Yes. For reasons of safety, we do ask that all participants are on camera for all support groups and courses.
Free resources can be found in our shop here: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/product-category/free-resources, or access the ‘Ask Anxia®’ service on our website, or our podcast series.
You can also keep up-to-date with news by signing up to our free ‘Keeping Connected’ e-zine. (see ‘join our newsletter’ box in the right hand corner of the home page).
You might also find our ‘Financial hardship support‘ page useful.
While we are a charity, we receive no public funding from any source and are wholly self-sufficient, relying on the kindness of fundraisers, donors and the income generated from the provision of our own services to fund the charity. This year, more so than ever, we, like many charities are experiencing funding challenges arising from increased costs at a time when there is increased need.
While some of our services are paid for, they are heavily discounted for our members while there is also a wide range of resources, booklets and information available on our website that you can download for free.
For Android
To find your downloads on Android, open the phone’s file manager. If the device doesn’t have one, you can download a file manager from the Google Play Store. Open the file manager app and go to the Downloads section. You will see a list of all your downloaded files, photos, videos, and documents here.
For iOS
Please refer to our Terms and conditions.
We’d rather you contact us directly about any issues as this enables us to help you quicker and also saves our small charity from being charged payment reversal fees which can be costly for a small charity. Thank you for your understanding.
When each membership period comes to an end, a renewal notice will be issued and membership will be provisionally renewed for a further 12 months to ensure continuity of service.
If renewal is not required, you must inform Anxiety UK via email: [email protected] at the earliest reasonable opportunity, and at least 10 working days before the end of your membership period with MEMBERSHIP CANCELLATION in the subject line.
To request to cancel your membership you must inform Anxiety UK via email: [email protected] at the earliest reasonable opportunity and at least 10 working days before the end of your current membership period with MEMBERSHIP CANCELLATION in the subject line.
To comply with Consumer Contracts Legislation, Anxiety UK will not supply your membership pack in digital format within 14 days unless you give your express consent that you wish to receive the membership pack in this way. In opting to receive the membership pack digitally, you acknowledge that any refund requested if you cancel your membership during the ’14 day cooling off’ period, will be less the value of the digital content of the membership pack and a 15% admin fee.
To request to cancel your membership you must inform Anxiety UK via email to: [email protected] at the earliest reasonable opportunity and at least 10 working days before the end of your current membership period with MEMBERSHIP CANCELLATION in the subject line.
To comply with Consumer Contracts Legislation Anxiety UK will not supply your membership pack in digital format within 14 days unless you give your express consent that you wish to receive the membership pack in this way. In opting to receive the membership pack digitally, you acknowledge that any refund requested if you cancel your membership during the ’14 day cooling off’ period will be less the value of the digital content of the membership pack and a 15% admin fee.
Email: [email protected] to request to stop receiving emails from Anxiety UK.
Please contact us here.
All the details of what data we hold can be found in our Privacy notice here https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/privacy-notice/
Complaints should be submitted as soon as reasonably practicable and within 3 months, especially in the case of therapy services to allow any necessary action to be taken ASAP. A copy of the policy can be downloaded/read here.
Anxiety UK Approved Therapists are volunteers and are not employed by Anxiety UK. The fees that members pay direct to them, help cover expenses such as external supervision and room hire.
All Anxiety UK Approved Therapists have a current Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and undergo a thorough screening process before joining the Anxiety UK Approved Therapist team. All Anxiety UK Approved Therapists must be in receipt of regular external clinical supervision, have up to date and relevant qualifications, maintain their membership of a professional body, hold professional indemnity insurance cover and maintain their Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Please note that some of our Anxiety UK Approved Therapists may be in the process of completing their training. If you do not wish to be allocated to a Anxiety UK Approved Therapist who is completing their training, please make this clear in your therapy referral form or email [email protected]
Regular quality assurance checks are carried out to ensure that all Anxiety UK Approved Therapists meet the above stringent requirements.
Counsellors must hold a Diploma in Counselling from a course that has been accredited/is in the process of being accredited by either the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), the British Psychological Society (BPS) or the National Counselling Society (NCS) and/or hold individual registration/accreditation with the BACP or NCS.
Alternatively, if counsellors hold a Counselling diploma from a non-BACP, NCS or BPS accredited course, they must be working towards securing BACP, NCS or BPS accreditation within 12 months of being accepted as an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist.
CBT practitioners must hold a qualification from a course that has been accredited /is in the process of being accredited by the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and/or hold individual accreditation with the BABCP.
Alternatively, if CBT practitioners have a Diploma or higher qualification in CBT (including a dual Diploma in CBT/REBT) from a non-BABCP accredited course, they must be working towards securing BABCP accreditation within 12 months of being accepted as an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist.
