F A Q

Santum is a comprehensive all-in-one mental wellness platform. Our mission is to help you overcome your day-to-day challenges so that you can live a happier and healthier life. Santum therapists are like family, you can expect professional support in an honest and caring environment. Access to therapists is very affordable, it is provided in a convenient and discreet way.

It can be very effective. There are many professional researches and medical studies that confirm effectiveness of online therapeutic interaction. This type of counselling is preferred by many over traditional in-office sessions. With the advent of the new internet technologies online therapy has become a growing trend.

Most non-major mental conditions and life issues can be successfully counselled online. These include addictions, anger,  anxiety, bipolar, career issues, chronic impulsivity, conflict, depression, eating disorders, educational assessments, family issues, self esteem, grief, physical health, intimacy, isolation, LGBTQ, life transitions, parenting, relationships, religion, sleeping disorders, social behavior, stress, substance abuse, trauma. For more details please visit Treatable Conditions.

Absolutely! Our therapists specialize in specific issues such as isolation, depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, sleeping or eating disorders, relationships, parenting, trauma, anger, low self-esteem and more. They will be able to help with a wide range of every-day issues and mental health conditions. Moreover you will get access to self-help books, free wellness apps and free wellness audio.

We will not be able to help if you, your child or your partner suffer from a more serious or a critical condition, such as self-harm, suicidal thoughts or severe mental illness. Santum is also not right for you if you are a minor or if you are compelled to therapy by a court order.

Certainly, your employees are like many other individuals who may be seeking help with day-to-day challenges. Conditions such as fatigue, overwork, stress or depression may contribute to their lack of enthusiasm and low productivity. Psychological issues are on the rise at the workplace and should be addressed by responsible employers.

Absolutely! You can become part of your loved one’s therapy journey by gifting live counselling sessions to them. You can purchase 1 session voucher or 4 sessions voucher, which your sponsee can redeem for sessions. Your loved one must be at least 18 years old.

Yes. You are now part of our family so your subscription is FREE, no credit card or banking details necessary. Santum membership will give you access to licensed therapists, self-help courses, free wellness audio, free wellness apps, support forum of like-affected individuals as well as regular content relevant to your specific needs.

This is the collection of audio tracks recorded by specialist psychologists to soothe, relax and distress your mind.  The genre will be formulated to suit your personal needs or those of your loved ones.  Wellness audio can be used to alleviate depressive mood, calm the anxious thoughts, relieve stress, meditate, or even put children to sleep.

These are accredited downloadable mobile apps to assist you with your issues on the go, irrespective of your location or time.

Santum endorsed books are psychological literature written by qualified professionals that you can read in your own time. Books can help you understand the mechanisms of various mental heath conditions, and may even provide activities, encouragement, and other techniques to practice daily.

When you select anytime messaging as your communication medium you can write about yourself, ask questions and discuss the issues that trouble you. Your therapist will read your messages and respond with feedback, guidance and recommendations. Since the messaging is not in real-time, you will get email notifications when the therapist has sent you a reply. Anytime messaging is offered on weekly package basis and is equivalent to about 7 minutes per day over 7 days.

Chat therapy sessions are live sessions which need to be pre-purchased and scheduled with your therapist. You will have a text conversation with your therapist in real-time which will allow for live interaction with instant response and feedback. Live chat sessions work in a similar way to WhatsApp.

You will need to log in to your dashboard at the scheduled time. Your therapist will start the session and will prompt you to join (session button will turn active green). For live chat you will need an internet-enabled device such as your smartphone, pc or tablet.

Just like chat, video therapy sessions are live sessions which need to be pre-purchased and scheduled with your therapist. Real-time video sessions will allow you to see each other and talk with each other in a face-to-face setting. Live video sessions work in a similar way to Skype or Zoom.

You will need to log in to your dashboard at the scheduled time. Your therapist will start the session and will prompt you to join (session button will turn active green). For live video you will need an internet-enabled device such as your smartphone, pc or tablet. Good internet connection of at least 10Mb/sec is recommended.

We will ask you to complete a short questionnaire prior to offering you a list of suitable therapists. This is not meant to be a medical diagnosis but rather an online pre-evaluation that allows us to match you with a list of therapists who specialize in your issues. From there you can select your therapist according to their level of experience, expertise and personal appeal.

Just like traditional counsellors and psychologists Santum therapists differ in qualifications, experience and expertise. For this reason they are categorized into 2 contributor levels (L1 and L2), which affords you a choice of skills and cost.

