Raising your fees: when, how much, and handling existing clients

Most counsellors raise their fees too late and too rarely, usually because the conversation feels uncomfortable. But a fee that never moves quietly shrinks in real terms every year as your costs rise, and it can leave you undercharging for work you’re now far more experienced at. Reviewing your fee is a normal part of running a practice well. Here’s how to do it without dread.

When to review

Set yourself a rhythm rather than waiting for resentment to build. An annual review of your fee, whether or not you change it, keeps the question live and stops you drifting years behind. Certain moments also prompt a look: when your costs jump, when your experience or a new qualification meaningfully changes what you offer, or when you’re consistently full and turning people away, which is the clearest signal that your fee is below what the market will bear.

Deciding the new figure

Go back to the same logic you used to set the fee in the first place: your costs, your sustainable hours, and the income you need, checked against what’s typical in your area. If your costs have risen or your experience has grown, the number should reflect it. Aim for a fee you can hold with a straight face, neither apologetic nor greedy, and one you won’t need to revisit again in six months.

New clients versus existing ones

The easiest move is to set your new, higher fee for new clients straight away, and decide separately how to handle people you already see. You’re under no obligation to raise everyone’s fee at once, and many counsellors protect existing clients for a while, or raise their fees more gently and with more notice. What matters is that you’re deliberate about it rather than leaving a growing gap between your old and new rates by accident.

Telling existing clients

When you do raise an existing client’s fee, give plenty of notice, be clear and warm, and keep it brief. You don’t need to justify it in detail or apologise for it. A simple, respectful message that the fee will change from a certain date, with enough notice for them to consider it, is enough. Most clients accept a reasonable, well-communicated increase without difficulty, and a clear boundary here models exactly the kind of clarity the work itself values.

Don’t leave it too long

The counsellors who find fee rises hardest are usually the ones who’ve left it years. Review regularly, move when the evidence says to, handle it plainly, and it becomes a routine piece of practice management rather than an ordeal you keep putting off.