FAQ

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. More than just a bout of the blues, depression is not a weakness. You cannot simply ‘snap out’ of it.

One of the reasons you can’t just get over it, is that actual changes have happened in the neurochemistry of the brain. Your dopamine and serotonine levels have dropped severely. Depression may require long-term treatment. Although not uncommon to recover from depression with the help of psychotherapy (cognitive behavioural therapy books the best results), many clinically depressed people might have to combine this with medication (antidepressants prescribed and monitored by your physician or psychiatrist). But don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with psychotherapy, medication or both.

Other contributing factors are that a depressed person gets stuck in a vicious circle of negative thoughts and self-criticism. Let’s say your sister is looking for the perfect birthday present to cheer you up. One of your first thoughts is ‘she’ll never get it right’, followed by a whole train of thoughts in this vain: ‘she is lousy at picking presents and never gave me one I truly enjoyed’, ‘she always comes up with these preposterous plans, how does she think one silly present is going to cheer me up’, ‘she never understood me’, ‘I even doubt she cares about me’, ‘she is just doing this because she thinks that is what expected from her’, ‘she’s going through all this trouble, and it is not going to work’, ‘I will be a disappointment for her, like I’ve always been’, ‘I am so ungrateful for thinking like this’, ‘she shouldn’t spend her money on me, I am such a worthless being’, ‘she shouldn’t go to that much effort for me’… In this manner you go from something potentially positive (receiving a present from somebody who cares a lot about you) to a sure negative. Your brain has set you up for failure. Your negative thoughts have built a fortress. One token of love will have no effect. Your sister notices you don’t really appreciate her effort and retreats. She feels pushed away. This will confirm your negative thoughts that nobody really ‘cares for you or understands you’. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you are depressed, you are unable to break this link of defective thoughts by yourself. Your thoughts are dragging you further down.

Add to that the lack of sound sleep, proper food and incessant ruminations, and you end up with a closed circuit of negative thoughts.

In psychotherapy you will learn how to stop these negative thoughts and replace them by positive ones, balancing out the pathways for positive and negative thoughts. Your MindBooster will slowly guide you, away from auto-destruction, to a place where you can learn to love yourself.

Send us a text. We are here for you.

Depression feels…

• As if a dark cloud envelops your entire world. Everything is gloomy. All color has disappeared. You can’t see properly who or what is around you.
• As if you have fallen in an abyss. You are clutching at the sides but gravity is pulling you down with all its might. You have fallen that deep you can’t even see the light anymore.
• As if you are tagging along an ocean of grief, that spills out whenever it wants to. Once the flood gates are opened, there is no stopping.
• As if you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. It is bearing you down. Completely.
• As if you are nothing, you have nothing, you feel nothing (except excruciating pain and devastating sadness)
• As if all energy is seeping out of you, consistently. Even the smallest thing seems insurmountable and too much effort.
• As if your body has been infected by some potent virus, or sleeping disease. Your body feels sore, you have pains and aches. All food has lost its flavor.
• As if you are a zombie, a half dead. You are going through the motions on automatic pilot. You don’t feel anything except sorrow, sadness, irritation. Everything is bland.
• As if your head is stuffed with cotton wool. You try to numb the pain and heartache and in the process succeeded in dulling all your senses. You can’t think properly anymore. You can’t even decide if you want to get out of bed or stay there forever.
• As if you are locked up in your own head, with incessant negative thoughts, that are dragging you down. Drowning you, drowning out all positivity. Your ruminations are relentless, they are not giving you any rest. You are stuck in a selective, grey past, haunted by every word that ever hurt you or any minor action you did. There is no present or future.
• As if you are stuck in a black hole, all that mattered got sucked in and disappeared. You no longer care about your previous interests. It’s even difficult to remember you once enjoyed these things. They seem gone forever. There’s just you and your debilitating thoughts, going round and round, in a vicious circle. No escape, no way to get back to earth.
• As if life is no longer worth living. As if you would be doing the world a favor if you were no longer there.