A registered counselor will be assigned level 1 (L1), and a qualified clinical psychologist – level 2 (L2).

All therapists are carefully checked, interviewed and vetted to use our Santum platform. They are required to provide proof of identity, educational and registration documentation as well as references of past and current employment. We ensure that they are graduated licensed professionals who hold a valid registration with HPCSA, SACSSP or ASCHP. They must also have a valid practice number and possess at least 1 year of direct clinical experience with a minimum of 250 counselling hours.

Yes you can. We will provide you free messaging access to all therapists. This ia a short intro system that is limited to 5 messages. It is intended for introduction, initial questions and recommendations.

Certainly. If you feel that the therapist you selected does not meet your expectations you can change to a new practitioner, this can be done from your dashboard.

Unfortunately not. Your unused messaging time or live sessions must be used with the therapist you selected. Once you change your practitioner you will be required to purchase new plan with the new therapist.

Scheduled live therapy starts from a discounted rate (for 4-sessions packages) of R545.00/ 50-minute session with registered counsellor (L1), and R995.00/ 50-minute session with clinical psychologist (L2) – inclusive of counseling fee and platform usage charge (billed separately). This is about 20%-30% cheaper than at traditional in-office counseling, and well within Medical Aid rates.

Same pricing applies to one week and four weeks’ anytime messaging packages. For therapy costs comparison please view our Counseling Cost Matrix.

Your scheduled live sessions and anytime messaging can be purchased on pay-as-you-go basis. These can be paid for by a credit card, cheque card, debit card or an EFT from your bank account. All payments are facilitated by Payfast, South Africa’s largest payment processing service. 

Yes you can, but this depends on your Medical Aid. Coverage and benefits for traditional therapy and counseling services change from one health insurance company to another and from plan to plan. Coverage can be partial or limited. If you consider using your Medical Aid, please provide your full name on the membership application form (you cannot remain anonymous). Additionally make sure of the following:

• Your Medical Aid offers mental health insurance benefits
• Number of sessions per year covered by your Medical Aid
• Claimable amounts for online therapy sessions

Santum offers very affordable counseling fees which are within the coverage of most insurance plans. Your therapists will provide therapy ICD-10 codes which will display on your printable invoices.  Please note that it is your responsibility to submit claims and documents to your Medical Aid.

Santum is a platform that arranges professional mental health services, and those services are paid to the therapists through their Therapist Agreement with Santum. Generally refunds are not granted because the therapists charge for time that is scheduled to be used, much like other medical professionals. However, our customer service can review refund requests on case-by-case basis in conjunction with the therapists. This is to determine if unique or legal circumstances (medical, death, disability, court orders, etc.) dictate the reason for the refund .

If you’re ever not satisfied with your therapist, you can request a new therapist through your account dashboard.

Absolutely. We are very serious about your privacy and confidentiality. Our systems are designed for safeguarding the information you provide so you can feel safe and comfortable. Furthermore, you do not need to identify yourself, you can remain anonymous by providing a nickname (not advised for Medical Aid claims).

All the messages between you and your therapist are secured and encrypted by banking-grade 256-bit encryption. Our servers are hosted by a leading ISP facilitator, ensuring the best protection. Our browsing encryption system (SSL) provides world class online security and encryption.

Yes, our website is optimized for all devices, including cellular phones. To enhance user experience some mobile content has been shortened, without affecting essential functionality. You can simply add a shortcut to the bookmarks on your phone, the Santum link will launch in a similar way to an app.

Any session that ends prematurely due to power outage will be repeated free of charge, subject to duration rules of Terms & Conditions. You can avoid live session interruptions by being correctly prepared:

• Book sessions outside of load shedding hours by checking schedules for your area. Links to Eskom load shedding website are provided on the booking page, and on all outgoing Santum emails.
• Ensure that your mobile phone, pc or tablet is charged and that your wifi router is powered by a battery or an inverter. Alternatively, get sufficient mobile cellular data for the duration of your session. 

Power related interruptions from Santum are unlikely as therapists, admin, ISP and hosting maintain independent power supply.

When you accomplish your goals or if you find online counseling with Santum no longer helpful, you can simply cancel your subscription. Just login to your account and click on ‘Cancel My Membership’, cancellation will be instant.

You can opt to ‘Pause’ your membership instead, in which case you will be able to resume using the same password and access details.