Short-term counselling,
made for students

Counselling, also referred to as therapy, is a talking therapy that involves a trained practitioner listening to you and helping you find ways to deal with emotional issues. The process can help change how you are feeling, and for many people they find that they learn some new ways of coping which also helps them to feel better.

In most cases, therapy is confidential, and your therapist will not share what you discuss with anyone else. However, there are a few exceptions. For instance, if someone shows a clear intention to seriously harm themselves or if someone else is at risk, the therapist is required to inform emergency services or the relevant authorities to ensure safety. Please discuss with your therapist their legal obligations to confidentiality if you have any concerns or questions.

Please allow 1 working day for your BetterHelp email to come through. Once you've completed your therapist matching form with BetterHelp, you can be matched with a therapist within an hour. In some cases where you may have more specific preferences it may take up to a couple of days to ensure they can find you the perfect match.

You will be matched with a therapist based on your goals, preferences, and the issues you're experiencing. Each therapist has their own approach and areas of expertise, so it's important to find the right fit for you. If at any point you feel your therapist isn't suitable, you can request to be matched with a different one.

Every therapist providing services on the platform is a registered and/or licensed and experienced therapist, counsellor, psychologist or social worker. Therapists must have a relevant academic degree in their field, at least 3 years of experience, and have to be qualified and credentialed by their respective professional organisation after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training, and practice requirements as applicable.

You can receive therapy in four ways: video conferencing (similar to Zoom or FaceTime), phone calls, synchronous messaging (real-time written conversation at an agreed time), and asynchronous messaging (at your own pace, on your own schedule). You can use different ways at different times based on your needs, availability, and convenience. Please be aware that if you message back and forth with your therapist outside of a video or phone session this may be counted as one of your assigned sessions.

Your first session is an opportunity to get to know your therapist and to begin to outline what you hope to achieve through your sessions. Your therapist will introduce themselves and explain their role as well as the structure of the sessions so you know what to expect. They will ask you about your current situation, your reasons for seeking support and any specific difficulties you want to address. Don't worry if you're not yet sure what these might be as your therapist is there to support and guide you through the process.

You will receive a certain number of sessions, approved by your institution, however asynchronous messaging sessions don't have a start and end time so alternative data is used to count how many 'sessions' you have had (equivalent to time spent with your therapist). Each 500 word exchange counts as one session.

We understand that sometimes things can take a bit longer. The process for session extensions will vary a little depending on what your institution have agreed with us.

You have the ability to change therapists whenever you want. You will just need to let BetterHelp support know and they will support you in finding another. You do not need to notify the therapist, if you do not feel comfortable. Please note your session limit will still apply, e.g. if you had 6 sessions and used 3 with your first therapist, you will have 3 left to use with the second therapist.

Therapy may be right for you if you're looking to improve the quality of your life and your wellbeing. We have therapists who specialise 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.

Therapy isn't appropriate if you're in a crisis or emergency situation. If you are in a crisis and in need of urgent support, please contact your local emergency services. Therapy may also not be suitable if you're experiencing severe mental health issues. In some cases, therapy will also not be suitable if you do not have a reliable internet connection or a device that can connect to the internet (unless you opted for asynchronous messaging). If your needs change during therapy your therapist will talk you through other organisations which may be able to help, but it's important to remember that you should also get back in touch with your college/university.

BetterHelp is not a crisis service. If you experience thoughts and feelings around harming yourself, it is really important that you seek in person help, whether that is from your college/university, the emergency services or your doctor.

Contact us at [email protected]