If you recognize any of the above descriptions, send us a text. There is help out there. We can help you carry the weight.

If you are just feeling down, struggling with a loss, or not sure what is wrong, feel free to contact us. Sharing your concerns makes you feel better.

You’ve read all the information on the website and did not find anything funny, you might be depressed.

Now, serious. The word ‘depressed’ is well adopted in current language. It is used a tat too easily to describe temporary feelings of boredom, listlessness, or ordinary sadness. It is part and parcel of life to go through ups and downs. Everyone has spells of feeling down. Likewise it is normal to feel stressed, sad or anxious during difficult times in your life. After adjusting, your mood picks up again.

Yet, clinical depression has very little to do with feeling a bit down. Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is more than spending a few days feeling sad or unhappy. It makes you feel persistently sad and down for weeks or months at a time. Depression is a common but serious mood disorder. It affects around 1 in 10 people over the course of their lives. It impacts people of all genders and ages, including children. Clinical depression causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.

Depression has a range of different symptoms, that must be present most of the day, nearly every day, for more than two weeks. It can affect everybody differently:

• Feelings of tearfulness, utter sadness, emptiness or hopelessness
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame
• Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
• Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
• Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
• Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
• Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide
• Sleep disturbances (being unable to sleep or sleeping too much)
• Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort
• Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
• Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

For most people with depression, symptoms are severe enough to cause noticeable problems in day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities or relationships with others.

If you recognized yourself in the above, send us a text. There is help out there. With the right support and treatment, most people recover fully from depression.

People who struggle with substance abuse or addiction often get told they should just stop using. They should show some character, motivation. They just lack some determination.

Yet, the fact that addiction has a very poor recovery rate obviates that there’s more at play. The core of an addiction problem is that mental and physical changes took place in the host, making it very challenging to get back to the prior state. It is no longer a case of just showing some character.

Addictive substances and behaviors share a key neurobiological feature: they intensely activate brain pathways of reward and reinforcement, many of which involve the neurotransmitter dopamine. As your body has gotten used to these sensations, it requires you to keep a steady level of the product in your blood stream. If the level drops, your body responds quite violently with withdrawal symptoms. If you have been consistently using a lot, the past months, do not try and go ‘cold turkey’ by yourself. Most likely you have been neglecting your basic needs (healthy diet, sleep, hygiene, …) and abusing your body. It can be life-threatening to stop suddenly. Seek physical help to get safely through this stage. No matter how sick you feel, under the right guidance of your physician you will get through it.

Dealing with the physical dependency is a very important first step. The second step is to tackle the mental and emotional aspect of addiction, which in most cases are deeply rooted and difficult to change. During an active addiction your body got used to a certain level of product (or the physical thrill of engaging in your addictive behavior) in the bloodstream. Your brain, the control center of your body, tunes into that and makes changes in your brain to facilitate that steady level. It will narrow your mental attention and create a type of mental tunnel vision, where only your addictive product/ behavior matters. This tunnel vision is responsible for you being drawn to your product/ behavior, unable to focus on anything else, unable to stop yourself from moving in that direction, even though you have already decided you do not want to continue like this. It is also responsible for you seeing your product or behavior everywhere. It creates the very strong urge you feel, where you are no longer in the driver’s seat and see yourself doing things you would never dream of. It can take a very long time for this brain connection to extinguish, especially because not only the product/ behavior has become addictive but the whole ritual around it as well.

Part of dealing with the mental aspects of addiction implies you have to get to know your own triggers and alarm signs. Which types of memories, environments, behaviors, people, internal or external sensations create craving and increase your urge to use? Which mini-decisions indicate you are about to relapse in old behavior? When should you be on your super-alert for relapse?

Dealing with the emotional aspects of addiction is paramount for success. Addiction always has a function in a person’s life. Maybe, it helps an introvert with the required networking or in being social. Perhaps, it releases the stress and tension after a draining day at work. Possibly, it takes the edge off the hurt you feel. Perhaps, it helps you get through the day. Or it could be the only time you feel powerful and in control. Whichever emotional crutch your addiction seduced you with, it will need to be dealt with. We will help you put new ways of coping in place to avert relapse.

