General FAQs
What is Counslr?
Counslr is a digital mental health company that partners with organizations of all shapes and sizes to provide their constituents with unlimited access to live texting support sessions with licensed mental health professionals, which are available 24/7/365, on-demand or by scheduled appointment. Counslr’s services are accessible from within the Counslr mobile app, which is available to download for free on iOS and Android devices.
Counslr’s mission statement is to better reach the traditionally unreachable—the people who need support, but do not seek it (typically due to cost, inconvenience, and/or stigma). By maximizing the accessibility of support, Counslr breaks down the common hurdles people face when seeking help, enabling Counslr to effectively serve previously unserved populations.
What type of care does Counslr offer?
Counslr was specifically designed to serve as an on-demand resource for people dealing with the transitory issues of daily life. Counselors on the Counslr platform provide sub-clinical support by listening, offering empathy and understanding, suggesting coping strategies, engaging in reflective listening, and sharing additional resources that may be beneficial. Counselors on the Counslr platform will never diagnose or create a treatment plan when providing support, like they do when engaging in more traditional therapy.
Who are the counselors?
Counslr carefully vets every counselor who joins the platform to ensure that its support staff is experienced, diverse, and capable of providing effective support via text. Counslr strictly hires licensed mental health professionals. This primarily includes Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFTs), and Doctors of Philosophy and Psychology (PhDs and PsyDs).
What is the difference between "support" and "counseling"?
Support involves active, empathic “listening,” offering understanding, and helping users to develop coping skills and consider different ways to look at a problem. Counselors can listen and reflect back to users what they are hearing or reading, and perhaps offer suggestions for approaches or resources that might be useful. Counselors will never diagnose or create a treatment plan when providing support, like they do in a counseling relationship or ongoing therapy.
Counseling often involves behavior change and frequently a plan that is designed and structured to work toward that change. It is usually about something specific, such as substance use, weight control, or making decisions about school or work, but can also be more vague, such as improving relationships or learning and practicing new behaviors and not falling into the same old patterns. It is often relatively short-term, between one and ten sessions, although it could be more. Counseling most often involves an ongoing relationship and the establishment of a therapeutic alliance with a specific counselor.
My school/employer told me they offer Counslr. How do I get started?
Download the Counslr mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store or visit counslr.com/download. You can sign up in the app using the email address provided to us by your school, employer, or other sponsoring organization.
What if Counslr isn't offered at my school or place of work?
Send us an email at hello@counslr.com requesting access. We’ll get in touch with the organization you belong to and encourage them to consider adopting Counslr.
How do I found out if my organization currently partners with Counslr?
Send us an email (hello@counslr.com) to ask us if your organization partners with Counslr. Just be sure to include the name of your school or company in the email. In the event your organization does not currently partner with Counslr, we are always eager to expand our reach and would be happy to speak with relevant people to explore if Counslr could be a fit for your school or business.
How do I start a session?
From within the Counslr mobile app, you can either schedule a session for a specific date and time in the near future, or you can tap the "Chat Now" button to immediately connect with a counselor. Sessions typically last 45 minutes, and your counselor will be actively engaged in conversation throughout that period.
How much does a session cost me?
Sessions are completely free for those seeking support. Sessions are paid for by a sponsoring organization (like a school or employer). Accordingly, Counslr will never ask you for any payment or insurance information.
Why do you ask for my location?
Your general location data must be used to verify your jurisdiction; for example, you cannot join sessions if you are located outside the United States. Besides this basic check, your specific location data is only accessed in an emergency situation.
How do I know my information is private and secure?
All of your information is private and legally protected under HIPAA. The Counslr app is encrypted, and all data is stored using industry-standard protocols. Counslr does not share your information with any third parties without your explicit written consent, except in very specific emergency situations.
What's an emergency situation? When would my information be shared with a third party?
An emergency situation is when your counselor believes someone (including you) is in imminent danger. In these situations, your counselor may contact relevant emergency services or your emergency contact in order to let them know the relevant details of the situation. Emergency situations are the only time any information will be shared with anyone without your explicit consent.
Will my school/employer/parents find out if I use Counslr?
Not if you don't want them to know. We don't disclose any information to any outside party without your explicit consent (except in limited cases, like a life-threatening emergency).
What data do you share with my school/employer?
We only share aggregated, anonymized information with our partner organizations—like how many users have visited the app, or at what times of day usage is most common. We don't share any personally-identifiable information about you or your sessions with your school or employer.
Can I pick a specific counselor to meet with?
For your first session, Counslr’s proprietary Smart Matching algorithm will pair you with an available counselor who is best suited to support you based on your specific needs and preferences. For future sessions, you'll be able to schedule sessions with any counselor with whom you've previously chatted. You can also always easily start a session with an entirely new counselor.
What platforms can I use to access Counslr?
Counslr is currently available on iOS and Android.
Is Counslr available to my family as well?
At the moment, Counslr is only available to students and employees at partnered organizations, not their family members.
Does Counslr offer audio- or video- based support?
Counslr is an entirely text-based platform at this time.
Should I use this app if I'm suicidal?
If you are in a life-threatening situation, don't use the Counslr app or website. Call 988 or use these emergency resources to get immediate help.
I have another question!
Feel free to email us at hello@counslr.com and we’d be happy to help.
Student-Specific FAQs
What information do you give to the campus counseling center?
We don't automatically tell campus counseling centers about your Counslr sessions, and we don't ask them about your in-person sessions. However, if and when you want information to be shared and you give us your explicit written permission to share that information, we can arrange for information to be securely shared both ways in order to ensure improved continuity of care.