of therapy clients surveyed in the UK say their mental health has been strained by the cost of living crisis.
Survey reported by Therapy Central, London (therapy-central.com)The Accès Psy UK social initiative
Making therapy affordable
for French speakers in the UK
Accès Psy UK is a social initiative offering online therapy, founded by Anaïs Leneau, psychopractitioner holding the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP).
The cost of therapy in the UK
The cost of living limits access to therapy
In the UK, and particularly in London, the price of therapy sessions and the rising cost of living can make regular support hard to fund. Students and people on perfectly decent incomes may put off starting therapy or give it up because of session prices, generally between £80 and £250. Accès Psy UK offers a more accessible alternative: 30-minute sessions, in French, at £50 or €58, with a choice of payment currency.
For French speakers, being able to follow a therapy in their mother tongue, the language in which emotions find their fullest accuracy and nuance, is essential. Yet in the private sector, the cost of sessions can make regular, lasting support hard to reach.
Prevention is one of the most precious forms of care: acting when the first difficulties appear, before they turn into lasting suffering. That is precisely the ground Accès Psy UK stands on.
have already cancelled therapy sessions for cost reasons, at the risk of interrupting the work under way.
Same survey, therapy-central.comthe common price of a private session in London according to UK therapy guides, higher still in the centre.
Ranges published by therapy-central.com and kickstherapy.com
Anaïs Leneau, ECP psychopractitioner
Anaïs Leneau
Psychopractitioner holding the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP) and RNCP-certified sophrologist, Anaïs Leneau has been supporting French speakers in London and across the UK for almost ten years: eight years of practice at the Bloomsbury Therapy Centre, in central London, as well as by videoconference. Life between two languages and two cultures is something she knows from the inside.
"In recent years, the rising cost of living in the UK, combined with the high fees charged in the private sector, has made access to regular psychotherapy more difficult. Some people find themselves having to postpone their therapy or space out their sessions, despite their need for support. Accès Psy UK was born from that reality, and from the resolve to offer a financial framework comfortable and reassuring enough for everyone to move forward at their own pace, for as long as they need."
- European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP), delivered by the Fédération Française de Psychothérapie et Psychanalyse (FF2P) and recognised by the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP)
- RNCP-certified sophrologist, fifteen years of combined training in multi-approach psychotherapy and body-based sophrology
- Solution-focused and strategic therapy (AREPTA Nantes), the approaches built for the short session
- Ongoing supervision and practice within the ethical framework of non-medical psychotherapy
The ECP, in a nutshell. The European Certificate of Psychotherapy is delivered by the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) through its national awarding organisations, the FF2P in France. It attests to a substantial course of theoretical, clinical and supervised training, with an ongoing commitment to supervision and ethics. If UK registers such as BACP or UKCP are your usual reference points, the ECP is the European-level counterpart, presented by the EAP at europsyche.org.
Eight years of practice in London
Born from a practice, in London
Accès Psy UK extends a practice built alongside the French speakers of the UK: students at the leading schools and universities under pressure, young professionals with packed schedules, long-term expats, parents in bilingual families. Stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, life transitions: what we live most intimately is best expressed in our mother tongue.
Eight years at the Bloomsbury Therapy Centre showed one simple thing: the demand for support in French is real and constant, and the first obstacle has become financial. Videoconferencing then opened the practice to the whole country: London, Manchester, Edinburgh, or any village in Kent. The initiative was born there, between an established clinical expertise and a social need that is very much present.
Mental health prevention
Mental health prevention shouldn’t be a luxury.
Everyone should be able to benefit from a space for listening, support and reflection before difficulties turn into lasting suffering. This initiative is about social support and human connection: because caring for one’s mental health is a human need.
Fees, confidentiality, framework
What we offer
The budget. To make payment easier from the UK as well as from France, sessions can be paid in euros or in pounds, whichever suits you best: €58 or £50. Payment is made by Revolut or bank transfer, at the end of each session. An invoice can be provided on request.
Confidentiality. Sessions take place by videoconference, their content stays between you and your practitioner. This website applies the same standard: a minimal form, zero advertising trackers, zero data resale. Your request is read only by the professionals available within the initiative.
The framework. The psychotherapy practised here is non-medical: it involves neither diagnosis nor prescription, within a precise ethical framework and under ongoing supervision. If you are in acute distress, emergency services remain the right contact: in the UK, Samaritans answer day and night on 116 123; in France, 3114. If your situation calls for medical or psychiatric care, your GP or NHS 111 are the right contacts.
Take the first step
Briefly present your request, with your availability: you receive a prompt, confidential reply.
£50 or €58 per 30-minute session · your choice of currency · pay per session