Overcoming an addiction is no easy feat. It is not uncommon for addicts to get into that much trouble because they are motivated and determined people by nature. They have not learned to give up. They find it extremely hard to discover and admit that something is indeed controlling them. Yet, there is help available. Contact us.

You were interested in the question but did not find an answer that applied to you? Above we focused mainly on the dynamics of addiction. Yet, problematic use to addiction constitutes a continuum. If you are concerned about a substance or a behavior, drop us a line. It feels better if you can discuss your worries with a qualified person.

Your friends and family have been complaining about your drinking. Your lover broke up with you because of your drug habit. Your boss is getting fed up with your excuses for arriving late after a party night. Your constant, compulsive need for sex left you bruised and bare. Your gambling has brought you close to financial ruin. You realize you might have a problem. When does one talk about addiction?

Addiction is a condition in which a person is physically and/ or mentally dependent on a substance or a behavior. You can get addicted to a product or a behavior. Alcohol is one of the most common substances. Yet, other products such as cannabis, hasj, cocaine, heroin, XTC, LSD, sedatives or other psychoactive medication, can be highly addictive. Or possibly you are struggling with a specific behavior, such as gaming, gambling, sex, buying, and overeating.

Dependency means your mind or body, or both, your whole being, is telling you you need that substance or behavior. Your addiction is holding you in her clutches. The rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeatedly pursue the substance/behavior despite detrimental consequences, impairment or distress. Your whole focus is on obtaining and using the substance or engaging in the behavior, at cost of most other activities.

Addiction is characterized as follows:

• Tolerance: You need more, faster. Your body needs increasingly higher amounts of the substance (or behavior) to achieve the desired effect. Your body has gotten used to the substance (or the effect of the behavior) and experiences less effect when administering the habitual amount.
• Withdrawal: Not only did your body get used to the intensive use of the substance, it adapted to it. If you stop using the substance, you feel sick, might vomit, have fever, and are unable to sleep. Using your substance alleviates these withdrawal symptoms.
• Loss of control: You are using the substance (or engaging in the behavior) in higher quantities, over a longer period than intended. You are no longer in control. You have started lying and deceiving yourself as well as your loved ones.
• You have tried to reduce intake or stop taking your substance, but have not been successful. Even though you realize your substance or addictive behavior is bad for you (in that it causes or deteriorates physical or mental conditions), you are not able to stop yourself.
• A lot of time is spent on trying to get hold of your substance, using your substance, or engaging in your addictive behavior. You have given up some or dropped out of important social activities, work, or leisure activities because of your usage.

If you recognize these signs, or if you are concerned about your behavior, contact us.

Maybe you feel relieved after reading this, as your behavior would not qualify as an addiction. Yet, one can argue that if something raises your concern, it is better to have a closer look at it before it gets out of control. There are different stages in addiction and problematic use. If you worry about a substance or behavior, contact us.

A new approach to life piques your interest. You wish to go off the beaten track and find your own piece of paradise or treasure. Let’s check where you are at. This should give us an idea on how to answer your question.

When you make a major change, there are various stages one typically goes through. You can be on different stages for different domains (relationship, social, work, leisure, health, …). Where are you for which aspect?

