Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Solacare is a private counselling platform in Hong Kong. Through our platform, you can find the right counselling professional for you in three different ways, then manage your bookings, attend online sessions (if offered by your counsellor), and handle payments all in one place.

All counsellors on our platform are either legally registered professionals or widely recognised mental health practitioners in Hong Kong. This includes registered social workers, counsellors, clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, educational psychologists, registered expressive arts therapists, music therapists, registered psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, and occupational therapists. They are all active members of their respective professional bodies.

No, they are not. Counsellors are more like partners on our platform. They use our system to provide their counselling services, and may be affiliated with an NGO or practise independently. That said, our professional team actively monitors the quality of practitioners on the platform. If a verified complaint is received about a practitioner's services, they will no longer be able to accept new clients through Solacare.

In Hong Kong, you can choose between in-person counselling and online counselling. Depending on the counsellor you choose and where they work, you may go to their location for in-person sessions. If they offer online counselling, you can attend directly through our platform. We provide three types of online sessions: video, voice, and text. If your counsellor offers all three, you are free to choose whichever suits you best.

Absolutely. In fact, all bookings on Solacare are handled online. Browse your counsellor's available times and book directly; the system handles everything automatically. You can also reschedule or cancel through the platform at any time. No phone calls or emails needed.

Some counsellors offer a free initial consultation, in which case there is no payment process at all. If you choose a paid counselling service, you will be able to add your credit or debit card details after completing your booking, and the fee will be automatically charged after each session is completed. To protect the counsellor, your booking may be cancelled if payment details are not provided before the session begins.

Yes, absolutely. We strictly comply with Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and only collect and store necessary personal information using encryption. For general services, we rarely require you to provide identifiable information. Any data you provide or documents related to your counselling journey can only be accessed by you and the counsellor working with you. If your counsellor wishes to share information with a supervisor for clinical supervision, they must obtain your consent first. For payment information, we use Stripe as our payment processor. Your card details are handled entirely within their secure system. We cannot access or store any of that information.

Not at all. Solacare is a web-based platform. Simply log in through your desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone to manage everything related to your counselling journey.

Solacare was created to help more mental health professionals who care about Hong Kong's wellbeing offer private counselling services. We provide an all-in-one journey from understanding what private practice involves, to giving you an online platform where potential clients can discover your background and book with you, right through to a full appointment management system, online therapy room, session record system, and payment processing. Everything you need for private practice is in one place.

Our founder and team can support you throughout the process of starting your private practice and answer any questions about it. Our platform is also fully featured, including: building a professional profile for yourself or your team, three ways for potential clients to find you, a booking system, automated reminders, an online therapy room (video, voice, and text), a custom form and document system, automatic form delivery, automatic client billing, and a mental health blog feature. Essentially, if you need it for your counselling work, Solacare has it.

Not at all. There is no employment or contractual relationship between you and Solacare. We simply provide a platform for counselling professionals to run their private practice, which means you have full autonomy. You decide your own fees, services, client load, and availability.

Yes, it does. You can manage bookings and deliver any type of counselling through the platform. For in-person sessions, there is a simple time-logging feature. For online sessions, the platform has a built-in video, voice, and text therapy room, so you and your clients can complete the full session journey right there.

Yes. Within a single appointment, you can add one or more practitioners to work with one or more clients. This works well for couples counselling, group sessions, or clinical supervision.

Absolutely. Solacare has a flexible template system that lets you design your own session notes, psychological assessment forms, and homework exercises. You can also set automatic delivery rules, for example, having the system automatically send a specific form to a client after their first session of a particular service.

You can absolutely use Solacare for free. We have three plans with nearly identical features. The most popular is the Growth plan with no monthly fee. It is designed for practitioners who want to offer private counselling sessions from time to time. A 10% platform fee (capped at HK$950 per month) plus a 4.8% transaction fee is only charged after a paid session is completed. For example, after a HK$1,200 session, your actual earnings would be HK$1,022.40. If you have a more consistent client load, you might prefer the Core plan, which has a flat monthly fee with no per-session commission. Finally, the Community plan is for organisations that only offer free services.

Yes. The platform uses medical-grade encryption, and all data storage complies with relevant personal data protection laws including Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. We also have strict access controls so that only the practitioner working with a specific client can view and edit their records.

Yes, and Solacare has a built-in timezone system so you can manage bookings in your local timezone with ease. Just note that you must still hold a valid Hong Kong professional qualification, including as a registered social worker, counsellor, clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, educational psychologist, registered expressive arts therapist, music therapist, registered psychiatric nurse, psychiatrist, or occupational therapist.

Absolutely. Each Solacare account can manage one organisation with multiple centres. The platform has three role levels so that different staff members can have different access permissions, and each person has their own account.

Yes. Solacare is designed so that you can freely hide practitioners' professional profiles and set the organisation to not accept new clients. This way, you can use Solacare purely to manage counselling within your own network.

Definitely. Solacare is a counselling management platform, not just a platform for private paid practice. Organisations can choose the more affordable Community plan to offer free counselling to clients while still accessing nearly all the same features as other plans.

Yes. Administrators can see each practitioner's appointment volume and billing records to support organisational operations. However, to protect client privacy, the actual content of session notes can only be viewed by the practitioner concerned.

Yes. Organisations can manage their name, contact details, social media accounts, logo, and other brand information. Clients will clearly see your organisation's branding throughout the booking process.

Yes. We warmly welcome academic institutions or training organisations to get in touch. The platform allows multiple practitioners to join the same appointment, making it well suited for situations where a supervisor and student join a session together. The custom form and document system can also be configured to meet the specific requirements of a placement programme.