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Frequently asked questions
Often it is difficult to recognize that we have problems and make the decision to get outside help from a qualified professional. Yet many people take that courageous step every year. If you are experiencing any of the following problems that don't seem to improve despite your own efforts and support from loved ones, it may be time to seek professional help from a therapist. You are feeling exhausted, stuck, and unhappy.You worry excessively all the time.You are overwhelmed by a deep sense of sadness and helplessness.You struggle to feel like yourself for a while now.School or workplace stress is burning you out.You are facing problems in your relationship with your family or partner.You experienced a traumatic incident that you are unable to process.You are going through a major life transition right now. This list isn't exhaustive. Problems don't have to be severe to warrant professional help from a therapist. Speaking with someone outside your circumstances, professionally trained and non-judgmental, provides a form of support that those close to you are not positioned to offer.
Counselling is typically short-term and focuses on resolving specific problems you might be facing. It helps you address immediate issues, providing quick strategies for managing them. Psychotherapy (or 'therapy') is a longer-term, in-depth process that aims to explore and resolve deeper emotional, behavioural, or psychological issues. Therapists and clients work together to understand and change problems by improving areas of life where there is dissatisfaction. It delves into an individual’s thoughts, feelings, relationships, and past experiences to understand the root causes of their problems and develop coping mechanisms for long-lasting change.Both are designed to support your mental well-being, with the main difference being in depth and duration.
Yes, yes, and yes. Confidentiality is taken extremely seriously in therapy. Everything you share with me stays 100% private and confidential. I will not divulge any details about you, your sessions, or what we discuss to anyone; not friends, family, your employer, absolutely no one without your explicit consent.The only rare exceptions are if you reveal plans to seriously harm yourself or someone else, or if I am court-ordered to provide records. But those situations are very uncommon. You can speak openly and candidly, knowing our conversations are completely confidential. Building this safe, judgment-free space for you to share freely is a top priority.
Therapy is a highly unique and personalized process, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. How long therapy lasts depends on what you're dealing with. For some people, a few sessions of counselling are enough to get through a specific life challenge – this is what is known as brief treatment. For others working on deeper deep-seated issues, therapy may take several months or even years, to work through more complex psychological challenges or ingrained patterns.
It is important to remember you can stop at any time, and you are always welcome to return in the future. The length depends on your personal situation: how serious the problem is, how committed you are to working on it, how frequent you attend therapy, previous life experiences (e.g. trauma, quality of relationships), and your goals for therapy.
Remember, the goal is to get you the help you need, as long as it is helping you. You have the power to heal and grow at your own pace.
Please check out the cost of counselling sessions. Appointments can be scheduled via our online booking system. Payment for therapy services is due at the time of booking. We accept various payment methods, such as PayNow, GrabPay, and credit cards.
Our first session is a full counselling session, where we can discuss what brings you to counselling, understand your needs and goals, and explore whether we are a good fit for you. We do not offer separate discovery calls or consultations beforehand.If you have any questions before booking, you are welcome to message us and we will be happy to clarify anything you would like to know.
How often we meet really depends on your needs and what you can afford. In the beginning, it is recommended to attend sessions more frequently to build momentum and make steady progress at the start, e.g. around 3 times a month. Research done on therapy session frequency (Erekson et al., 2015) has shown that people who participated in weekly therapy sessions achieved clinically significant improvements in their mental well-being faster in comparison with people who received less frequent sessions.
As you start implementing coping strategies and seeing improvement, we can space out the sessions to 2 sessions a month to save you some money. And once your primary issues are resolved and you have developed sustainable skills, we’ll likely just need a check-in session once a month to keep you on track. This can help reinforce what you’ve learnt and provide ongoing support.
We will work together to find a schedule that gives you the support you need while also fitting your budget. More frequent sessions at first, then transitioning to a lighter schedule as you make progress and start feeling better. The pace is flexible based on your situation.
The timeline for seeing results from therapy can vary considerably from person to person. A lot depends on your circumstances, the specific issues that you are working through, how consistently you engage with the therapeutic process between appointments. Building self-awareness, developing new coping strategies, and ultimately creating lasting change doesn’t happen overnight.
However, most clients begin to experience some positive shifts in six to eight sessions, even if it's simply feeling heard, acquiring new perspectives, or taking initial steps out of old patterns. The key is committing fully to the work and having patience with yourself.
While I cannot file insurance claims on your behalf, I can provide detailed invoices for your sessions. You can then submit these invoices to your insurance company for reimbursement if your policy covers mental health services.Some insurance providers in Singapore offer mental health coverage, for e.g.:AIAAvivaNTUC IncomeYou may also be able to claim reimbursement through your employer's group benefits insurance plan.Coverage details and claim procedures may vary depending on your specific policy. It's best to check with your insurance provider or your company's HR directly to understand your coverage and reimbursement for mental health services.
While you don't need to prepare anything specific, you might find it helpful to think about what brings you to therapy and what you are hoping to gain from our sessions. Some people find it useful to jot down their thoughts as a good reference point for our discussion.It also helps if you can come up with a schedule for your sessions and attend them. It is the same idea with, for example, if you're picking up a new language, you attend classes at the same time on the same day every week consistently to make good progress.It is completely normal to feel a bit nervous about your first session – this is a natural reaction to any new experience. Remember, your therapist is there to support you, not to judge. Simply arrive as yourself😊
I primarily work with clients who are 18 and above. However, in select circumstances, I may work with teenagers aged 16-17, typically when they are highly motivated to engage in therapy and have parental support for the process.If you are considering therapy for your teenager, I encourage you to have an open conversation with them first about their willingness to participate, as therapy tends to be most effective when the young person is genuinely interested in the process rather than feeling forced into it.
