Below are some of the common questions asked about our service. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can assist further.
As our service is solely offered by text message you can not call your counsellor and chat on the telephone. Calling the number that you receive SMS messages from will not be connected
As our service is solely offered by text message you can not visit your counsellor and have a counselling session face to face. Your counsellor is only available by text message.
To access iCounselling, you need to be residing in Australia and also currently in Australia. If you move overseas or go overseas for a holiday you must cease using our service when not in Australia.
You have to be over 18 years of age to use our service.
There are already great online counselling services for kids and young people that you can access such as Kids Helpline.
Starting the process of linking in with a counsellor from iCounselling is simple. Start the sign up process here today.
You will be asked some questions and personal details. Don’t be overwhelmed by the questions, just pick the right answer for you at the moment. We use your responses to connect you with the most appropriate counsellor and your counsellor can also use those responses to best support you.
Counsellors don’t ever give advice such as “I’d leave that relationship if I was you” since the purpose of counselling is to support you to make your own decision.
Counsellor will never make a moral decision about the course of action you ought to take.
They may summarise what they understand you have been saying so far, in order to help you understand, move on and form a plan of action.
They can offer pointers to how others have successfully dealt with common problems and may also make suggestions of the “have you thought of the following” variety after exploring your suggestions first.
At iCounselling we allocate a counsellor based on your questionnaire you complete when signing up. Your counsellor is selected based on the best match to support your needs and the counsellor’s specialty. If you must have a counsellor of a certain gender iCounselling may not be the best service for you. You can not pick or request a specific gender.
At iCounselling we believe it’s important that you choose if you need to continue counselling. As a result, we will not renew your counselling plan automatically and you will need to do so via your my account portal.
Please see our current fees and charges fees and charges
You are not able to make a claim for counselling with iCounselling with your private health fund.
Counselling with rebates from your private health insurance is limited and generally not available via non face to face methods. The cost of counselling via iCounselling is generally less than you’d pay in gap payments using Medicare and a mental health care plan.
Your counsellor will respond within 48 hours of each message. You will find in most cases your counsellor will respond a lot sooner. Your counsellor will respond at any time of day or night. If you do not receive a response from your counsellor within 48 hours please contact us immediately.
This depends on your needs and wants, it varies a lot from one person to another. Some people feel they get most of the value after just a few weeks, while others prefer to continue for an extended period of time. This is completely up to you. You can re-join at any time.
Congratulations for taking the first step to improve your wellbeing. Once you sign up and complete payment you will be matched to a counsellor and your counsellor will reach out to within 48 hours or less. iCounselling operates every day of the year.
The professional counsellors who work through iCounselling are trained and part of an association where they can provide counselling. While the service may have similar benefits, it’s not able to substitute traditional face-to-face therapy in every case. Please note that your counsellor won’t be able to make any official diagnosis, prescribe medication or supply documents to a court or third party.
iCounselling may be right for you if you’re looking to improve the quality of your life. Whenever there is anything that interferes with your happiness or things that prevents you from achieving your goals, we may be able to help. We also have counsellors who are specialized in specific issues, such as stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting, depression, addictions, eating, sleeping, trauma, anger, family conflicts, LGBT matters, grief, religion, self-esteem and more.
iCounselling is not the right solution for you if any of the following apply to you:
You have thoughts of hurting yourself or others.
You are under the age of 18 years.
You are in an urgent crisis or an emergency situation.
You have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, or if you have been advised to be in psychological supervision or psychiatric care.
You were required to undergo therapy or counselling either by a court order or by any other authority.
You are not a resident of Australia not within the country when accessing our services.
After you sign up, we will match you to an available counsellor who fits your objectives and the type of issues you are dealing with. Different counsellors have different approaches and areas of focus so it’s important to find the right person who can achieve the best results for you. We have found that we are able to provide a successful match for clients.
At this time, we are not able to provide couples counselling. The counselling relationship is between you and the counsellor. While you’re welcome to discuss your relationship we cannot actually talk to you and your partner at the same time.