Clinical Hypnotherapists must hold a Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy and be registered with one of the following professional bodies: The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, The British Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the General Hypnotherapy Register, National Council for Hypnotherapy, UK Council for Psychotherapy and The Hypnotherapy Society.
CFT practitioners must have completed Anxiety UK’s CPD 3 day Introduction to CFT training course or an equivalent CPD 3 day introduction course equivalent to the AUK course delivered by a provider recognised by the Compassionate Mind Foundation. Alternatively practitioners must have completed an Advanced Clinical Skills training course in CFT from a provider recognised by the Compassionate Mind Foundation, or hold either a PG Cert or PG Diploma in CFT from a provider recognised by the Compassionate Mind Foundation.
EMDR practitioners must have completed or be in the process currently undertaking EMDR Europe training and be able to provide documentation of training certificates and/or be accredited with EMDR Europe.
To access Anxiety UK’s therapy services you must be over 18 years of age.
If you are based outside of the UK please contact us before submitting a referral request.
Anxiety UK’s key focus is to support those with anxiety/anxiety disorders. If, however, you are experiencing other issues/complexities, our therapy services may not be suitable. In such instances, we will endeavour to provide information on other relevant services.
When making a referral request we will ask you to confirm the following:
Anxiety UK aims to process all applications for therapy within one working day. We will then contact you regarding any further proof, permissions or payments needed. Once we have all relevant information and your payment, we will forward your referral to an AUK Approved Therapist who will be in contact with you within a maximum of 2 weeks.
The length of the session depends on the type of therapy you have, however, generally each counselling, CBT, CFT or clinical hypnotherapy session will usually last around 50-60 minutes and will typically be held on a weekly basis. The usual length of EMDR session is 60-90 minutes and will typically be held on a weekly basis.
Typically a course of clinical hypnotherapy or CFT will be 4-6 sessions. A course of CBT or counselling will be around 6-15 sessions and EMDR between 8-12. However as every individual is unique, in a situation where it is felt that you would benefit from further sessions, your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist will discuss this matter with you and their external clinical supervisor to determine an appropriate way forward.
An Anxiety UK membership entitles you to access therapy at a reduced cost. How much you pay per session is determined by your total annual household income before tax.
Therapy session fees are between £20 and £60 for Anxiety UK members. Non members pay a flat rate of £80** per session.
Adding the therapy request fee of £20 to your basket, and proceeding to the checkout will allow you to select the fee tier you sit in before your request is submitted. Paying the £20 therapy request fee and completing the online checkout form will allow us to process your request. Once approved we will ask you to make payment for the first three sessions less the £20 therapy request fee (2 for clinical hypnotherapy). Once payment has been received you will be allocated to a therapist
Please note that if your household income changes at any point during your therapy interaction, you must inform Anxiety UK.
Further sessions fees are paid direct to the therapist.
We do not offer free taster sessions.
If we are unable to process your application, we will refund the £20 therapy referral fee. The £20 fee is non refundable if you decide not to progress with your referral or make an error in your submission.
Session fees for Anxiety UK members are based on household income.
Fee per 50-60 minute session.
£20: Student*/income under 10k
£30: Income 10-25k
£40: Income 25-40k
£50: Income 40-50k
£60: Income over 50k
Please note that in some cases EMDR therapy maybe 80-90 minute sessions, in these cases the fees are charged at 1.5x the above.
*The £20 student fee is available to students living independently, for example in halls of residence.
**Should you wish to progress as a non member, the non member rate will apply to all sessions of the therapy interaction, even if you subsequently decide to become a member.
Anxiety UK’s therapy services team process your therapy referral and communicate with our team of Anxiety UK Approved Therapists. All information is kept strictly confidential. Read our privacy policy here.
Your initial therapy referral form is retained by Anxiety UK for two years although once allocated to an Anxiety UK Approved therapist they may keep their records of your treatment for up to seven years. You can read our privacy policy here.
Your allocated therapists will contact your GP/other relevant professionals involved in your care, prior to starting/during therapy, if you disclose information that results in needing approval for consent to begin/continue therapy, including, but not limited to, feelings of suicidality and/or self-harm, taking specific prescribed medication(s), existence of specific physical or mental health issues, are under/have been under recent care of a mental health crisis service/secondary care mental health team. In most cases, this would be discussed with you before contact is made, however, if issues of safety arise, this may not always be possible. Until consent is received by your GP/other relevant professionals involved in your care, therapy will not begin/will be put on hold.
