Online gestalt therapy practice

Individual adults paying privately, often found through therapist directories, word of mouth and your own website.

A fee per session, paid by clients weekly or fortnightly. Income grows as your regular client list builds, within the number of clients you can safely and sustainably see.

• Completed gestalt or psychotherapy training
• Deep listening and emotional steadiness
• Setting clear boundaries and keeping good notes
• Comfortable working over video

• Psychotherapy title protection and regulation can vary, so check what your professional body requires for registration and accreditation
• Professional indemnity insurance that covers online and international clients if relevant
• Data protection: check whether you need to pay the ICO data protection fee and how you store client notes securely
• Clients in crisis: have a clear plan and know local emergency and NHS routes to signpost
• Building a client list can take months, so many people keep other work alongside at first

Startup costs are typically around £300 to £1,500, depending on your insurance, website and video and note-keeping set-up. This assumes you have already completed an accredited training. Treat the range as an estimate.

Monthly revenue is typically around £600 to £3,000, depending on how many private clients you see. The estimate starts from about 6 hours a week. Building a client list can take months, so these are estimates, not guarantees.

Check what your professional body requires for registration and accreditation, as psychotherapy regulation can vary. Also check professional indemnity cover for online or international clients, the ICO data protection fee and secure storage of notes, and a plan for clients in crisis.