![]() ![]() What are the Benefits of Offering a Free Initial Consultation?Īrguments for free initial sessions tend to focus on the benefits to clients, namely that it makes therapy much more accessible, especially to those struggling financially.įinding the right therapist is a challenge at the best of times.Ī wealth of research points out that the therapeutic relationship itself is the most crucial factor for positive outcomes. You can work this out by calculating the potential revenue lost from “free hours” across a year, adding in your overheads, and seeing the fiscal reality of that choice. If you choose to offer them, you’ll want to know the cost. Struggling to make ends meet, taking on more clients to fix this, or finding that your revenue does not add up to a living wage can cause more trouble for you than a negative bank balance.įree sessions aren’t actually free. You may subsidise your practice at your own expense if you ignore factors such as overheads, workload, and whether your reduced rate will cover your standard rate. While it’s excellent that therapists wish to put their client’s needs first, it’s not so great when this happens at a therapist’s expense (financially, psychologically, and emotionally).įor example, while many of us are happy to offer reduced-fee sessions for those in need, we may not have fully considered how this might affect us. What Should You Consider Before Offering a Free Initial Consultation? The ethical frameworks under which most therapists work prevent them from entering into any kind of exploitative relationship with clients, including asking for public testimonials, recommendations, or rewarding referrals.įor these reasons (and many more), deciding whether or not to charge for a first session is complicated – but worth thinking through. Necessary activities for other freelancers, like asking for testimonials, giving kickbacks for referrals, or offering “bundles” of services at a discounted price, are inconceivable to most therapists.īut many of these options are a “no-no” because of the need to maintain our client’s confidentiality. Therapists find it more challenging to do these things. Most self-employed people understand that they need to promote and market themselves, network, and engage in activities to ensure the sustainability of their businesses. ![]() For example, while most people organise holidays around their other responsibilities without any problems, therapists must consider how their absence may affect their clients and prepare accordingly. Instead of simply seeing these choices as practical, we tend to think about their underlying meaning. The decision whether to charge for your first therapy session or not tends to be more challenging for therapists and counsellors than those in other fields. The First Therapy Session: To charge or not to charge Reasons why you might not want to offer a free consultation. ![]() What the benefits of offering a free consultation are.What you should consider before offering a free consultation.This question comes up a lot, so we asked Dr Aaron Balick, a psychotherapist and director of Stillpoint, for his view on what is definitely not a “yes-or-no” question. The decision to offer a free initial consultation may be easier for you if you are an established therapist.īut if you’re just starting in private practice, the decision might not be so easy.įree consultations are a great way to let potential clients meet you and determine if you’re a good fit, but you might be concerned about whether they will hurt your business. ![]()
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