Therapy Covered by Your Health Insurance
I am recognised by six providers. Sessions run in London or online across the UK, with an HCPC-registered practitioner psychologist.
If you hold private medical insurance, therapy may already be paid for. Most people either do not realise it is included or assume the process is harder than it is. In practice it is usually one phone call to your insurer before you book.
Below is what each provider needs from you, whether a GP referral is required, and how authorisation works. None of it commits you to anything: a free introductory call costs nothing and does not touch your policy.
Providers I am recognised by
AXA Health
Self-referral through AXA's mental health line, no GP letter needed for most policies.
Aviva
Mental health pathway with direct access on most policies, authorisation confirmed by phone or online.
Vitality
Talking Therapies route with direct member access, typically an initial block of sessions.
WPA
Pre-authorisation before the first session, often with a GP referral, then claims settled per appointment.
Allianz
Pre-authorisation form before treatment, with international and expatriate policies well suited to online work.
IPRS Health
Usually arranged through your employer or occupational health rather than a personal policy.
The one thing worth doing before you book
Call your insurer first and get an authorisation number. Starting sessions before the claim is authorised is the most common reason people end up paying for treatment they expected to be covered, and it is almost always avoidable.
Four questions are worth asking while you have them on the phone, because the answers decide what therapy actually costs you.
- Is talking therapy included on my specific policy?
- How many sessions are authorised in the first block?
- What excess applies, and is it per claim or per policy year?
- How much of each session fee is reimbursed, and what do I pay?
What your insurer is told, and what it is not
A claim needs administrative information: that appointments happened, and where further sessions are requested, a clinical summary supporting that request. That is the extent of it.
The content of your sessions is confidential and is not passed to your insurer or, in the case of an employer scheme, to your employer. Where a report forms part of a referral, you will know before it is written and you will know what it says. If you would rather keep the work entirely off any insurer's record, paying directly avoids the question altogether.
Why brief therapy makes your cover go further
Most private policies authorise a block of sessions and then ask the therapist for a report before approving any more. That structure suits how I work anyway. My training is in brief, focused models: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, CBT, Brief Strategic Therapy, EMDR and Single Session Therapy.
The aim is not to fill the sessions your policy allows. It is to make the earliest ones count, so that you leave with something usable whether or not you come back. Some people get what they came for in one or two appointments. Others use the full authorised block. Both are normal outcomes, and neither is treated as a failure.
In practice this means a policy authorising a short initial block is rarely a problem. If more work is genuinely needed, I write the review report your insurer asks for.
If you would rather not involve your insurer
You do not have to use your policy. Some people prefer not to, because a claim creates a record with their insurer, because the excess is close to the cost of a session anyway, or because they want to keep the work entirely separate from anything an employer scheme can see.
Paying directly is straightforward and needs no authorisation, no referral letter and no diagnosis. You can see current fees on the pricing page, and a free introductory call is available either way.
Frequently asked questions
- Does my health insurance cover therapy?
- Many UK private medical insurance policies include cover for talking therapies, but it is never automatic and varies widely between individual plans and employer schemes. One call to your insurer with your membership number will confirm it, and they will issue an authorisation code if you are covered.
- Do I need a GP referral to start?
- It depends on the insurer. AXA Health and Vitality generally allow members to self-refer by phone, Aviva does on many schemes, while WPA and Allianz more often expect a referral or a pre-authorisation form. Each provider page sets out what that insurer asks for.
- Are online sessions covered in the same way?
- Almost always, and I see insured clients throughout the UK online. A small number of schemes still treat remote appointments differently, so it is worth confirming when your claim is authorised.
- What if my insurer only pays part of the fee?
- Some policies reimburse up to a set rate or a fixed percentage, leaving a shortfall, and most carry an excess. Ask for the reimbursement rate and the excess when you call so the real cost per session is clear before the first appointment.
- Can I pay for therapy myself instead?
- Yes, and some people prefer to. Paying directly needs no authorisation, no referral and no diagnosis, and it keeps the work off your insurance record. Current fees are on the pricing page.
Not sure whether you are covered?
Book a free introductory call. We can talk through what you are dealing with, and I can tell you what your insurer is likely to need. It costs nothing and does not touch your policy.
If you have already spoken to your insurer, or we have worked together before, you can skip the call and book directly.