• Precontemplation: An ex-workmate of yours has started her own business. She seems very content and enthusiastic. She can’t stop talking about the benefits of this new life. She says it is the best choice she ever made and you should also consider leaving the company. Your neighbor is sailing around the world. His pictures make your mouth water. Would something like that be possible or desirable for you? Until recently, you haven’t given it much thought.
• Contemplation: Slowly but surely you are getting fed up with your current life, the monotony of your job, hearing the same stories over and over. You are craving some fresh air. You thought the summer holiday to a far-away destination was going to recharge your batteries. Yet, after 10 days back in the rat race you felt completely depleted. This urges you to think you need to do something different. You are pretty sure it is your lifestyle/ your current job that is not right. You have considered taking the jump, but… There are too many ‘but’s. You feel ambivalent towards a big change. You are weighing the pro’s and con’s.
• Preparation: The decision has been made. Something has got to change. You want to get out the 9 to 5. You want a new direction in life and have started with proper research into the possibilities, and how to go about effecting the change. You are preparing a radically different or a new career, starting your own business, or you are planning sustainable long-term travels. You have set yourself a goal and are busy drawing up a general plan. The plan gets more and more refined. Stop and start dates are inserted, budgets added, …
• Action: Hooray! You are putting your plan in action. An exhilarating, energetic, driven phase. Here and there you have to sort out a few glitches and deal with the hurdles that are thrown on your path. A major life or career change is never easy and you can only plan that much ahead. Sometimes it feels like snakes and ladders (go back 5 steps) and you are sent back to the drawing board to rethink an aspect. That is all normal. Tuition fees in the school of life are paid in sweat and tears.
• Maintenance: The hectic start-up phase has past. All crinkles are smoothed out. All is going relatively well. You feel happy and confident with the choice you made. You feel settled in your new direction in life.

In each phase, there are specific things that can support you. Your MindBooster will point these out for you and help you to set them up.

Making a change is a dynamic process. Sometimes things happen that frighten or demotivate you, and you might temporarily drop to a previous phase. Or other things jump the queue on your list of priorities and you park your ideas for a while, to resurface at a more convenient or realistic time. This is no train smash.

As you are going about a major life change, it is normal to have the occasional relapse, going back to the old behavior. For instance, you have started your own business but are not getting enough income and have to work for an employer for a few months. This is not the end of your dreams. It is a learning experience, a time to reformulate your goals and strengthen your motivation. As you work on redesigning your life you will go through a few ups and downs. Doubt is an intricate part of any changes you make. Do not let it immobilize you. Use doubt in a positive way. It helps you keep your checks and balances. Changing your life is hard work. But it is worth it!

Do remember, there is no set time for you to get results. But having a sparring partner will ensure you don’t get stuck and build the courage and motivation to get the results you want.

There is no set time for you to start feeling better or get results. As you work on yourself and your problems you will go through a few ups and downs. Changing yourself is hard work.

But you can expect to have some immediate results: the mere fact you have an objective, non-judgmental person who listens to you, with whom you can share things that weigh you down, will make you feel lighter. As soon as you start putting some of the advice into practice, things are set in motion. You are no longer stuck. You regain a bit of control over your life. This gives motivation and energy to tackle the other issues.

The first few sessions are spent on getting to know you better, on delineating the problem, and formulating some joint therapy goals. After that the real work begins. Progress is influenced by many factors. Tackling a long standing issue, with no support structure around you, or going through a massive life change, will take longer than if you have got everything going for you and just want to fine-tune a few things. Try and be patient with yourself. As patient as you would be with a treasured friend.

Engaging in therapy is a process. There are no quick fixes. If there were any easy solutions you would have found them already. But every new insight is rewarding in itself, each minute change is a step forward to getting the life you really want.

Technology has become part of the fabric of our society. Video, chat, messaging is now so common that we have the ability to do it via our Smartphones anytime, anywhere.

But even before the internet was that popular, the pro’s and con’s of online help were researched. Numerous studies found online counseling as effective as visiting a counsellor or therapist face-to-face. Moreover, members of online counseling platforms feel more comfortable, calm and relaxed during sessions, and experience enhanced user satisfaction as compared to therapy in more traditional settings. Some clients who have the time for face-to-face therapy even prefer online counselling because they find it gives them more flexibility and comfort. Online help is praised for its ability to provide quick access in a more anonymous manner than traditional face-to-face help. Furthermore, people in need of counseling are more likely to seek out help when online counseling is provided as an option. Finally, online counseling provides both increased patient empowerment (it maximizes flexibility in scheduling therapy and of therapy location), and increased clinical efficacy (it allows therapists to see clients in less time).

