Concierge mental health · UK
Family and systemic therapy, for the whole system, not one person.
Evidence-based psychotherapy that works with families, couples and wider systems — regulated in the UK by the Association for Family Therapy (AFT), and recommended by NICE across multiple pathways.
Why patients choose us
- 01
AFT-registered systemic therapists
Every therapist we introduce is registered with the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT), and where relevant with UKCP or BABCP.
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The whole system, not just one person
Family therapy treats the pattern of relating — parents, siblings, partners, sometimes school or foster carers — because that is where change sticks.
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Independent, and free
We are paid by no clinic, so the recommendation is impartial and costs you nothing.
Indicative pricing
What family and systemic therapy costs in the UK.
Indicative session fees across AFT-registered private practice, NHS-commissioned MST, and charity-subsidised couple counselling.
In short
Private systemic therapy in the UK: £100–£180 per 60–90 minute session, typically fortnightly.
| Approach | Indicative fee | Session length | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systemic family therapy (private, AFT-registered) | £100–£180 / 60–90 min | 60–90 min | Fortnightly |
| Behavioural Couple Therapy | £90–£150 / session | 60 min | Weekly / fortnightly |
| Maudsley Family-Based Treatment (adolescent AN) | £120–£200 / session | 60–75 min | Weekly |
| Multi-systemic Therapy (MST) — NHS-commissioned | Free (NHS) | In-home | 3–5 months |
| Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) | £110–£180 / session | 60 min | Weekly / fortnightly |
| Relate couple counselling | £75–£95 / session | 50 min | Weekly |
Fees vary by therapist, city, model and whether a reflecting team is used. NHS access is free but waits are variable: CAMHS for young people, IAPT for adults, community mental health teams, and specialist eating disorder services all provide systemic work.
The problem
The right therapist, the right model, and the whole system in the room.
Family therapy is easy to find and hard to find well. The wrong model, an unregulated practitioner or a poorly set-up first session can do harm. We fix all three before you begin.
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One person, or the pattern?
For many NICE pathways — adolescent depression, anorexia, psychosis relapse — the pattern beats individual work alone.
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Which model fits?
Maudsley FBT, MST, DDP, Behavioural Couple Therapy or structural work — each fits a different situation.
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Regulated, always?
AFT-registered, with UKCP or BABCP where appropriate. No exceptions — family work with an unregulated therapist is a bad idea.
The journey
From first enquiry to a planned ending — what happens, in order.
One point of contact from the first message to the last session — including handover to individual work if that is what is needed next.
Phase 1 · Before the first session
Concierge, off-stage for you
Phase 2 · The course of therapy
Fortnightly, over weeks or months
Phase 3 · After
Review and clean handover
- 01
Before
You tell us who is struggling
A short, confidential form. Who the referred person is, what the family has tried, whether children are involved, whether there is safeguarding concern.
- 02
Before
We come back with a recommendation
Within one working day: the right systemic model (Maudsley FBT, MST, DDP, Behavioural Couple Therapy), the right therapist, an indicative fee. If individual therapy fits better first, we say so.
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Before
We arrange the first session
Usually within one to two weeks. Multi-party consent is discussed openly, along with confidentiality between family and individual sessions.
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During
Assessment session
A 60–90 minute meeting with as many of the household as can attend. Genograms, circular questioning, a first look at the pattern — no obligation to continue.
- 05
During
A course of sessions begins
Typically fortnightly, 6–20 sessions. Some sessions include everyone, some a sub-group, some individual — the therapist explains why each time.
- 06
During
Reflecting team, where offered
In the Milan tradition, a second clinician may observe and offer reflections at the end of the session — a hallmark of systemic practice.
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After
Review and endings
A planned ending with an outcome review. If work continues in a different mode (individual CBT, couple therapy, DDP) we hand over cleanly.
Typical short-term course: 6–20 sessions over 3–9 months. Attachment work and MST run to their own timelines.
When it helps
When NICE recommends family and systemic therapy.
The situations where the evidence is strongest, and the one situation where joint sessions are unsafe.
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Adolescent depression
NICE CG28 recommends family therapy as a first-line option for moderate to severe depression in young people.
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Adolescent eating disorders
Maudsley Family-Based Treatment is the NICE NG69 first-line for anorexia nervosa in young people.
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Self-harm in young people
NICE NG204 recommends family-based interventions for children and young people who self-harm.
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Conduct and behavioural problems
Multi-systemic Therapy (MST) is NICE-endorsed under CG158 for antisocial behaviour and conduct disorder.
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Adult psychosis and schizophrenia
Behavioural family therapy reduces relapse and hospitalisation — NICE CG178 and CG155 for young people.
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Couple distress and depression
Behavioural Couple Therapy is NICE-recommended for depression where relationship distress is a factor.
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Attachment and adoption
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) for adopted and looked-after children with developmental trauma.
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Red flag: active domestic abuse
Joint sessions are not safe when there is active abuse — safety planning and separate individual work come first.
Systemic models
Family therapy is not one thing.
The main systemic approaches used in the UK — and roughly which situation each fits.
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Structural family therapy
Maps and adjusts the family’s hierarchy, boundaries and coalitions — useful where roles have become stuck or reversed.
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Milan systemic therapy
Uses circular questioning and a reflecting team to reveal patterns the family cannot see from inside.
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Narrative therapy
Separates the person from the problem, and helps the family author a preferred story rather than being defined by symptoms.
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Solution-focused brief therapy
Short, pragmatic and future-oriented — builds on what is already working rather than dissecting what is wrong.
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Maudsley Family-Based Treatment (FBT)
The evidence-based approach for adolescent anorexia nervosa — parents take charge of refeeding in the first phase.