We understand feeling nervous about your first session. However, we generally don't allow friends or family members to sit in on sessions. This is to create a safe space where you can speak openly. The presence of another person may make you hesitant to discuss certain topics or emotions fully. We get that you may still feel very anxious about attending alone. In exceptional cases, we may allow a support person to accompany you for the first few minutes of your session to help you get settled, and they can wait right outside the office during therapy. Your support person will be there to meet you again once your session is over.
Yes, studies have shown that online therapy is as effective as traditional face-to-face sessions for various mental health concerns (Varker et al., 2018; Pierce et al., 2020; Sampaio et al., 2021). Through video conferencing, you can access a safe and confidential virtual environment to discuss issues with a qualified professional, while enjoying the convenience and comfort of connecting from your own home.
If you need to reschedule your appointment, please give us at least 24 hours’ advance notice. This allows us to open up that time slot for other clients waiting to schedule. Any late cancellations without providing the required 24-hour notice will be subject to our cancellation policy. This cancellation applies even if missing the appointment was unintentional. This is a standard practice across counselling clinics and centres in Singapore. Please read more about our booking policy below.
Therapy is a real financial commitment, and it is fair to ask what you're paying for.
My fees are aligned with what is charged by other trained and qualified therapists in Singapore. In fact, I offer a more affordable rate compared to many private practices. As an independent practitioner, I'm not funded by any government or social service agency, so session fee covers the full cost of running the practice, such as rent, admin costs, ongoing training and professional registration requirements. What you're paying for is time with a trained professional: the session itself, the preparation and clinical thinking between sessions, and care that is tailored to your situation.If cost is a barrier, it can help to think of therapy less as a discretionary expense, and more as healthcare. Your mental health and well-being is no less worth investing in. This kind of care often pays forward: into how you function day-to-day, how you relate to the people around you, and how you cope when things get difficult.
If you find my standard fees outside your budget, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly. I may be able to offer a sliding scale rate for virtual sessions, which could make therapy more accessible for you. While these sessions would be conducted online rather than in-person, they can still be incredibly effective and supportive.
Booking Policy
Appointments can be scheduled via our online booking system. We recommend booking appointments in advance to secure your preferred time slot.Sessions must be booked in the name of the person attending. If you are booking for someone else, please inform us at least five days in advance and confirm who will attend, failing which the session will not be held and the fee forfeited.Clients are expected to attend each scheduled session on time. Your appointment involves the reservation of time specifically for you. If you anticipate being late for your appointment, please let me know as soon as possible.Please note that arriving late may result in a shortened session to avoid inconvenience to subsequent clients. So please be on time to benefit from your full allotted time!Your intake form needs to be completed at least 48 hours before your first appointment with us, and incomplete submissions will result in rescheduling or session cancellation.
Payment for therapy services is due at the time of booking. We accept various payment methods, such as PayNow, GrabPay, and credit card.With effect from 1 November 2026, payments made by credit card and GrabPay will incur an additional 1.5% processing fee. This is a partial share of the processing cost charged to us. Payments made via PayNow are not subject to any additional fee.PayNow is our preferred payment method. As a small local practice, every bit helps, choosing PayNow to avoid the card fee is always appreciated! :)
We understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise, necessitating the cancellation or rescheduling of appointments. We kindly request that all appointment rescheduling to be made at least 24 hours in advance of appointment time. We appreciate more than 24 hours’ notice when possible, as we can then make that time available to other clients.Appointment rescheduling with less than 24 hours' notice will incur a late rescheduling fee of 50% of the session fee. This charge will be deducted from your paid booking.
We regret to inform that if a client fails to attend a scheduled session without prior notice (no-show), the session will be billed at the full session fee.
A no-show is defined as either failing to inform us of non-attendance before the scheduled session, and/or notifying us after the session has commenced.
Our office has no waiting area or childcare facilities during sessions. Children cannot be present during therapy sessions as this compromises confidentiality, therapeutic effectiveness, and safe space required for discussions.Clients must arrange appropriate childcare in advance of all scheduled appointments.If you have not pre-arranged childcare and need to reschedule your session on the day of appointment, our late rescheduling policy will apply.For safety and liability reasons, we cannot recommend or approve leaving children unattended in nearby public spaces during your session.
We understand that things could happen. The ONLY exception to our cancellation policy is in the event of serious illness or emergency.We offer one grace waiver every six months for legitimate emergencies, such as car accidents, extreme illnesses, or deaths in the family.Please note that work-related issues do not constitute emergencies under this policy.This cancellation policy applies even if missing the appointment was unintentional. In the event of bad weather conditions, we have the option to conduct the session via video call.
As a small business, managing scheduling and resources efficiently is essential to the sustainability of our practice. Refunds for completed sessions are not offered, including on the basis of dissatisfaction or where the outcome differs from what was hoped for.If you decide to end therapy permanently, any fees paid in advance for sessions not yet held can be refunded on request, subject to a $50 administrative charge.This does not override the late rescheduling policy: where a session falls within 24 hours, a late fee of 50% of the session fee applies to that session, and only the remaining advance fees are refundable. Fees for sessions already held, or charged in full under the no-show policy, are non-refundable.We reserve the right to cancel a booking before the session where the required intake form has not been completed, or where a discount has been applied for which the client is not eligible for.Where a session fee is refundable, the refund is less the payment processing fee. This fee is charged by our payment provider at the time of payment and cannot be recovered.Your cooperation and understanding in adhering to these policies are sincerely appreciated.
By booking and paying for an appointment through our website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by our Terms and Conditions. Please review our complete Terms and Conditions here before proceeding with your booking.
Booking Policy
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