One-off marketing help for therapists: what £1,200 gets you, with no retainer

Yes, you can get marketing help for your therapy practice without signing up to a monthly retainer. Clay Consulting offers a Growth Strategy for a flat, one-off fee of £1,200. You get a full review of how your practice is found and chosen, a written plan built around one measurable goal, and a call to walk you through it. There is no monthly fee, no minimum term and nothing to cancel.

It is designed for UK therapists and counsellors who already have a practice and want to know what is holding it back before spending money on fixing it. The fee is the same whether you see six clients a week or run a team of twelve.

This page sets out exactly what the fee covers, what it does not, and when a retainer would genuinely suit you better.

What £1,200 gets you

For £1,200 you get a discovery call, a full review of your practice, a written report with a phased plan, and a walkthrough call. It usually takes about 10 working days from payment to walkthrough.

1. A free 30-minute call to check this is the right fit. If a single £120 Growth Session would serve you better, I will say so.
2. A discovery call (45 to 60 minutes) where we agree one measurable objective, for example “four more regular clients by spring” or “half my caseload from my specialism”. Every recommendation is judged against it.
3. The review. I look at how people find you, what they see when they do, and what happens when they try to get in touch.
4. A written report with recommendations grouped into now, next and later, so you know what to do first.
5. A walkthrough call to go through the findings and answer your questions.

What the review covers:

Area	What I look at
Website	Structure, copy, how easy it is to make contact, how it works on a phone
Search visibility	Where you appear on Google, and whether AI assistants like ChatGPT recommend you
Directory listings	BACP, UKCP, Counselling Directory, Psychology Today and any specialist directories, checked for presence and consistency
Google Business Profile	Whether it exists, is claimed and complete, and how your reviews show
Local competitors	What therapists near you offer and charge
Enquiry to first session	How booking and payment work, and where people drop out

Every finding is tied to something specific in your own practice: a page, a listing, a search result or a screenshot. Nothing in the report is generic advice you could have found in a blog post.

One-off fee or monthly retainer?

A one-off review suits most solo therapists better than a retainer, because the usual problem is not knowing what to fix, not lacking someone to do the work every month. As a comparison, a retainer of £500 a month costs £6,000 over a year, five times the price of a Growth Strategy.

Compared on	One-off Growth Strategy	Monthly marketing retainer
Cost	£1,200, once	A monthly fee, usually with a minimum term
What you get	A diagnosis and a prioritised plan	Ongoing work: content, ads, SEO, social media
Who does the work	You, someone you hire, or Clay at a fixed quoted price	The agency
Best when	You are not sure why enquiries are low	You know what is needed and want it done for you, every month
Commitment	None after the walkthrough	Until you give notice

A retainer is the right choice if you already know what needs doing and simply do not have the time, for example running paid ads or publishing regular content. If that is you, a specialist therapy marketing agency is likely to be a better fit than Clay, and I will tell you so on the free call. The comparison of who can help a UK therapist get more clients sets out the main options.

If you would rather not spend £1,200 at all yet, a single Growth Session costs £120 for an hour on one specific question, with a written summary afterwards.

Who it is for, and what it does not include

It works best for established practitioners whose growth has stalled, not for people still setting up.

A good fit if you:

• have a practice with regular clients and want more of them, or more of the right kind
• get the odd enquiry from your website or directories but not enough to fill your diary
• are moving into a specialism, adding group work or changing how you work
• run a small therapy organisation and want an outside view

Not the right fit if you:

• are still in training or newly qualified without a client base yet
• only want a new look for your website
• want someone to run your marketing every month

What the fee does not include:

• Doing the work. The report tells you what to change; you can do it yourself, hire anyone you like, or ask Clay for a fixed price before any work starts.
• Advertising spend or ongoing management.
• A promise of a set number of new clients. Nobody can honestly guarantee that, and I would be wary of anyone who does. What you get is a clear view of what is getting in the way, and what to do about it first.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a monthly fee?

No. The Growth Strategy is a single fee of £1,200. There is no subscription, retainer or minimum term.

Can I pay in instalments?

Yes. The £1,200 can be split into two instalments, and work starts once the first is paid.

How long does it take?

About 10 working days from payment to the walkthrough call.

Who does the work?

George Holloway, who runs Clay Consulting. George spent 13 years in commercial marketing and strategy, including eight at Amazon, and is currently training as a psychotherapist at CCPE.

Is the report written by AI?

No. George uses some tools to help gather information, but the judgement, recommendations and writing are his, and every finding is checked by hand against a specific link, listing or screenshot from your own practice.

Can Clay do the work afterwards?

Yes, if you want. Implementation is quoted as a fixed price before anything starts, and there is no obligation to use Clay for it.

What if I only have one question?

Book a Growth Session instead: £120 for an hour, with a written summary.

Do you guarantee new clients?

No. The report shows what is holding your practice back and what to do first, judged against the goal we agree at the start.

How do I start?

Book a free 30-minute call. If the Growth Strategy is not the right fit, I will tell you what would be.

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