An important recent development is the use of mobile technology for the treatment and prevention of health problems. Worldwide there is a steep increase in smartphone use with internet access. More so than laptops or PCs. Likewise, the popularity of mobile devices such as tablets is on the rise. The biggest advantage of the smartphone is that its user carries it with him day and night, providing easy access 24/7. Therefore it can make optimal use of ‘teachable moments’ (getting help when you most need it). Receiving help at the right moment increases the motivation to actually tackle difficult issues. Moreover, a smartphone can have different apps to repeatedly assess moods and activities in your normal day-to-day life (in a difficult word: ‘ecological momentary assessment’). For instance, if your therapist asks ‘when do you feel depressed’, ‘what makes you feel happy’, you will normally answer in a vague, general fashion, as the human brain does not have the capacity to remember every minute change in mood. Apps like Catch It or Blue Ice can assist and deliver valuable information to be integrated into therapy.

In short: Online help has repeatedly been proven as effective as traditional psychotherapy. The internet plays an important role in providing discrete, tailored mental health services available anytime, anywhere, from any device with internet access.

Online therapy has many advantages, but we do like to put in a word of caution.

MindBooster offers several means of online communication. Along the way, you will determine which modalities and which devices work best for you. Yet, right from the start we ask you to consider who else around you has access to the device that you will use. We recommend that you keep the devices used for communicating with your therapist, guarded by a password. In this manner, you prevent those close to you from reading through your personal messages. Online therapy is as private as writing in a diary. And you would feel equally violated if you realize another person has read your messages. Moreover, if you have to worry about what your loved ones would think if they read through your chats, messages and emails, you will not be able to be fully honest and open.

Remember that you can always click the ‘Delete’ button next to each message that you send so it no longer shows in your account.

Some tips on keeping your most private thoughts safe from your loved ones:

• Choose one device e.g. a smartphone or tablet to communicate from.
• Guard that device with a password that is different from the ones your loved ones know.
• If they have questions, explain to them that you are following an online programme which requires you to keep personal notes. You prefer no one to read this as it is meant only for yourself.
• If you are doing writing exercises on the family computer, we recommend you to work on a USB stick and give the document an unrelated, uninteresting name (e.g. draft rental contract, travel expenses, …), or save it in an inconspicuous folder.

As we are not working with any third parties, there is no need to record the sessions. We do not offer formal psychological assessments and therefore do not need to have an exact recording and transcript of an interview.

Everything you share with your therapist is confidential. Your therapist will take brief notes during the sessions, so it is easy to pick up where you left and recognize patterns. These cryptic notes are kept in a file that is safely stored by your therapist and not accessible by any other person.

The therapeutic relationship is based on trust. You need to be able to trust your therapist in order to work properly with him/ her. If you have any doubts, talk them through with your counselor or contact us. All our professionals follow the Ethical Code of Psychologists. Should you have any queries or complaints about your MindBooster, please let us know.

Therapeutic sessions are very dynamic and reigned by the issues and emotions that are foremost on your mind at that specific time. You and your therapist interact and work through things in various ways. What is said in a therapy session should always be seen within that specific context and against the backdrop of the therapeutic relationship. It can not be quoted in isolation. Therefore, it is not recommended to record your session. It is much better to summarize your take home messages at the end of the session.

All the messages on WhatsApp between you and your counselor have end-to-end encryption. This ensures only you and the person you are communicating with can read what is sent. Nobody in between. Not even WhatsApp. End-to-end encryption means your communication is secured with locks. Only the recipient and you have the special keys needed to unlock and read your messages. For added protection, every message you send has a unique lock and key. All of this happens automatically. No need to turn on settings or set up special secret chats. Your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, status updates and calls are secured from falling into the wrong hands.

Skype also uses encryption but of a lower level. Although it is highly unlikely that someone will listen in, routine monitoring by Microsoft and by government agencies is possible. For instant messages, Skype uses transport-level security (TLS) to encrypt messages between the Skype client and the chat service in the cloud, or AES (Advanced Encryption Standard, used by the US Government to protect sensitive information) when sent directly between two Skype clients. Voice messages are encrypted when they are delivered to you. However, after you have listened to a voice message, it is transferred from the Skype servers to your local machine, where it is stored as an unencrypted file.

