No, what you share stays private between you and your counsellor. However, counsellors are required to provide information if:

• You intend to or have taken harmful or dangerous action against another person, or against yourself; or
• The Court asks for information about your case.

In such cases, parties such as the Court, police, or relevant authorities may be informed of the situation.

You and your counsellor will discuss and decide on the best mode of delivery for your counselling sessions. This could be:

• In-person sessions;
• Video sessions; or
• A combination of both, depending on your preferences and circumstances

Together, you and your counsellor will decide how often to meet. This could be based on factors such as what works for both your schedules, the urgency of your situation and the type of support you need. The frequency can be adjusted as your situation and needs change, ensuring you receive the appropriate support for your needs.

You may attend the counselling sessions on your own if you prefer. However, if your concerns involve other family member(s), it could be helpful to include them in some of the sessions. Your counsellor can discuss with you on what would work best for your situation.

MSF has partnered with social service agencies to offer free counselling services through the Strengthening Families Programme (FAM) centres.

We are also piloting counselling services with two private counselling agencies. Under this pilot, your first 6 sessions are free. If you need more sessions, you can either continue with the private counselling agencies at your own cost or request to be referred to the FAM centres.

During the sessions, you can let us know if you have any preferences. We will try our best to accommodate your request.

We generally recommend staying with the same counsellor throughout your counselling sessions. If you have any concerns about the sessions, we encourage you to discuss them openly with your counsellor first.

When you attend the first session, you can share about what is troubling you and the help you are looking for. Our agencies can also answer any questions you may have. If our agencies’ counselling services can meet your needs, the counsellor will discuss with you how often to meet. 

You will meet with the counsellor typically around once every 4-6 weeks to work on your counselling goals. 

You may want to consider the following questions before the first session:

• What is the main concern you would like to discuss?
• Is there any background information about this concern that might be helpful to share?
• How have you tried to cope with the issues you are facing?

Most importantly, enter counselling with an open mind.

Each counselling session takes approximately 1 hour. 

Everyone has a unique journey in counselling. While there is no fixed number of sessions that works for everyone,  most attend 6 sessions in general. Your counsellor will work with you on an arrangement that would be most helpful for your needs and situation. This can be adjusted as your sessions progress.

Yes, this can happen for some individuals and it is completely normal. It can feel hard at first to start talking about things you have kept inside for a long time. However, you will not be dealing with these feelings alone. Your counsellor will journey with you and help you find better ways to handle these feelings. Many people find that working through these hard feelings leads to lasting positive changes.

Your counselling sessions will come to an end when you and your counsellor agree that you have reached your goals, or when you feel ready to manage on your own. Your counsellor may discuss with you ways to keep up your progress and give you tools you may use in your day-to-day life. You can reach out to our agencies again if you need more support.

The pilot is from July 2026 to April 2027.