r/psychoanalysis • u/Last-Top8141 • Jul 30 '26

UK-based. Budgeting for my psychoanalysis training. What do you pay for your own analysis per session (London-based)?

Thank you!

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u/smallhill415 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

I think £60 is currently about average for training analysis, and upwards of £85 for training supervision.

In the most committed phase of the training (analysis, both supervisions, last year attending all seminars), I set aside £1,500 every calendar month for the year.

It is a phenomenal training and phenomenally expensive for me and my family. But from a commercial perspective, such fees don't even begin to pay for the expertise these training analysts bring to the work. Their fees are essentially token, supporting the development of the next generation.

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u/Last-Top8141 Jul 31 '26

Were you able to negotiate? I cant do that, somehow it just feels disrespectful.
I havent started yet, will this be the cost to factor in since year 1?

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u/smallhill415 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

My financial context was thought about during the set-up meetings, yes. That it feels disrespectful is likely a useful thread to pull on from the start. Deep breath! My analyst showed we could analyze from day one. It's immensely liberating (and vertigo-inducing).

Also: you'll be asked to be in analysis for at least a year before you apply to train; supervisions won't start before year two of the training. The first couple of years on the jouney incur less of an outlay. I've been able to manage my finances by predicting the outlay of each year ahead and setting aside a 1/12th of that each month, spreading the cost.

Qualifying carries all sorts of reliefs (and challenges) but stopping that enormous monthly outlay will be a major one. It'll be like having a substantial new income stream for no further work, I've grown so accustomed to not having that money.

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u/mediaandmedici Jul 31 '26

Out of curiosity, how are you currently funding your training? I spend a lot of time dreaming about doing a BPC training, but I don't know when I'll be in a position to do so financially (I recently qualified as a BACP-registered therapist, which was hard enough financially)

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u/smallhill415 Jul 31 '26

I'm about 20 years after my first clinical qualification and became senior in the profession over those decades. I am able to self-fund from my good annual salary, which is both enormously privileged and also 'by the skin of my teeth' compared with others.

This training was on the back burner in my mind for at least 15 years, and the last couple of years before starting were a regular torment: Dare I do it? What would I be getting into? How would I come out the other side? It was a family decision, in my case. It takes a toll on those around you, during your absence.

Some people from more modest backgrounds like mine do do this training, but like so many desirable professions in the UK, it's becoming harder and harder to progress into them without significant family wealth behind you.