webCHAT FAQ

webCHAT FAQ

Operating hours: Tues - Sat: 1pm - 8pm (excl Public Holidays)

webCHAT is an online text-based counselling service, operated by CHAT to support young people who may feel hesitant about seeking face-to-face professional help. webCHAT provides a safe space for users to talk about their concerns in real-time.

webCHAT is for young people aged between 16 to 30 (based on birth year), currently living in Singapore.

The objectives of webCHAT are to:

Provide timely support to young people when they feel most motivated to seek help.
Empower individuals to explore their options, develop coping skills and strategies, improve problem-solving abilities and foster self-awareness and personal growth.
Direct users to self-help tools and community-based mental health services for further assistance.

You will be supported by a CHAT Youth Support Worker, an allied health professional with tertiary qualifications in psychology, social work, or counselling. They are also trained in mental health, emotional support, and youth-related concerns.

webCHAT operates on a single-session mindset model. This enables webCHAT to provide a service that seeks to address your concerns at the time where you are most motivated.

The single session mindset works on the assumption that:

A single session is all you need.
Rapid change is possible and relatively common.
You know what works best for you.

Thus, providing counselling on webCHAT, with a single session mindset involves an intentional and collaborative engagement between you and the Youth Support Worker on a specific issue within one session. It aims to maximise the efficacy of the session, while knowing that additional community support can be recommended where necessary.

Each webCHAT session lasts around 60 minutes to ensure we can support as many users as possible.

Can I have more than 1 session with webCHAT?
webCHAT operates like a virtual walk-in counselling service, primarily focusing on addressing your concerns within a single session through he mode of real-time texting. However, if you feel that your issue requires more attention, you may access webCHAT again for another session. Most young people find that 1-2 sessions are enough to resolve their immediate concerns. If you find yourself needing ongoing support, it may be helpful to seek more regular support from a community-based professional. Our team can guide you to appropriate services based on factors such as your mental health needs and budget.

What is webCHAT not suitable for?
While webCHAT aims to provide a safe space and a listening ear to all webCHAT users, we hope to seek your understanding that webCHAT is not designed for casual chatting, long-term counselling, or a replacement for in-person therapy or friendship.

Here are some tips for you on how you can prepare for a webCHAT session to get the most out of it:

As webCHAT is not mobile-friendly (yet), use a desktop or laptop for an optimal experience.
Have a good and stable Internet connection (where possible) as it helps to minimize disruptions to your conversation with us.
As each session lasts approximately 60 minutes, consider what’s the most pressing issue you have currently, and bring that up at the start of the session.
Focus on your chat with us as much as possible and give prompt responses.
Refrain from multi-tasking, or leaving multiple browser tabs/windows open during the conversation.

As webCHAT is primarily a text-based service, it can be challenging to accurately detect one’s intent or tone sometimes. There are times where things can get lost in translation, such as the use of certain emojis, slang, sarcasm etc. Therefore, it helps to be clear and direct when describing your concerns to us, and feel free to correct us if we have misinterpreted something you have said.

It is common to be unsure of what to expect before you commence a webCHAT session with us, especially if you are new to it. Each session is different and experiences on online chats can vary widely.

Depending on the concerns that you present with and your preference, we may explore either one of these options with you after the webCHAT session:

Share relevant support services in the community that might suit your current needs.
Refer you directly to these support services, with your consent.
Offer a follow-up mental health assessment with you, so as to better understand your mental health concerns before providing recommendation of suitable professional help to you.

We are aware that there has been an increase in young people reaching out to webCHAT for support. While we are glad that more young people are aware of webCHAT and are reaching out to us, it also means that it might take us longer to attend to you. We seek you understanding to stay in the queue and avoid using multiple aliases. If you prefer, you can drop us an email at [email protected] with your concerns. If you require immediate support, you may reach out to:

SOS care text 9151 1767 (Whatsapp) or their hotline 1-767

We want you to feel safe enough to tell us if you have thoughts of suicide or self-harm. We want to understand the distress you are going through so that we can refer you to the right services for further support and assessment.

That said, if the thoughts are too strong and you worry that you cannot keep yourself safe, please

Reach out to the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) at www.sos.org.sg. If you call their hotline 1-767, please stay on the phone until someone attends to you.
Or, head down to the A&E department of the nearest hospital.

Having contact with multiple services, particularly if they are not working together, can be unhelpful and confusing for you. Do let us know if you are currently receiving support from another mental health service, such as seeing a psychiatrist (or waiting an appointment to see one) or counsellor. We'll work together to understand your current experiences and explore next steps.

If there is a problem with your internet connection:

We would recommend using a desktop or laptop for optimal connectivity. If there is still a problem with connectivity, check your internet connection. If you are unable to reconnect, you can start a new chat when your connection is restored and let our Youth Support Worker know that you were previously on webCHAT. Although it may not be with the same person, all our Youth Support Workers are well-equipped to take on your concerns as sensitively and attentively as possible.

If there is a problem with our internet connection:

Unfortunately, the system will not inform you if the disconnection occurs on our side. If you do not hear from us within 15min of the chat being disrupted, we probably need time to resolve the issue. You can email us at [email protected] or call us at 6493 6500/ 6493 6501 instead.

If there is a problem with the chat platform:

We will post updates on our social media platforms (i.e., Facebook, Instagram).

Your safety and confidentiality are very important to us. We will not share your information with other organisations or individuals without your knowledge and consent. However, in situations where your safety and/ or that of others' are compromised or if there is trouble with the police and/ or the law, please understand that our Youth Support Workers are obliged to break confidentiality and contact the appropriate authorities for protection purposes.

All our Youth Support Workers are professionally trained. However, as part of our continuous efforts to improve your experience in webCHAT, our Youth Support Workers continue to attend training and supervision to help them stay effective in attending to your needs and concerns.

For training and supervision purposes, we may keep transcripts of webCHAT sessions. Please be assured that all identifiers that could potentially link you to the transcript will be removed to protect your identity.

While we are committed to provide a safe and confidential online space for you, please be aware the internet is not a secure public network and there are potential risks that your text communication can be viewed, accessed or intercepted by third parties. If you are about to reveal any incriminating and potentially embarassing information about yourself, we strongly recommend that you consider calling our CHAT Hub at Tel: 64936500/ 64936501 instead.

Regulations and policies change over time. While we do our best to ensure that the information provided to you through our webCHAT service is accurate, we cannot guarantee or assume legal liability for accuracy, currency or completeness of the information. We also do not accept any liability for injury, loss or damage incurred through the use of or reliance on the provided information.

Where necessary, we may refer you to other resources (including other websites) for further assistance. We do not assume responsibility for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of information provided by these other resources. Please exercise due caution when downloading information from any website that we may refer you to, in order to protect yourself against viruses and other malicious software.

Parental consent is not required for CHAT services including webCHAT.