Low Income

Face To Face Guidelines for how much clients will pay

Face To Face is a Registered Charity and we aim to provide a professional counselling service of a very high standard, specifically aimed at clients who have low or no income. Nevertheless we do expect clients to make an ʻaffordable contributionʼ for the professional service they receive as we have no other viable way of funding and maintaining Face To Face. All counsellors are volunteers and receive no payment for their work and we do have a number of overheads (rent, utility bills, telephone, computer costs, stationary, etc.) to cover.

For guidance around how much clients would be expected to contribute per session, we have devised a sliding scale based on household income. Very occasionally and very sadly, there have been instances of clients claiming to have no income, however it has later transpired that they have either have a substantial amount of savings and / or a partner with a substantial salary. We have, therefore, tried to overcome this problem by asking would-be clients to be honest about their household income. The contributions we ask clients to make are very modest and they are set out below for guidance.

As a guide, we suggest how much you might pay per session in the sliding scale below. If your household income is:

• Under the minimum wage (Universal Credit) the contribution should be between £5.00 - £7.00

• £12,854 (lower rate minimum wage), the contribution should be between £7.00 - £9.00

• £19,094 (higher rate minimum wage), the contribution should be between £9.00 - £11.00

• £19,760 (living wage and minimum wage for under 23s), the contribution should be between £11.00 - £13.00

• £20,500 (lower rate low income), the contribution should be between £13.00 - £16.00

• £23,000 (higher rate low income), the contribution should be between £16.00 - 20.00

These are only discretionary guidelines. In the spirit of Face To Face, we ask clients to be honest. If you wish to, or are able to, pay more, you may increase your contribution or, if you cannot afford the minimum contribution, please discuss with your counsellor how much it is appropriate for you to pay. Your counsellor will answer any questions you may have about contributions. In exceptional cases and after consultation with the Face To Face Co-ordinating Group, contributions may be reduced or be waived. If your household income exceeds £23,000 however, you will be over our threshold of what we classify as ʻlowʼ income, in which case we would recommend you find a private counsellor by either visiting the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) website, or by asking your GP for a referral to NHS services.