Who are the counselors?

Licensed mental-health professionals who've been verified by our team: government ID, professional license, and qualifications reviewed before they can take bookings. Their verification documents are encrypted and only seen by our review team — they never appear on counselor profiles.

How do I book a session?

Go to the counselors list, filter by specialty, open a profile, pick an available time slot. Sessions are 45 or 60 minutes (counselor's choice). You pay per session; the price is shown in your local currency.

Payment is one-time (not a subscription). Once it goes through, the slot is reserved for you.

What happens during the session?

At your scheduled time (you can join up to 10 minutes early), the "Join session" button appears on your booking page. It opens a video room with audio, video, and a text chat alongside. Your counselor joins the same room.

Sessions aren't recorded by default.

Can I cancel?

Yes. Outside 24 hours of the scheduled start → full refund within 7 days. Inside 24 hours → the session fee is forfeit (your counselor blocked out the time). Either way, the slot frees up for someone else.

What if my counselor doesn't show up?

We detect no-shows automatically after a 10-minute grace. Your booking page will then offer two remedies:

• Full refund — back to your card within 7 days
• Free replacement session with another counselor — we'll show you a shortlist matching the original counselor's specialty (or related, if none are available in the 7-day window). You pay nothing extra; if the replacement charges more, we cover it.

The no-show counselor forfeits the fee and is flagged for our internal review.

What if I don't show up?

If you don't join within 15 minutes of the scheduled start, the session is recorded as a no-show on your side. No refund in that case — the counselor was there, ready.

Can I book the same counselor again?

Yes, as many times as you want. Many people find it helpful to build continuity with one counselor. Professionals know how to handle this well; there's no artificial cap.

Is this the same as therapy?

Counselors on hearMeOut are licensed professionals providing supportive conversation and perspective. Whether it counts as "therapy" depends on the counselor, their credentials, and your specific situation — their bio will tell you more. What they're not is an emergency service. If you're in immediate crisis, use the crisis hotlines (on every page footer).