Anything you tell your therapist is confidential. Your most inner thoughts are safe with us. We do not work with any insurance companies or employers. Therefore nothing needs to be shared, reported or filed with them. We have no reporting duties to anyone.

When you sign up we do not ask your full name or contact information. You may pick any ‘nick name’ to identify yourself. In the course of your sessions, your therapist will ask you details about your life, past and present, in order to get to know you and your specific situation better. We do not require your name and address to be able to work with you. You decide how much of your identity you wish to disclose. Remember that MindBooster has no real way to verify that you are who you say you are. The therapeutic relationship is based on mutual respect and trust. We like to earn your trust.

The possibility to stay anonymous delivers one of the main advantages of online therapy. You do not have to feel embarrassed. You can discuss personal issues more openly without feelings of guilt or shame.

We do recommend that you keep the device you will be using for the communication with your therapist guarded by a password. In this manner, you prevent those close to you from reading through your personal messages.

Bear in mind that you can always click the ‘Delete’ button next to each message that you sent so it no longer shows in your account.

We also recommend that the video and voice real-time sessions are conducted in a private area in your home, office or safely on the road.

How to open a PayPal account

If you go to the PayPal website, opening an account is fairly straightforward. You are guided through the process step by step.

Should you wish to know in advance which details are needed, we have listed the steps below:

1. Create a PayPal account

Go to the PayPal website or the PayPal app. The website as well as the app allows you to create an account. The process is largely the same. Install the app for free from your device’s app store.

Click “Sign Up” to start the account creation process.

Enter your email address and create a password. Create a strong password so that nobody else can access your financial information. Enter a valid email address. You need it to verify your account.

Fill out the form with your personal information. Enter your name, address, and phone number. All of this information is required to create your account.

Enter your credit or debit card (optional). You can enter this now or later. If you don’t want to enter your card information now, click ‘I’d rather link my bank first’.

Enter your bank account information (optional). If you plan on receiving money and want to be able to transfer it to your bank, you need to link a bank account. If you don’t plan to transfer money out of your PayPal account into your bank account, you don’t have to do this. Just click ‘I’ll link my bank later’ and confirm you want to skip this step.

Apply for PayPal credit (optional). Before you are taken to your account’s Summary page, PayPal will prompt you to sign up for a line of credit. This is optional, and you should read all of the terms carefully before applying. If you do not wish to apply for credit, click ‘No thanks’.

2. Verifying your account

Confirm your email address. When you create your account, PayPal sends you an email. Click the “Yes, this is my email” button in the email message to confirm your email address. If you can’t find the message, check your Spam folder. You can have PayPal send another message from your account Summary page. Click ‘Confirm Email’ to send another message.

Link your bank account. If you want to send money directly from your bank account to friends and family via PayPal or if you want to transfer funds from your PayPal to your bank account, you have to link your bank account on your PayPal account. Click the ‘Link a bank’ option on your account Summary page to get started. Sending money from your linked bank account is cheaper than using your debit or credit card.

• If your bank is listed, you’ll be able to enter your online banking login information to automatically link your account.
• If your bank is not listed, enter your account number and routing number. You can find these on the bottom of your checks. This will take a day or two to confirm. PayPal will make two small deposits into your account, totaling less than a dollar. Enter these two values in order to confirm that you are the owner of the bank account. You’ll be able to find these deposits on your online statement after 24-48 hours.

Link your debit or credit cards. You can use PayPal to manage various credit and debit cards, allowing you to checkout from websites without having to enter your information each time. Click the ‘Link a card’ option on your Summary page to add a card to your PayPal wallet. Enter the card number, expiration date, and security code. The name on the card must match the legal name you entered when creating your account. Cards are linked instantly. You can also use this method to add a prepaid gift card from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover.

If you have a PayPal account, just click on the button of your preferred scheme (Set sessions, Flexi Plan, Text Only) to make the payment. MindBooster is notified automatically of your payment. Get started immediately.