No, the staff at Anxiety UK and our Anxiety UK Approved Therapists are not able to give pharmaceutical advice or prescribe medication. You should always consult your GP if you have any questions about your medication.
In line with current best practice, it is not advisable to pursue more than one therapy at a time. Different therapy approaches are based on different models and may use techniques that have opposing effects on underlying psychological mechanisms. In other words, you risk ‘diluting’ the positive effects of therapy. This also means that if someone gets better or worse, then it is hard to know which treatment was responsible. However, sometimes people do access one form of therapy, for example counselling, while waiting to start another such as CBT or EMDR.
In your first session, your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist will ask you to complete an initial assessment and sign a standard therapist-client contract. You will also be asked to complete regular outcome questionnaires to assess the severity of your symptoms and to help you and your therapist monitor your progress in therapy.
We may from time to time use statistical and aggregated data derived from your personal data to enable Anxiety UK to share aggregated outcome data for the purpose of evaluation, promotion, marketing and research of Anxiety UK’s therapy services. Any aggregated data will be in anonymous form and will not identify you as an individual in any way. For full details of our Privacy policy visit here.
Anxiety UK will ensure your referral data will be treated confidentially at all times during your therapy support and we comply with current UK legislation to ensure your data is stored safely and protected.
Anxiety UK Approved Therapists are required by law to apply the same level of protection to your data, while also complying with the ethical framework of their respective professional body in relation to client confidentiality. Anxiety UK maintains regular liaison with Anxiety UK Approved Therapists to ensure compliance in this respect.
If you have requested that Anxiety UK correspond with you by e-mail, this will require e-mailing your personal data outside of our own IT network. We need to inform you there is the risk of data loss by e-mailing outside our IT network. Before we can proceed with your request, we will require written confirmation (this can be an e-mail response) that you do accept the risk of data loss.
If you choose to access therapy support via Skype, Zoom or Vsee or other online platforms, we cannot control data absolutely or guarantee total security.
Home visits are only available in exceptional circumstances and will always be subject to a therapist being available to undertake such a request in your area. All home visits will be charged at a minimum of Tier 2 costs and will also be subject to a surcharge which is paid direct to the Anxiety UK Approved Therapist for all sessions at the rate of 45p/mile for travel costs.
Should you need to contact Anxiety UK whilst accessing therapy please email us: [email protected]
As part of our quality assurance process, we will contact you whilst you are accessing our therapy services, to monitor the quality of the service you have received.
If you unhappy with the type of therapy you are accessing, please discuss with your therapist. If you wish to make a change to your therapy type please email [email protected].
Depending on your request you may be required to pay an additional fee.
You must give as much notice as possible if you cannot attend a pre-arranged session by informing your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist directly. If you miss a pre-arranged session without giving 48 hours’ notice, you will be required to pay for this session in accordance with our missed appointments policy. If you arrive late for your therapy appointment, please respect that your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist will not be able to provide a full session.
Whenever your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist is unable to attend an appointment, they/we will endeavour to give as much notice as possible. For this reason, it is essential that your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist has your up to date contact telephone number. If for any unforeseen reason your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist does have to amend and/or cancel an appointment, they will contact you by telephone/your preferred method.
If we are informed that there has been a gap in your therapy of more than four weeks which has not been agreed in advance with your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist, your therapy support will be terminated (unless there are exceptional circumstances). If you wish to re-access therapy through Anxiety UK at a later stage, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to place you back in the care of your original Anxiety UK Approved Therapist. The referral will be treated as a new ‘episode’ of care and as such the first, second and last sessions will be payable to Anxiety UK.
Up to 6 top-up sessions are available after you complete therapy. To access top-up sessions, you must make a request within 6 months of completing therapy sessions with an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist. Top-up sessions are subject to Anxiety UK Approved Therapist availability and your membership with Anxiety UK remaining valid.
Additionally, please note: we advise, and strongly recommend, that clients do not embark on a new course of therapy after having accessed a course of therapy for at least 6 months. This is to allow consolidation and processing of therapy content to occur. Only in exceptional circumstances will Anxiety UK facilitate a referral to an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist outside of this timescale.
Anxiety UK does not offer refunds for therapy services.
Our full terms and conditions can be read on our website here.
Anxiety UK does not offer couples counselling.
Yes once allocated to an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist you will see them every week/session.
Yes – some people claim back the cost of therapy sessions that they have had with an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist via their private health insurance, however please note, you will need to pay Anxiety UK/your Anxiety UK Approved Therapist for your therapy sessions up front as we are unable to issue invoices.
