Your practice, not a UPI ID shared in DMs.
Most Indian therapists still collect session fees the same way: a UPI ID over DM, then a payment screenshot as proof. Peerseek gives you one booking link for 1:1 sessions, collects consent and screening before the call, and confirms payment automatically, no screenshot, no checking it yourself.
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Your DMs are not a booking system.
None of this is about being disorganised. It is what happens when there is nowhere proper to put a session request, a payment, or the details a first session actually needs.
Session requests scattered across DMs
One client asks about slots on Instagram, another on WhatsApp, a third replies to an old story. Nothing lives in one place, and keeping track of who booked what becomes its own part-time job.
A screenshot instead of a receipt
Share a UPI ID, wait for a payment screenshot, then check it before confirming the session. A screenshot is an image, not proof, and fraudsters have specifically targeted Indian psychologists with fake ones more than once.
No clear answer on what to charge
There is no published rate card for a therapist building an independent practice. Most default to whatever a marketplace desk pays them, which is usually a fraction of what the client actually paid.
Consent and screening happen after the booking, if at all
What a first session needs, history, consent, confidentiality limits, gets asked verbally on the call itself, or not at all, instead of being collected once and attached to the booking.
Three ways therapists earn here.
Private 1:1 sessions
Video, phone or chat. Set your own fee and duration, and keep every session tied to the client who booked it instead of a running WhatsApp thread.
- Your slots, your fee
- Consent form attached
- Paid before the slot is held
Support circles & group sessions
A capped, paid group session on a specific theme, boundaries, burnout, anxiety, run live at a set time. The scale a 1:1 hour cannot give you.
- Seats capped by you
- Auto Google Meet link
- Reminders to every attendee
Self-help workbooks & guides
A narrow, specific workbook, framed clearly as psychoeducation and not a substitute for individual therapy, sold and delivered without you sending a single file by hand.
- Instant delivery
- Sells while you're offline
- No manual sending
What it actually adds up to.
Your fee, multiplied by the sessions you run. Therapists on Indian counselling communities report a typical plateau of ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 a month running sessions through a marketplace desk, which usually pays ₹500 to ₹700 of a client's ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 fee. This is what the same hours look like when the booking is yours.
| Stage | Fee per session | Sessions a week | Monthly | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting out | ₹800 | 6 | ₹19,200 | ₹18,240 |
| Building | ₹1,500 | 10 | ₹60,000 | ₹57,000 |
| Established | ₹2,500 | 15 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹1,42,500 |
“You keep” is after our flat 5% transaction fee, which includes payment processing. There is no platform fee and no subscription. This is community-reported data, not a measured industry statistic, and varies by city, specialisation and experience.
Set up the way a real practice should be.
None of this needs a government guideline to justify it. It is what a client already expects from something they are trusting with their money and their time.
A screenshot is not a confirmation
Payment happens at the moment of booking and is confirmed automatically by the gateway, not by you checking an image someone sent over DM. Fraudsters have specifically targeted Indian psychologists with fake payment screenshots, twice, years apart.
Consent, collected once, not renegotiated per client
Attach a form to your session with the right field type for each answer, so what brings a client in, their history and their consent to the format arrive before the call, tied to that booking, not spoken once and forgotten.
A cancellation policy that applies the same way to everyone
Set your window and terms once, on your page, instead of deciding it fresh in every DM thread. A client sees the same policy whether it's their first session or their tenth.
Psychoeducation is not therapy, and the difference should be visible
A workbook or a group session is general information for a wide audience. Therapy is individualised clinical care. If you sell both, say plainly on the product page that a digital product is not a substitute for individual psychotherapy.
This is general good practice, not legal or clinical advice, and Peerseek is not a licensed body for any counselling or psychology profession. If you are unsure where a specific product or claim of yours sits, that is a question for your own professional body, not a page like this one.
Screening and consent arrive before you do.
Attach a form to each session with the right field type for each answer. What brings a client in is a paragraph, current medication is text, consent is a checkbox, so it all comes in at booking instead of being asked out loud on the call. Each answer stays attached to that booking, which is also how it stays findable afterwards.