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Multi-systemic Therapy (MST)
An intensive in-home programme for young people at risk of care or custody — works with family, school and peers.
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Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
For adopted, fostered and looked-after children — repairs attachment through PACE: playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, empathy.
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Behavioural Couple Therapy
Structured, evidence-based couple work — NICE-recommended for depression with relationship distress.
Our vetted UK network
AFT-registered systemic therapists, we vet them.
A small, deliberately narrow panel of systemic therapists across London, the South East, Manchester, Bristol and online — introductions are made privately, once we understand the situation.
Selection criteria
How we choose every systemic therapist in our network.
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Therapists registered with AFT, UKCP or BABCP — no exceptions
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Trained in the specific model recommended by NICE for your situation
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Experienced with multi-party consent, confidentiality and safeguarding
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LGBTQ+-affirming and culturally humble practice as standard
Safety and ethics
What responsible systemic practice looks like — honestly.
Family therapy asks more of everyone in the room than individual therapy does. Consent, confidentiality, safeguarding and cultural humility are not add-ons — they are the practice.
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Multi-party consent is worked out openly
Everyone who attends needs to understand what family therapy is, what will be shared, and their right to decline or withdraw.
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Confidentiality has two settings
What is said in family sessions is shared; what is said in individual sessions is not, except where safeguarding requires it.
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Safeguarding always overrides
If a child or vulnerable adult is at risk, the therapist has a duty to act — this is explained at the outset, not sprung on you.
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Cultural humility is not optional
Family shape, roles, faith and language differ. A good systemic therapist works with your family, not to a template.
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LGBTQ+-affirming as standard
Same-sex couples, trans young people, chosen families — the therapists we introduce are affirming, not merely tolerant.
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Sessions are 60–90 minutes
Longer than most therapy, because more people are in the room. Fortnightly spacing gives the family time to try things between sessions.
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Course length varies with model
6–20 sessions is typical for short-term systemic work; DDP and attachment work often runs longer; MST is a structured 3–5 month programme.
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Not right in acute crisis
If someone in the family needs urgent individual stabilisation, that comes first. Family work resumes when it is safe and useful.
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Not right during active domestic abuse
Joint sessions can be dangerous. Relate and specialist services follow domestic-abuse policies — safety planning first, always.
Reading your therapy notes
Your systemic notes in four parts. Read the last one first.
Whichever model was used, the letter the therapist sends at the end tends to keep to the same shape.
A quiet reminder
Systemic language can feel abstract — we translate the formulation for you if it would help.
If you would like us to talk you through the letter before your review, just ask.
- 01 Formulation
The systemic formulation
How the therapist understands the pattern — who does what, when, and how the problem is maintained inside the system, not just inside one person.
- 02 Plan
Model, goals and expected length
Which systemic model was chosen (FBT, MST, DDP, structural, narrative), the agreed goals, and roughly how many sessions.
- 03 Consent
Confidentiality and safeguarding agreement
Who consented to what, how information flows between family and individual sessions, and the safeguarding threshold.
- 04 Outcome
Review, ending, and any onward referral
Read this first: what changed, whether goals were met, and any handover to individual therapy, CAMHS, IAPT or a specialist service.
Recognised by major UK insurers
Cover for family and systemic therapy varies by insurer and by the referred person’s diagnosis — often funded where NICE recommends it, self-pay for relationship or preventive work. We confirm cover before booking.
Frequently asked
Everything we get asked about family and systemic therapy.
Quick answers on evidence, cost, confidentiality, safety and how a first session actually runs.
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What is family and systemic therapy?
A form of psychotherapy that works with families, couples or wider systems — including school, foster care, extended family or workplace — to understand and change the patterns of relating that keep a problem going. The AFT (Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice) is the UK professional body.
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Is family therapy evidence-based?
Yes. NICE recommends it across multiple pathways: adolescent depression (CG28), adolescent self-harm (NG204), anorexia nervosa in young people (NG69 — Maudsley FBT), conduct disorder (CG158 — MST), psychosis and schizophrenia (CG178 and CG155), and depression with relationship distress (Behavioural Couple Therapy).
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Does everyone in the family have to attend?
No. The therapist works systemically with whoever comes — and can often help even when a key family member declines. Consent, confidentiality and who is invited to which session are worked out openly at the start.
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How long does it take?
Short-term systemic work is typically 6–20 fortnightly sessions of 60–90 minutes. Attachment-based work (DDP) and adoption work often runs longer. MST is a structured 3–5 month in-home programme.
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How much does private family therapy cost in the UK?
Roughly £100–£180 per session with an AFT-registered systemic therapist. Behavioural Couple Therapy is £90–£150. Maudsley FBT is £120–£200. Relate offers subsidised couple counselling from £75–£95.
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Can I get family therapy on the NHS?
Yes. CAMHS for young people, IAPT (via BABCP-registered systemic therapists) for adults where relationship distress is part of a mood disorder, community mental health teams, and specialist eating disorder services all offer it. Waiting times vary considerably.
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What happens in a first session?
A 60–90 minute assessment with as many of the household as can attend. The therapist draws a genogram, asks circular questions (how each person sees the problem), and — in the Milan tradition — a reflecting team may share observations at the end. No obligation to continue.
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Is family therapy safe if there is domestic abuse?
Joint sessions are not safe when there is active abuse — they can escalate risk. Reputable services (including Relate) follow domestic-abuse policies: separate assessment, safety planning, and individual support first. Family or couple work may become possible later, once safety is established.
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Will the therapist take sides?
No. Systemic therapists work to hold a multi-partial stance — every person’s experience is treated as valid. The aim is to change the pattern, not to allocate blame.
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