Yes you can, however we would first recommend that you speak to your therapist about this, out of courtesy, to agree this course of action. You will then need to become a member of Anxiety UK .
We provide therapy to people based all over the world (though there are some exceptions such as the Anxiety UK Therapy Benevolent Fund), additionally, some Anxiety UK Approved Therapists are able to deliver therapy in languages other than English. If you have a specific language need and wish to ascertain if this can be accommodated, and/or are based outside of the UK and wish to determine if we are able to offer therapy support, please email: [email protected].
If you are experiencing significant financial hardship and need therapy to help with an anxiety disorder, Anxiety UK’s Therapy Benevolent Fund might be able to help. Each year, this scheme provides funded access for a number of individuals to receive a specified number of therapy sessions with an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist through the charity’s therapy services.
To find out more about the Anxiety UK Therapy Benevolent Fund and to obtain an application form, email: [email protected]
Please note we are currently not accepting new applications to the fund, this page will be updated as soon as the scheme reopens.
Please note:
We recognise that choosing to seek support is a personal matter with therapy being a subjective process. This may mean that occasionally clients may not ‘gel’ with their therapist and so may request to change therapist or alternatively, the type of talking therapy accessed.
Whenever possible we will always aim to accommodate such requests. In circumstances where a request cannot be justified we reserve the right to charge a reallocation fee of £25. If subsequent or further changes are requested, due to capacity issues (including being a small team), we reserve the right to decline such requests, due to having reached the limits of what our therapy service is able to offer.
Total household income is the combined income of your household before tax, including money received in benefits.
When calculating which tier you qualify for please contact our referrals team via [email protected] if you have any special circumstances we need to be aware of
Any documents that show your annual income are accepted. For example a P60 or tax return for the year. Other statements could include:
An award notification showing current rates of benefit
A written statement of benefits from Benefits Agency staff
Notice of state pension award from the DWP
Students must make sure to submit proof that they are living independently and currently enrolled in full time higher education.
As Tier 5 therapy fees require no proof, this will be the cost of your therapy sessions.
When calculating which tier you qualify for please contact our referrals team via [email protected] if you have any special circumstances we need to be aware of.
For CBT, counselling, CFT and EMDR, we require you to pay for your first, second and last therapy session in advance. For Clinical Hypnotherapy it is the first and last session.
If you are on Tier 1 or Tier 2 and are struggling to make the upfront payments please contact us, as we may be able to agree a plan with you that helps you to still access therapy.
Please note that whilst we already offer reduced cost therapy we understand that some people might not have any financial means to access therapy. The Anxiety UK Benevolent Fund (AUKBF) is designed to support individuals experiencing anxiety who are living in extreme financial hardship. There are limited spaces available for people to access this initiative but if you are in genuine need of therapy and have no financial means to access reduced cost therapy, please email [email protected] for more information.
All our groups and courses provide a safe, facilitated, confidential space for adults, to share/gain tools and techniques to help with the management of anxiety. Please note that some of our AfAR groups include the use of repetitive movements (for example crochet) please ensure before booking that this will not cause any problems with any existing medical conditions.
No, we do not record any of our Zoom groups and courses. Capturing of images or video is not allowed by participants.
Groups are delivered online via Zoom. Cameras must be on at all times.
If you are based outside of the UK please contact us before booking onto a course.
As our AfAR and anxiety management courses are guided/structured groups with designated course/session leaders, participation through speaking is optional.
AfAR – 15 people per course
Anxiety Management Courses – 15 people per course
No, you can access groups and courses without being an Anxiety UK member, however you will miss out on discounts that members have to attend such services.
Anxiety Management courses and AfAR are 6-week courses with a session taking place once a week. Start dates for these courses can be found on our groups and courses page.
If you haven’t received your booking details, please check your emails including spam folder. In the event you are still missing this information, please email [email protected].
For AfAR and anxiety management courses, please email: [email protected]
Please note as per our terms and conditions, once your booking has been accepted by Anxiety UK courses are non refundable.
Yes. For reasons of safety, we do ask that all participants are on camera for all support groups and courses.
Anxiety UK is a national registered charity formed in 1970, by Katharine and Harold Fisher, for those affected by anxiety and anxiety disorders.
To read more, please click here.
We do not tolerate rude, abusive, offensive, racist or sexist language. Any contact received with content deemed offensive, abusive, racist, sexist etc. will not be responded to as we operate a zero tolerance policy to abuse of any form. Legal action will be considered/taken if appropriate. For more information click here.
Download a copy of our environmental policy here.
Anxiety UK, Nunes House, 447 Chester Road, Manchester M16 9HA
See our FAQs here
Press/media enquiries: [email protected]
