Most people looking at private psychiatry want one number first: what will this cost me? A first appointment with a consultant psychiatrist in the UK usually runs into the hundreds of pounds, and follow-ups cost less. What makes one clinic’s price differ from another’s is rarely a mystery once you know where the extra costs hide.
Why the first appointment costs the most
Private psychiatry is priced by appointment. The first one is the expensive one because it is the longest and the most work.
An initial assessment is typically an hour. In it a consultant psychiatrist takes a full history: your symptoms, what has already been tried, your physical health and medicines, and how all of it affects your work and relationships. They then reach a working diagnosis, explain it, and write a plan. Much of the writing happens after you log off.
A follow-up is shorter, often twenty minutes, because the history is already recorded. It checks how treatment is working, adjusts a dose, manages side effects, or reviews whether the plan still fits.
Compare the two fees together: a cheap assessment with frequent, expensive follow-ups can cost more over six months than a higher upfront fee. What happens at a first appointment is worth reading before you choose.
What drives the price
Four things account for most of the variation between UK providers.
Appointment length. A 30-minute assessment and a 90-minute assessment are different products, whatever both are called. Length is the most useful figure on a fee list.
Who you see. A consultant psychiatrist has completed specialist training and is on the GMC’s specialist register. Cheaper appointments are sometimes with a trainee or a nurse prescriber under supervision. That can be appropriate care, but it is not the same appointment.
What the diagnosis needs. Autism and ADHD assessments involve structured interviews, questionnaires, childhood information and a longer report, so they cost more than a depression review.
What the fee covers. Some clinics charge separately for the report, for letters to your GP, for a prescription, or for an email question between appointments. Others include them. This is where quoted prices stop being comparable. Video consultations also avoid the cost of consulting rooms, which is part of why online clinics are often cheaper for the same clinician grade.
Happy Clinic’s fees
Happy Clinic provides online psychiatry by video with GMC-registered consultant psychiatrists, for adults aged 18 and over anywhere in the UK.
| Appointment | Length | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Initial psychiatric assessment | 60 minutes | £400 |
| Follow-up appointment | 20 minutes | £200 |
| ADHD initial assessment | 60 minutes | £400 |
| ADHD follow-up or titration review | 20 minutes | £200 |
| ADHD Shared Care Agreement appointment | 30 minutes | £500 |
| Adult autism screening | 60 minutes | £450 |
| Adult autism assessment | — | £1,650 |
| Autism follow-up | 20 minutes | £200 |
| Repeat prescription request (existing patients, subject to clinical review) | — | £150 |
Fees are paid in advance. Fees checked September 2026 — see the fees page for the current list.
What is included, and what is not
At Happy Clinic the fee covers the consultation, the clinical decision-making, your treatment plan, a summary written to you, and a summary to your GP with your consent. A prescription issued during an appointment is included. What is not included:
- Pharmacy charges. The medicine itself is a separate cost, paid to whoever dispenses it.
- Therapy. Happy Clinic does not provide psychological therapy. It can advise on which therapy would suit you, but the therapy itself is arranged elsewhere.
- Blood tests, ECGs or other investigations arranged outside the clinic.
- Medico-legal and benefits reports, which are not provided.
- Under-18s, dementia assessment and crisis care, which are outside what the service does.
Those last three are not small print: if what you need is an urgent response tonight, or a report for a tribunal, a private appointment is the wrong purchase.
Prescriptions and pharmacy costs
This trips people up more than any other part of the bill. A private psychiatrist normally issues a private prescription, to which the fixed NHS charge does not apply. The NHS says the prescription charge in England is £9.90 per item, and prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With a private prescription you pay the pharmacy the actual cost of the medicine plus a dispensing fee, which varies enough between pharmacies to be worth ringing around for.
Two things reduce this over time. Many psychiatric medicines come as generics, far cheaper than branded versions. And if your GP takes over prescribing you move onto NHS prescriptions and NHS charges — for ADHD, usually through a shared care agreement once treatment is stable. See how prescriptions work privately.
What ADHD titration adds up to
ADHD is the clearest example of private psychiatry as a course rather than a one-off, so it is worth doing the arithmetic.
Treatment starts at a low dose and is increased gradually, with reviews in between, until the balance of benefit and side effects is right. NICE recommends adjusting the dose against symptoms and side effects, with physical health monitoring alongside. The number of reviews varies: some people settle quickly, others need several dose changes or a change of medicine.
At Happy Clinic’s fees that is £400 for the assessment and £200 per titration review. Most people need somewhere between one and four reviews before a dose settles, so add those to the assessment fee, with the monthly pharmacy cost on top. A Shared Care Agreement appointment, if one is needed to hand prescribing to your GP, is £500.
Nobody can tell you in advance how many reviews you will need. Ask for the fee per review and how often they happen. See adult ADHD at Happy Clinic for how the pathway works.
Private medical insurance
Some policies cover psychiatric care and some do not, but a few things hold generally.
Most insurers want a GP referral before authorising a specialist appointment, even where the clinic does not require one, and most want pre-authorisation and a claim number beforehand rather than after. Many policies limit mental health cover, exclude conditions that existed before the policy started, and treat ADHD and autism assessments differently from other psychiatric care. Some cover the assessment but not the ongoing medication.
None of that is a reason not to claim. Ring your insurer first, ask what is covered for the specific thing you want assessed, and get the answer in writing.
Before you book
A short list of questions tells you most of what you need to know:
- How long is the assessment, and who will I be seeing?
- What is the follow-up fee, and how often are follow-ups likely?
- Is a written report included, and will a summary go to my GP?
- Are prescriptions included in the appointment fee?
- If I need medication long-term, what is the plan for handing prescribing to my GP?
- What happens if I cancel or move the appointment?
- Is the provider registered with the regulator? Consultations are provided by Happy Clinic, which is registered with the CQC.
Private psychiatry is not always the right answer. If cost is the deciding factor, the NHS route is free, and NHS or private is worth reading before you spend anything. The NHS also notes that if you see a private specialist you are still advised to get a referral letter from your GP, and that your GP is not obliged to accept a private specialist’s recommendations.
If private is right for you, read about online psychiatry or book a video consultation.
Speak to a Consultant Psychiatrist
Book a secure video consultation with Happy Clinic. No GP referral needed, with appointments usually available within days.
This article is general information and is not a substitute for personal medical advice. If you are in crisis, call 999, go to A&E, call NHS 111 or call Samaritans free on 116 123.