Book excerpt: Counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists are proud to belong to the helping professions. Those working within these professions see themselves as caring people trying to help others to understand themselves better, to feel better about themselves, and to help them get over various traumas and difficulties that they have experienced either within their lives or personalities. Talking about money and thinking of their clients, and the units of therapy time, as items of income can be uncomfortable. Many counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists may not easily view their private practice as a business. But that is what it is and the primary role of any business is to be profitable. In this volume, the author guides us through practicalities of setting up and maintaining a private practice, and addresses the tensions and problems faced by the practitioner trying to both provide care and run an effective business. The author provides clear models and examples that practitioners will be able to adapt to their own circumstances, for example showing them how to set up accounts.