Typical intake for a first session
- What brings you to therapy, in your own words
- Whether you have been in therapy before
- Current medication, if any
- An emergency contact
- Consent to the session format and confidentiality limits
- Preferred language for the session
Who owns the client you brought?
It is the right question to put to any platform you are considering, so here is our answer in plain terms, before you ask. The short version: no other practitioner here can open, list or search your bookings, and nothing about your clients is sold or passed to another therapist.
There is no therapist directory
You are not placed in a ranked list of practitioners for a client to choose from. There is no queue, and no next available therapist.
Hidden from search by default
New profiles are not discoverable on Peerseek search unless you switch it on yourself. A client reaches you through your link, from your channel.
You set the fee
Every session is priced by you, per service, and changed whenever you like. Nobody else decides what your time is worth.
We earn only when you earn.
Free to start. No upfront payment, no credit card, nothing to cancel later. You are not buying practice software, so there is no reason to pay a subscription before a single client has booked.
The 5% covers payment processing too, so it is not a fee on top of a fee. What you see is what leaves your payout.
Want it on your own domain?
A page on Peerseek says you are listed somewhere. Your own domain says you run a practice. For a therapist whose entire business runs on being trusted, that difference carries further than any feature does.
This is not another generic AI-generated template. It is a custom website, designed around how you actually practise, by our team.
Included with this plan: connect your own payment gateway
On the custom website plan you can plug in your own gateway, which brings the commission down further so more of every session lands in your account. It is set up with our team and is not available on the free plan.
For context, a professional website in India commonly costs ₹25,000 to ₹80,000 to build, and hosting with a domain runs ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a year on its own. This is a separate optional service and is not a platform fee. Peerseek itself stays free to use.
Questions therapists ask.
Is it safe to take payment over DM as a therapist?+
It is common, but the common version, share a UPI ID and wait for a screenshot, has a real weakness: a screenshot can be faked, and fraudsters have specifically targeted mental health professionals in India with this method, reported in Mumbai in both 2022 and 2026. A booking page where the gateway confirms the transaction itself closes that gap.
How do I start taking paid 1:1 sessions as a therapist in India?+
Create a booking page, list your session with its fee and duration, attach an intake form for screening and consent, and share one link from wherever your following already is. The client picks a slot, pays by UPI, and the form is filled in before the call rather than on it.
What should I charge for a therapy session in India?+
There is no published industry rate card. Therapists on Indian counselling communities report a typical plateau of roughly ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 a month running sessions through a marketplace desk, which usually pays ₹500 to ₹700 of a ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 client fee. Running your own booking page changes which side of that gap you're on.
Can I sell a workbook or run a paid group session as a therapist?+
Generally yes, as long as it is clearly positioned as psychoeducation, general information and exercises, and marketed as a supplement to individual therapy rather than a replacement for it. This is general guidance, not legal advice; check with your own professional body if you are unsure where a specific product sits.
What is the best platform for therapists to collect payment in India?+
It depends on what's missing today. A bare payment link (Razorpay, Cashfree) confirms the transaction automatically, which already closes the fraud gap a screenshot leaves open, but it doesn't solve intake, scheduling or your cancellation policy. Peerseek is built to do all three: booking, consent and payment on one page, with nothing paid upfront.
Will you show my clients other therapists?+
No. There is no therapist directory on Peerseek that you are placed into, and new creator profiles are hidden from platform search by default. A client who opens your link sees your page, your services and your fees, not a list to choose from.
Is my client's information shared with other therapists?+
No. A booking, its intake form and any notes attached to it belong to one therapist and one client. No other practitioner on Peerseek can open, list or search your bookings. Access is decided from the logged-in account on every request, so it cannot be changed by editing a link.
Is it free to start?+
Yes. Creating your page, listing sessions, taking bookings and accepting payments are all free. No upfront payment, no credit card, no subscription and no setup cost. A flat 5% transaction fee applies only on what you actually earn, and it includes payment processing, so there is no separate gateway fee on top.
How much does a custom website with my own domain cost?+
₹11,999 a year, which covers the domain, a custom-designed site, hosting and end-to-end management by our team. For comparison, a professional website in India commonly costs ₹25,000 to ₹80,000 to build, with hosting and a domain adding ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a year on top. It is an optional service, separate from Peerseek itself, which stays free to use.
Free to start. No card needed.