Frequently Asked Questions

Online Therapy and Coaching for English-Speaking Residents of South Korea

  • We see clients Monday-Sunday, 7am-10pm (KST).

  • We offer sessions in two different lengths to best meet your needs and circumstances. Individual, Couple, Family, and Coaching sessions are each offered for 55 or 80 minute sessions.

    Learn more about session types

  • At this time, we only offer virtual therapy and coaching sessions via Google Meet as the primary telehealth platform and Zoom as the backup telehealth platform. Both are HIPAA-compliant, but please know that no internet-based communication can guarantee 100% privacy and security. We will do our due diligence to safeguard our online communication.

    Oftentimes, our clients use their mobile devices to participate in their therapy or coaching sessions. While virtual sessions provide increased accessibility and the convenience of being able to connect with your provider from any location of your choosing, we do not conduct any sessions while you're driving (poses risk of vehicular accident to yourself and others) or while you're in public spaces and/or in the presence of another person, which can severely risk your privacy and confidentiality. It is a required part of each session to verify your location, privacy, and safety.

  • Evidence-based research studies generally show an association between weekly therapy sessions and positive outcomes for clients. At Healing Together, the expectation for therapy services with our Senior Resident Therapist, Associate Therapist, and Licensed Therapist is that you will participate in weekly therapy sessions for at least eight (8) consecutive sessions. With our Resident Therapists, the expectation is that you will participate in weekly therapy sessions for at least ten (10) consecutive sessions.

    These weekly sessions are vital in the beginning stages of the healing journey for a number of reasons: to build a solid therapeutic relationship, to fully understand the severity of the client's mental health challenges and their therapy needs and goals, to identify a support system and strength-based protective factors for the client, to establish and maintain momentum in the therapeutic work, and to set a collaborative spirit in which both the therapist and the client are practicing accountability.

    Bi-weekly sessions are considered after holding these minimum required weekly therapy sessions and conducting a review of the symptom severity, risk factors, and therapy goal progress. Monthly therapy sessions are only considered for clients that have met their therapy goals, reached a level of stability and security in their mental wellbeing, and are ready to enter into a maintenance phase.

  • Our service and community is primarily based around serving those who are English speaking and seeking mental health support. For this reason, most of our services will be delivered in English. We strive to be an inclusive and multicultural space for all members of the international community in Korea to find the care and healing you’re seeking.

    Several of our therapists and coaches speak languages other than English. Currently, we also offer services in Korean. We hope to soon be able to offer services in Mandarin, Spanish, and French. Please connect with our Client Care Coordinator for more information or to inquire about our availability of therapists and coaches who can speak your preferred language.

  • We offer services to the following time zones --

    UTC+ 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12.

    Some countries that are included in these time zones are Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

  • PayPal does not accept Korean currency and is offered as a payment option to those clients who wish to use the credit cards or bank system of their home country. The exchange rate changes daily and the USD amounts are based on the average exchange rate and an additional $5 processing fee. Depending on the exchange rate at the time the PayPal payment is submitted, the client may end up paying more in KRW equivalent. On other days, Healing Together ends up not getting paid the full service rate in KRW equivalent. It all varies based on the exchange rate. This is why our preferred method of payment for our clients is direct Korean bank wire transfer, which is not subject to the daily fluctuations of the currency exchange rate.

  • We do not offer a sliding scale, but we have thoughtfully set a range of lower rates that are more affordable by creating a team of therapists and coaches across multiple levels of education, experience, certification, and licensing. Our Resident and Senior Resident therapists provide services under the supervision of Licensed Therapists and are required to participate in regularly scheduled in-house training, as well as being encouraged to seek continuing education on their own to enhance their clinical knowledge and skills. Our Client Care Coordinator will make sure that you're matched with an appropriate provider that competently can work with your needs, all the while considering your financial ability.

    For a full breakdown of service providers and the costs associated with each service, please view our Rates & Insurance page.

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  • The intake process begins with you reaching out to our Client Care Coordinator by completing the interest form, which you can access by clicking on the Match Me With A Therapist link.

