How to set up a private therapy practice in Ireland: the complete checklist

Setting up a private therapy practice in Ireland is more straightforward than most therapists expect, but it requires doing several things in the right order. This checklist covers the full process from professional standing through to your first client, with specific information on costs, timelines, and the practical choices you will need to make.

Professional accreditation and insurance

Before you take a private client, you need two things: professional accreditation and professional indemnity insurance. These are non-negotiable.

The main accrediting bodies for therapists in Ireland are:

IACP (Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy): the largest body for counsellors and psychotherapists in Ireland, with over 4,000 members. Full accreditation requires a minimum qualification level (typically at least a Level 7 degree or equivalent) plus 450 supervised client hours. Annual membership for accredited members is approximately €285.

ICP (Irish Council for Psychotherapy): accredits psychotherapists specifically and requires more extensive training, typically a minimum of four years' postgraduate training. Annual membership is approximately €300.

APCP (Association of Play Therapists and Creative Arts Therapists in Ireland): relevant for therapists working with children using specialised modalities.

IAHIP (Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy) and other specialist bodies also provide accreditation for specific modalities.

Being accredited matters because many clients look for an accredited therapist specifically. Some GP referral schemes and EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) panels require it. It is also a signal to potential clients that you meet a verifiable professional standard.

Professional indemnity insurance protects you against claims arising from your clinical practice. Most IACP and ICP members arrange this through Clanwilliam Insurance, which offers policies from approximately €120 to €250 per year for sole practitioners. Some professional body memberships include a basic level of cover. Check your specific situation and ensure the cover level is adequate for your scope of practice.

Setting your session fees

Session fees in private practice in Ireland typically range from €80 to €120 for a 50-minute session. In Dublin, rates at the higher end of this range are standard and expected. Outside Dublin, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas, the lower end of the range is more common.

Factors that influence your fee setting: your level of qualification and experience, your specialism (therapists specialising in trauma, perinatal mental health, or eating disorders often command higher fees), the local market (check what therapists in your area are charging on Psychology Today or Counselling Pages), and whether you offer any concessions for students or low-income clients.

Setting a concession rate is a personal decision. Many therapists offer a small number of reduced-fee slots, typically two to four, for clients who genuinely cannot afford the full rate. This is not a requirement. If you do offer concessions, be clear about the criteria and the availability of those slots.

Revenue recognises therapy as a qualifying medical expense, meaning clients can claim tax relief on therapy fees at the standard rate (20%) under the Med 1 scheme. This effectively reduces the client's net cost, which is worth mentioning on your website.

Building your online presence

Your website is your most important client acquisition tool. It needs to do a specific job: convince a potential client that you are the right therapist for them and make it easy to get in touch or book.

Essential elements of a therapy website: a professional photograph (this is one of the highest-impact elements in terms of trust-building), a clear description of who you work with and what you help with, your fees, how to book, and a contact form. A blog or resources section is optional but useful for SEO.

Your website needs a domain name. A .ie domain is preferable for Irish practices as it signals local relevance to Google and to clients. A .ie domain costs approximately €10 to €15 per year through an Irish registrar such as IE Domain Registry or Blacknight.

A professional website for a therapy practice typically costs between €1,500 and €3,500 if built by a specialist. This is a one-off cost that is tax-deductible as a business expense. The site should be fast, mobile-friendly, and built with basic SEO fundamentals in place from the outset.

You should also set up a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). This is free and takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It makes your practice visible in Google Maps and the local search pack, which is one of the most common ways potential clients find therapists. You will need to verify your address, which Google does by postcard.

List your practice on therapist directories: Psychology Today (approximately €30 per month), Counselling Directory, and TherapyPages are all worth considering. These generate referrals while your website builds its own search authority.

Taking bookings and payments

Online booking is the expected standard for private practice in 2026. A booking system that allows clients to see your availability and book without needing to email or call increases your conversion rate significantly.

Cal.com is an open-source scheduling tool that is GDPR-friendly, integrates with Stripe for payment collection, and can be embedded directly into your website. The free tier covers most solo practitioners. The paid tier (approximately €12 per month) adds features such as automated reminders and team scheduling.

Stripe is the most widely used payment gateway for solo practitioners in Ireland. It charges 1.4% plus €0.25 per successful card transaction for European cards (1.5% for UK cards). It processes payments directly to your bank account on a rolling two-day delay. Setup takes approximately 30 minutes.

You should also consider whether you want to take payment at the time of booking (which reduces no-shows significantly) or invoice after sessions. Both are legitimate approaches. Collecting payment at booking is more practical for new practices and eliminates awkward payment conversations.

GDPR and client data

As a private practice therapist, you are a data controller under GDPR. This has practical implications.

Your website needs a privacy policy that accurately describes the data you collect and how it is processed. A contact form, a booking system, and an email inbox all process personal data. Each needs to be covered.

Session notes and client records must be stored securely: on an encrypted device, in an EEA-based cloud service with a Data Processing Agreement in place, accessible only to you. Standard consumer Google Drive does not qualify; Google Workspace with a business account does.

Client records in Ireland should be retained for a minimum of eight years from last contact, in line with HSE guidance, and then securely deleted.

If you use any analytics on your website (such as Google Analytics), you need a cookie consent mechanism in place before any tracking cookies fire.

Your client intake process should include a brief data protection notice explaining what information you hold, the basis on which you hold it, and their rights as a data subject. This can be included in your intake form or contract.

Your first clients

Word of mouth is the most sustainable source of referrals for an established therapy practice, but it takes 12 to 18 months to build meaningfully. In the meantime, faster channels are available.

Your Google Business Profile, once verified and completed, will generate enquiries from clients searching for therapists in your area. This is free and often produces results within weeks.

Directory listings on Psychology Today and Counselling Directory generate a steady stream of enquiries. Psychology Today in particular has strong search visibility in Ireland.

Your own website, optimised for local search terms such as "therapist in Cork" or "online therapist Ireland", will generate organic traffic that compounds over time.

LinkedIn is underused by therapists but effective for attracting professionals and accessing EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) referral panels. A complete profile with a clear description of your work, your accreditation, and your approach is a useful professional asset.

Finally, notify your professional network that you have opened a private practice. Former colleagues, supervisors, and fellow trainees are often willing to refer clients to a therapist they know and trust.

The full setup from accreditation through to first client typically takes four to eight weeks, depending on how much infrastructure you need to build. Most therapists can have a functional, compliant, professional practice up and running within a month.

If you want the website, booking system, and GDPR setup handled by someone who specialises in therapy practice setups, the Karv Web Studio therapist package covers all of this in a single, integrated project.