As the number of private CBT clinics and providers continues to increase in response to the demand for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, how can you ensure that you are getting good value for money?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) continues to set the gold
standard in the treatment of anxiety conditions and mood disorders. CBT is
highly effective in the treatment of short and long-term problems, providing
good psychological insight into the causes of the problem and practical strategies
for supporting sustainable change.
The research evidence demonstrates that CBT delivers good
therapeutic outcomes in a relatively short period of time. It is therefore
highly popular in both the NHS and private practice and is the NICE treatment
of choice for a wide range of psychological problems.
Whilst CBT can be accessed free of charge via the NHS “Improving
Access to Psychological Therapies” (IAPT) services, waiting times can range
from six to sixteen weeks, extending into several months for specialist CBT
treatment or child and adolescent therapy.
Private CBT therefore provides a fast and flexible way of
accessing good therapy with the added advantage of choosing the specific
therapist that you want to work with.
The problem is that there are literally thousands of
therapists offering CBT and wide variations in quality and price. So finding
the right therapist and ensuring good value for money can feel complicated and
confusing.
In this article, we offer some guidance on how to judge good
value for money and some pointers to help select the right Cognitive
Behavioural Therapist.
How Much Should You Expect to Pay for Private CBT?
The cost of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) typically
depends on the qualifications, experience, success rates, commercial
orientation, location and availability of the therapist. In our survey of 46 accredited
CBT providers operating in the UK we found CBT costs ranging from £45 to £250 depending
on the size, accreditation status, location and commercial orientation of the private
provider.
We also found that the CBT costs of services provided by the
same therapists often varied significantly depending on the organisation or
platform through which their services were offered.
It’s therefore difficult to establish a clear benchmark for good
quality CBT, however we found that clients should generally expect to pay
£70-£95 for one-to-one CBT appointments with a qualified and BABCP accredited
Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
Where Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is provided by larger
commercial organisations via subcontracting arrangements, the cost of CBT is
inflated to cover organisational overheads and profit margins. We looked at
fifteen popular / well-known private CBT providers in the UK and calculated a
mean average of £117.60. The range was £75-£146 for a standard 50 minute
daytime appointment. There were no discernible differences in the therapists or
services offered within this price range; indeed many therapists worked across several
private providers.
How Many CBT Sessions Will be Required?
To understand the costs of private CBT, clients also need to
know how many sessions may be required. The
number of CBT sessions will vary depending on the presenting problem,
the client’s therapy goals and the level
of complexity. Most anxiety and mood conditions can be treated within 6-16
sessions and the CBT process should always follow an agreed therapy plan. Our
advice is to budget for a minimum of eight CBT sessions and agree the therapy
plan following the initial appointment.
Value for Money
CBT is not a protected profession in the UK and the
qualifications and credentials of therapists varies significantly from
medically trained psychiatrists to untrained individuals offering CBT with
superficial online training only. Whilst it’s reasonable to assume that
individual’s with wider or more in-depth psychological training will charge
more than unqualified therapists, this is not always a reliable gage for assessing
good value for money. Higher charges are frequently driven by the therapist’s pricing
policy rather than qualifications, credentials and experience.
Quality Assurance Standards
The recognised UK benchmark for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
is set by the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
(BABCP). Accreditation with the BABCP ensures that the individual has achieved
a post-graduate specialist qualification in CBT, demonstrated competency in assessed
clinical practice, committed to ongoing CBT supervision and undertakes regular
and relevant professional development.
It’s therefore important to check the accreditation status of
your Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy provider. Whilst there are
non-accredited therapists with the relevant qualifications and clinical
experience, attempting to objectively assess CBT qualifications and clinical
experience can be a minefield. BABCP accreditation provides an established
quality assurance standard that is universally recognised across the health,
legal and insurance industries.
Whilst there are many examples of counselling businesses
offering cheaper CBT, these services are often operating well below the
recognised threshold set by the BABCP. We found that over 70% of “therapists” returning
results for CBT during 20 randomised psychology and counselling directory
searches had no formal CBT qualifications and were registered as counsellors or
psychotherapists. It’s not unusual for therapists from other approaches to
offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with limited CBT training.
There are also many private businesses and individuals
advertising as CBT providers without recognised CBT credentials. There are
training organisations offering CBT diplomas in as few as eight hours online
training and a number of private businesses claiming recognition with spurious
accreditation bodies registered via the complementary health industry.
In the UK, the only recognised professional body for
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the BABCP. This is not to be confused with the
BACP; a counselling body that does not accredit Cognitive Behavioural
Psychotherapists.
You can check the CBT accreditation status of your therapist
by visiting https://www.cbtregisteruk.com/ You can also use www.cbtpages.com to find independent
Cognitive Behavioural Therapists and Practitioner Psychologists with CBT
specialisms.
In the final analysis, the real question should be what constitutes good value for money. To help with this, we have offered the following points as a check-list for securing the right therapist at the right price.
1. Is the CBT psychotherapist qualified and accredited by the BABCP?
2. Does the therapist have specific experience of working with the presenting problem?
3. Will the therapist follow the published evidence-base in determining the treatment approach?
4. Will there be agreed treatment timescales and a structured therapy plan?
5. Will therapy goals be used to set direction and monitor progress?
6. Is there a formal feedback process to refine the approach and address issues during the course of therapy?
7. Will there be a lapse or resilience plan at the end of therapy?
8. Can I establish a good interpersonal working relationship with this therapist?
About Think CBT
Think CBT is an independent network of BABCP accredited
Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapists working across the UK. we operate on a
commercially ethical basis. This means that we strike a fair balance between
client charges and the market rate for good quality CBT. Our operating model is
driven by our commitment to providing the highest standards of CBT at an
affordable price. Our standard daytime charges are £75 and evenings and weekend
appointments are £85. We charge less as we keep our overheads to an operational
minimum without exploiting the commercial gap between the therapist and the
client. Many of our associate team members choose to work with us because of
our commercially ethical position and our commitment to working in the joint
interests of the client and therapist.
You can find out more about our approach by visiting www.thinkcbt.com
The content
of this article expresses the author’s opinion and does not represent the
position of any other professional body.
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