    Match Me With A Therapist

    Once our Client Care Coordinator receives your completed form, the information you provided will be assessed to make the best match possible with one of our therapists. Many of these questions assess the severity/intensity of the clinical challenges you are experiencing and any other serious risk factors. These questions also gauge your specific needs and preferences to the therapeutic relationship you wish to have, therefore, the more information you provide, the better match can be made. Understandably, it can feel uncomfortable sharing certain information or too much detail, so if you have any concerns or hesitations about this, please communicate this with our Client Care Coordinator.

    After this match, you'll be contacted by your assigned provider, who will welcome you, invite you to the Client Portal, and send you all the intake documentation. You're required to complete these forms prior to your first session (intake session). Your provider will guide you through the invoicing and payment process for that first session. Please don't hesitate to reach out to the Client Care Coordinator or your provider if you need clarification or have challenges completing the forms. We're here to assist.

  • Being a proactive part of your mental wellness can begin with choosing the therapist/coach that feels most aligned with your needs. Please read the backgrounds of our team, and if there’s someone who feels like a good match, let our Client Care Coordinator know so you can arrange an appointment with that provider.

    On the other hand, if you’re not sure who is best suited for you, we are always happy to support you in finding the right provider.

  • While we try to make a thoughtful match between you and your therapist/coach, you may find out a few sessions in that it's not the best fit. There could be many factors that inform your discomfort with your matched provider, including insufficient sense of trust and safety, personality differences, unfavorable therapy approaches, and differences in communication style. You are warmly invited to bring these concerns to your provider first. If you mutually decide your work is better continued with a different provider, you can contact our Client Care Coordinator, and we'll help you through the process of exploring and transitioning to a different provider.

  • The first therapy session is the intake interview, during which you and your therapists will review administrative intake documents and hold conversation about your current challenges and reasons for seeking therapy, as well as your relevant background and history. You would have completed the Biopsychosocial Intake Assessment on your own prior to this session, which will be used to guide more detailed, holistic understanding of you and your needs. The first session is the start of you and your therapist getting to know each other and building rapport. It is normal and expected for you to feel nervous about opening up to a therapist you just met, but rest assured, your therapist will make the best effort to offer a comfortable setting and allow you to direct the pace of the conversation.

  • Many factors can determine the length of your therapy journey, including the frequency of the sessions, your commitment to regularly attending the sessions, the intensity of the challenges you're facing, your therapy goals (i.e., deep processing vs solution-focused) and the course of the specific interventions used.

    We hold the belief that you're at the helm of this therapy journey, so your therapist will tend to follow your direction and pace. However, your therapist will also encourage you to push out your comfort level, but always with safety in mind. For example, your therapist will not force you to talk about a traumatic experience if you're not ready to, but will spend time gently encouraging you to explore this reluctance and supporting you to face difficult emotions and thoughts behind this traumatic experience.

    Therapy is intensely intimate and specialized. Your therapist will collaborate with you to make sure that you're comfortable with the pace of the sessions and find meaning in your progress, which cannot be expected to be linear. On the average, our experienced therapists have worked with clients for minimally 6 months and up to 2 years, there are some clients that didn't need as long or have stayed even longer. You could prepare to commit to 3-6 months of sessions in order to see and feel the impact of your hard work.

    If you have a particular focus of your healing or timeframe in mind, be sure to let our Client Care Coordinator know up front. We will work to create the best possible experience for you and your needs.

  • We have a 24 hour cancellation policy. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please email your therapist at least 24 hours in advance. If less than 24 hours notice is given, you will be invoiced for immediate payment of your full session fee.

    We do understand that life can get away from you and assume unconditional positive regard for our clients’ lives and choices. For this reason, if you make a late cancellation due to an illness or an emergency, we can extend the courtesy of waiving the fee up to two times. The fee will not be waived if you no-show for your scheduled appointment. Frequent cancellations will be a barrier to effective service, which can be further explored and processed in your therapy/coaching session.

  • If you are 19 or older, you do not need your parent’s consent to receive therapy services with our team. You are of consenting age and will be able to sign your own consent forms without needing permission from a parent. If you are under 19, you will need a parent or legal guardian to also sign your Informed Consent form for therapy.

  • We do not prescribe medication. However, we can offer referrals for psychiatrists and medical physicians in Korea if a prescription is needed. Based on the research, medication in conjunction with regular counseling and therapy can be highly effective when treating symptoms of anxiety and depression.