Frequently asked questions

Tell us briefly what is going on, whether you would prefer online or in person, and the hours that suit you, through book a session. We match you with a psychologist whose specialty fits your concern rather than whoever is free first, and most first appointments are confirmed within 30 minutes to 2 hours. You do not need a referral, a diagnosis, or a reason that sounds serious enough.

Yes, and online is how most of our clients are seen. Research consistently finds talk therapy delivered remotely to be effective for anxiety, low mood and stress, and the National Institute of Mental Health describes psychotherapy as an evidence-based treatment across a range of conditions. Practically, online removes the two things that stop people most often: the commute, and the risk of being seen walking into a counselling room. See online counselling.

Our psychologists hold in-person hours across Dhaka — Dhanmondi and Green Road, Moghbazar, Mirpur, Uttara, Banani, Baridhara, Gulshan, Mohammadpur and Shyamoli — plus Sylhet and Chattogram. Coverage varies by area and by specialty, so the honest way to check is the therapist directory, which lists each person’s location alongside their fee.

You do not need to prepare anything, and you do not need the right words. Most people arrive unsure how to begin, and starting with “I don’t really know where to start” is a completely normal opening — your psychologist will take it from there with questions.

A first session is mostly listening and understanding. You will be asked what brought you now rather than your whole life story, how long things have been going on, how they are affecting sleep, work, study and relationships, and what you would like to be different. Towards the end you will usually agree what to focus on and roughly how many sessions that might take.

Two things people worry about that are worth saying plainly: you will not be pushed to talk about anything you are not ready for, and crying is common and completely fine. If you leave the first session feeling it was not the right fit, you can ask for someone else.

Sessions run from ৳1,500 to ৳4,500 depending on the psychologist’s seniority, and the exact fee for the person you book is shown before you confirm, never after. Student rates are lower for online sessions. Full detail is on the pricing page, and every psychologist’s fee is listed on their own profile in the therapist directory.

Payment details are confirmed when your session is booked, with the usual local options. Rescheduling is fine with reasonable notice, and our refund policy covers cancellations.

No, and we would rather say so directly than advertise something we do not provide. Our psychologists are licensed clinicians and are paid properly for their time, which is what keeps quality and availability stable. What we do offer is transparency and a real low end: fees start at ৳1,500 online, student rates are lower, and the fee is confirmed before you book so there are no surprises. Our self-check is free, takes a few minutes, uses the standard GAD-7 and PHQ-9 questions, and stores nothing.

Cancel or reschedule 24 hours or more before your session and you get a full refund or a credit towards a future session, whichever you prefer. Cancel less than 24 hours before, or simply not attend, and the full fee applies — the slot was held for you and could not be offered to anyone else. Once a session has taken place the fee is non-refundable.

The 24-hour rule is not the whole story though. If something serious happened — a medical emergency, a bereavement, a family crisis, or a mental health crisis — talk to us anyway and we will look at it individually. The reason someone misses an appointment is sometimes the very reason they booked it. Full detail is in our refund policy.

Yes. What you discuss stays between you and your psychologist. It is not shared with your family, your employer, or anyone else, and we do not confirm to a caller that you are a client. There are narrow legal and safety exceptions, chiefly a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, and your psychologist will explain these at the start rather than leave them buried. Our full confidentiality policy sets out the detail.

Not from us. This is the single most common worry we hear, particularly from students and from people booking without telling anyone at home, so it is worth stating plainly: we do not contact your family, we do not report to employers, and online sessions leave nothing for anyone to notice. If your company pays for sessions through a workplace programme, they receive usage numbers in aggregate only, never names or anything you said.

Your psychologist keeps clinical notes — an assessment, a treatment plan and a record of progress. That is normal practice and it is what makes continuity possible between sessions. Any working notes your therapist keeps are held separately from your main record, are never shared with our admin team or your employer, and are never released to anyone without your specific permission.

Sessions are not recorded. Online sessions run live, with no video or audio saved afterwards. If you ever want something recorded for your own use, that would only happen if you asked for it and agreed to it explicitly.

You can read exactly what is held and what your rights over it are in our confidentiality policy.

Yes, and it is better to know the limits up front than to discover them later. There are a small number of situations where limited disclosure may be necessary: where there is a serious risk to your safety or someone else’s, or where the law requires it.

