption to include counselling and psychotherapy.
For more information, please visit: https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/policy-and-research/public-policy/our-policy-goals
Each online session lasts 50 minutes.
Sessions are held weekly at the same time and day, which your counsellor reserves only for you.
Online therapy sessions are held weekly at the same time and day. We offer sessions from:
Monday to Friday (8am to 8pm)
Saturday (9am to 4pm)
This is subject to the availability of our counsellors. Please offer as many options for sessions times as possible during your assessment.
If your options are limited, we will do our best to find a counsellor with suitable availability but this may take slightly longer.
Sessions are offered on an ongoing basis with regular reviews. As counselling is a very personal experience, you are welcome to have sessions for as long as this feels beneficial to you.
Many of our volunteers are trainee counsellors and psychotherapists in clinical placement with us. We cannot guarantee how long they will be available to work with you, but they will give you 12 weeks notice when they are coming to the end of their placement.
If this happens, you can request to work with a new counsellor, take a break while you think about what you’d like to do, or finish therapy if you feel ready.
During your assessment, we will get to know a little bit more about you and build up an understanding of your counselling needs. We will then allocate you a counsellor who we believe has the appropriate level of experience and availability.
We appreciate how important the relationship is with your therapist, and if you do not feel a good connection after a few sessions, please let us know and we will endeavour to allocate you a new counsellor.
Once you have agreed a suitable time with your therapist, your weekly counselling sessions will take place on the same time and day each week.
We understand that it isn’t always possible to commit to the same time each week if you work shifts. Please let us know if this is the case during your assessment and we will try to accommodate your schedule.
If you are going on holiday or need to cancel a session for any other reason, please let us know one week in advance or your normal fee would still be due.
In the event of an emergency or exceptional circumstances prevent you from attending your session, please let your counsellor know as soon as possible and confirm this to us by emailing: info@affordablecounselling.network
We have no tie-in period or subscription, and you are free to cancel at any time by giving us one week’s notice.
We do encourage you to give your counsellor at least 1 or 2 weeks notice if possible when you’re planning to finish therapy to avoid a sudden ending, so that you have time to plan a positive ending together.
This is entirely down to you.
Your counsellor will be committed to supporting your wellbeing and development through the provision of a safe, non-judgemental space to explore your personal objectives, process and therapeutic journey.
Yes, all of our counsellors are registered with their relevant professional membership bodies and bound by a code of ethics, which includes keeping your therapeutic space confidential.
There are very few situations in which counsellors are legally obligated to break confidentiality without your consent, including if there was immediate threat to life (for you or another), if a child or young person under 18 was at risk of harm (under the Children Act 1989), if we became aware of offences under the Terrorism or Drug Trafficking Acts, or we were compelled to do so by court order.
Breaking confidentiality is always a last resort. As you are in relationship with your counsellor, they would always discuss any concerns with you directly if appropriate in the first instance.
Your counsellor can also discuss these aspects of confidentiality with you in more detail during your first session, especially if it is something that you are worried about.
Your initial assessment will be conducted by a qualified counsellor who operates within the safeguarding requirements of our ethical framework. We have a duty of care to both our clients and counsellors to make sure that the counsellor allocated to each client has an appropriate level of experience.
Many of our therapists are trainee counsellors in clinical placement. They practice a range of therapeutic modalities and styles and join us at different stages in their learning journey. We believe this is one of our strengths and it allows us to accommodate a broad range of clients.
Counsellors registered with a professional body must complete a minimum of 100 hours in clinical placement before they qualify – similar to student nurses and doctors. We ask our trainee counsellors to provide a ‘fit for placement’ letter from their training institute and evidence of their professional memberships.
Our counsellors must go through an interview and training process before they join the Affordable Counselling Network. They have also undertaken additional training to work effectively and safely online.
Online counselling has many potential benefits, including removing the time and expense of traveling to your sessions, as well as being in a place of your choosing where you feel comfortable.
It is important that you are in a safe, confidential space for your session where you will not be overheard or interrupted.
Your therapist will share a meeting link with you before your first session. Most of our counsellors use Google Meet and you won’t need a Google account to join this if you’re using a web browser on a computer. If you want to join via the Google Meet app on a phone or tablet, you will need to have a Google account to sign into this with however.
You will need a webcam or a camera on your smart device. You will also need a stable internet connection.
If you need guidance on how to use online meeting spaces, please ask during your initial assessment and at least 24 hours before your first session and we can send you additional instructions.
In the event of technical difficulty accessing your session, please notify your counsellor as early as possible and at least 10 minutes before the start of your session.
Your counsellor can contact you by phone, as long as you have taken the appropriate steps to notify them of your technical issues before the session starts.
If you decide that you wish to take a break from counselling, please give your counsellor at least one week’s notice to avoid being charged for your next session.
Please email the Admin Team to confirm this via:
info@affordablecounselling.network
If you do take a break, you’re welcome to return to the service at any time however we cannot guarantee that you would be able to see your original therapist or have sessions at the same time and day if they are available.
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have rights regarding your personal data, and we encourage you to contact us if you have any concerns.
We take very brief client notes after each session, typically a sentence or two. This enables us to provide you with the best possible service. All information about you is held securely.
Please see our Privacy Policy for more details.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us directly:
Initial Assessment
£15 (£12.50 + vat)
Time: 30 mins
Your initial assessment will be with one of our qualified counsellors and will last for 30 minutes. This is a chance for you to tell us a little about what you would like to gain from our online counselling services to help us to match you with one of the counsellors on our team.
Therapy Sessions
£30 (£25 + vat)
Time: 50 mins
The Affordable Counselling Network is social enterprise (Community Interest Company). We rely on the prompt payment of fees to continue offering a low-cost service. The fee for each weekly session is £30.00 (£25 + vat).