Should you prefer to do a bulk payment e.g. for 4 set sessions, or a month of flexi plan, contact us. We will send you a PayPal payment request.

If you do not have a PayPal account, you can open one following these easy steps.

If you do not have a PayPal account and do not wish to open one, contact us for the banking details so you can transfer the required amount. Make a screen shot of your proof of payment so you can start using MindBooster straight away.

Our MindBoosters come from various parts around the globe. Although we all speak English, you can check if you can be matched to a counselor who speaks your mother tongue.

During your first contact we will ask you a few questions so we can determine your needs. Subsequently you will be matched to your own MindBooster. After three contacts, your MindBooster will verify if you are happy with the match. If the match is not opportune, we will assign you with a new MindBooster, based on the information we received from both you and the counselor.

Do not hesitate to contact us at any time should you desire a re-match or when you are unhappy about your MindBooster.

Our MindBoosters are licensed, trained, experienced, and accredited psychologists (MPsych, PhD / PsyD). All of them have a Masters Degree or a Doctorate Degree in their field. They have been qualified and certified by their country’s professional board after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training and practice. While their experience, expertise and background vary, they all possess several years of hands-on experience.

You may rest assured. All of our MindBoosters have passed a background check with license verification. You can be confident that the therapists on the MindBooster platform are legitimate, highly qualified and ready to assist. Moreover, they have been hand-picked to fit with the MindBooster philosophy. Our focus lies on providing quality services rather than quantity.

There are many reasons why people prefer online help. It is discrete, affordable, only one click away, professional, and beyond physical borders.

Moreover, it is a personal choice. Face to face therapy isn’t for everyone. Online counselling is a perfect match for those with…

• Lack of time – You travel a lot or have a very busy schedule. Part of our Western lifestyle is hectic schedules and a plethora of appointments to keep. We have so many balls to juggle. Fitting in some ‘me’-time becomes a puzzle and too much effort. There are always other, more urgent issues. With online counselling there is no need to travel to see a therapist. This fits better around other commitments. It allows you more flexibility. Make yourself a priority, at your convenience, without having to drop any of the other balls.
• Remote location – You are travelling or living in a remote location that does not offer mental health services in English. You have settled in a new country and are not comfortable using the available resources, or there are no services available.
• Doubtful or embarrassment – You aren’t ready to talk in person. You are not sure you need psychological support or coaching. You are not sure what counseling can offer you. You uphold a high position and standing in your community and prefer discretion. You feel shy or embarrassed about approaching a mental health service. You prefer counselling in an anonymous online environment as it feels more confidential and discrete.
• On your own terms – You have worked hard to make your life ‘lean’, cutting out stressors, focusing on your priorities, interacting with the outside world on your terms. Online therapy is an extension of a life style choice. You do not have to leave your comfort zone to sit in traffic, find parking, and wait for your appointment. Whenever works best for you.

In some cases, online therapy is not the best choice. If you are in an acute crisis you may need the physical proximity of a person to assist you. If you are experiencing acute psychiatric problems face-to-face contact and treatment with medication is recommended.

Online therapy is not recommended if:

• You have thoughts of hurting yourself or others
• You are in an emergency situation or urgent crisis
• You are a minor or you are under the care of a legal guardian
• You have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, or have been advised to be in psychological supervision or psychiatric care
• You are required to undergo therapy or counseling either by a court order or by any other authority
• You do not have a device that can connect to the internet or you do not have a reliable internet connection.

1. Try it out! Set up a chat (IM) or video call to meet your counsellor. Ask all the questions you want, or listen to the therapist explain the system. Check it out and see if it will work for you. This introduction of up to 15 minutes is for free.
2. Choose your modality: Let us know if you prefer set sessions (video, call, chat), text only, or the flexi plan. Use PayPal or bank transfer and get started.
3. During the first 3 contacts you and your Mindbooster get to know each other. (S)he helps you formulate your therapy goals. After that, the real work starts.
4. Change your plan according to your needs of that moment.