Even then, three things hold. We share only the minimum necessary, never the whole picture. We take great care over how it is done. And we tell you whenever we can, rather than going behind you.

Your psychologist will walk you through these limits gently in the first session, so nothing is ever a surprise mid-conversation. Ordinary difficult material — an affair, a substance problem, thoughts you are ashamed of, something from your past — is not in this category. That is simply the work.

A session runs 50 to 60 minutes. The number varies with what you bring: a specific difficulty such as exam anxiety or a decision you are stuck on can shift in a handful of sessions, while depression, trauma or long-standing relationship patterns usually need longer. A first course of therapy is commonly somewhere between six and twenty sessions rather than one or two. Your psychologist will give you a realistic estimate early, and you are never locked into a package.

Yes. Bangla or English, whichever you think and feel in more easily. Most of our psychologists work in both, and switching mid-sentence is completely normal. Nobody will ask you to translate your own feelings.

Yes, and you do not have to explain why. Preference of therapist gender is an ordinary part of matching, treated the same way as a preference for language or session time. See female psychologists at Chum.

Yes, and it is a reasonable thing to do rather than an awkward one. The quality of the working relationship between client and therapist is one of the strongest predictors of whether therapy helps, so if after two or three sessions you do not feel heard, tell us and we will suggest someone else. It is not rude and it is not starting from zero.

In short: a psychologist provides talk therapy and does not prescribe medication; a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose, prescribe and manage medication. For anxiety, low mood, relationship difficulties or stress, a psychologist is almost always the right place to start. We have both, and they refer to each other. The full explanation is in our guide to the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

Our psychiatrists can assess and prescribe where it is clinically appropriate; our psychologists cannot, because prescribing is not within a psychologist’s scope anywhere. If you are unsure which you need, book with either and say so. Whoever you see will tell you honestly if the other is the better fit, and many people do best with both.

A psychologist can assess you properly, use standard clinical measures, and tell you what they think is going on and why — that is a clinical formulation, and for most people it is the useful part, because it explains the pattern rather than just naming it.

A formal medical diagnosis and anything involving medication sit with a psychiatrist, who is a medical doctor. We have both, and they refer between each other. If a psychologist believes a psychiatric assessment would help you, they will say so rather than work around it.

Yes. Several of our psychologists specialise in children and adolescents, and much of that work involves the parents too, on how to respond rather than on what is wrong with the child. Start at child psychologist in Dhaka.

Yes. Couple sessions are longer and priced separately, and both partners attend. See couple counselling in Dhaka. One important exception: where there is violence, fear or controlling behaviour in the relationship, couples counselling is not recommended, because it can raise risk for the person being harmed. In that situation, speak to a psychologist on your own first.

Yes. We work with Bangladeshis in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, the Gulf and across Asia, and the fee is the same as it is in Dhaka. Tell us your city and your free hours, and we confirm the slot in your local time in writing, so there is nothing to calculate. See our guide for Bangladeshi students abroad.

Yes. We run employee assistance programmes, workshops and corporate wellbeing work, including sector-specific programmes such as garment-factory worker wellbeing. Everything for organisations starts at Chum for Business.

Chum Wellness is not an emergency service, and sessions are scheduled rather than immediate. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999, the national emergency number in Bangladesh, or go to your nearest hospital emergency department. If you are outside Bangladesh, use your local emergency number. Once you are safe, ongoing therapy is what helps stop things reaching that point again.

If you are 18 or over, yes. You do not need anyone’s permission and nobody is informed. We do not call your home, we do not confirm to a caller that you are a client, and an online session from a closed room leaves nothing for anyone to notice. This is one of the most common questions we get from students and from adults still living in a family home, and the answer is simply yes.

If you are under 18, it is different, and we will be straight with you. A parent or guardian normally needs to consent for a young person to begin therapy. That is not us being unhelpful — it is how treatment for minors works, and a guardian who knows is usually part of what makes it stick.

If telling a parent feels impossible, you still have options: a school or university counsellor can often see you without a guardian, a teacher or relative you trust can help you raise it at home, and if you are not safe right now, call 999. You are not stuck just because the first door is closed.