Signing up is easy.

For a basic (FREE) listing, simply create a username and password. Then you can follow the prompts to post a picture, greeting, and information about your counseling practice. Remember, even the FREE listing is for licensed professionals with professional liability insurance only. Please don’t create an account if you don’t meet these qualifications.

A Verified profile means that eCounseling.com checks to make sure your license and liability Insurance are both in good standing, and it is necessary if you are going to be providing counseling by telephone, secure email, or online chat with eCounseling.com. And it also improves your rank on eCounseling.com, which means more clients will view your information if you have a verified listing.

Signing up could not be easier. Simply fill out the online form, and then mail or email proof of your credentials to the address shown on the form.

Counselors set their own rates for in-person, telephone, secure email, and online chat counseling. So you get paid the fee you set, minus a small technology fee eCounseling.com takes for credit card processing and use of services. It’s not much—the exact withheld amounts are posted clearly in your account. To set your fee, simply follow the prompts in your eCounseling.com account settings.

One of the best things about using eCounseling.com is that counselors get paid immediately for the services they provide. Clients pre-pay for counseling, so there is never a problem with billing. To receive payment, after a counseling session counselors click one button, and their payment is delivered to them from eCounseling.com through Paypal.

Paypal—at Paypal.com—is a free way for counselors to receive money. If a counselor doesn’t have a Paypal account, Paypal will send an email to the counselor telling him or her that money is waiting, and a counselor can sign up to retrieve the sum. This is a onetime process that only takes a few minutes.

Here’s how the process works for providing email counseling.

A client visits eCounseling.com and views your (the counselor’s) profile. They see that you offer email counseling, and your counseling fee.

The client decides to send you a Secure Email Message. He or she pre-pays for your services, and the writes a message to you in a textbox on eCounseling.com

When the client sends a message, you receive an email in your standard email account. The email will state “A Client has sent you a Secure Email Message at eCounseling.com”. You then have a maximum of 48-hours to log into your eCounseling.com account and submit a written response to this client. (Note: Providing prompt services is a commitment you make when you decide to use eCounseling.com, and it is imperative that counselors take this commitment seriously.)

Lastly, when counselors submit a response to clients, they receive automated payment of their set fee.

There are two ways to provide telephone counseling. The first is to make services available immediately. The second is to schedule a session.

Immediate Session

Counselors can make themselves available for Immediate Telephone Sessions by logging into their eCounseling.com account and making themselves “online”. When they do this, an icon appears on their profile that reads “Online Now”. This icon signifies to potential clients that a counselor is available to provide immediate counseling services. (Note: the icon remains there until the counselor changes their status to “offline”.)

If a client desires an Immediate Telephone Session, he or she can select that option from their Purchase Session Screen. Once they prepay for an Immediate Telephone Session with a counselor who is “Online Now” the counselor is contacted by eCounseling.com in two ways.

First, a text-message is sent to the counselor’s cell phone (if they have one) to inform the counselor that a client has requested an Immediate Phone Session. The counselor then has 10 minutes to log into his or her account at eCounseling.com to view the client’s telephone number and call the client.

Second, when a client schedules an Immediate Telephone Session the counselor’s computer will literally ring and a recorded voice will repeat the words “Immediate Session”. This repeats every four seconds until the counselor closes the prompt (counselors will need to have the volume on their computer speakers on and be within hearing distance of their computer to receive this notification).

Scheduled Session

When a client Purchases a Scheduled Telephone Session, he or she recommends days and times that are most convenient (M-F, Afternoons). This information is sent to the counselor in an email, and on a form provided by eCounseling.com the counselor proposes three specific meeting times (i.e., Saturday, June 1st, 8pm EST). These proposed times are sent to the client who can either choose one, or reject all three. If the client selects one of the proposed meeting times the session is scheduled and an email is sent to the counselor to inform him or her of the confirmed time. If the times are rejected by the client, the counselor is re-sent the form, to propose three more meeting times.

At the time of the session, the counselor calls the client at the telephone number that was submitted when the client approved a proposed meeting time. After the session, the counselor can makes notes on eCounseling.com, and can process payment by clicking the “Close Session and Process Payment” button.

There are two ways to provide online chat counseling. The first is to make services available immediately. The second is to schedule a session.

Immediate Session

Counselors can make themselves available for Immediate Online Chat Sessions by logging into their eCounseling.com account and making themselves “online”. When they do this, an icon appears on their profile that reads “Online Now”. This icon signifies to potential clients that a counselor is available to provide immediate counseling services. (Note: the icon remains there until the counselor changes their status to “offline”.)

If a client desires an Immediate Online Chat Session, he or she can select that option from their Purchase Session Screen. Once they prepay for an Immediate Online Chat Session with a counselor who is “Online Now” the counselor is contacted by eCounseling.com in two ways.

First, a text-message is sent to the counselor’s cell phone (if they have one) to inform the counselor that a client has requested an Immediate Online Chat Session. The counselor then has 10 minutes to log into his or her account at eCounseling.com and enter the secure chat room.

Second, when a client schedules an Immediate Online Chat Session the counselor’s computer will literally ring and a recorded voice will repeat the words “Immediate Session”. This repeats every four seconds until the counselor closes the prompt (counselors will need to have the volume on their computer speakers on and be within hearing distance of their computer to receive this notification).

Scheduled Session

When a client Purchases a Scheduled Online Chat Session, he or she recommends days and times that are most convenient (M-F, Afternoons). This information is sent to the counselor in an email, and on a form provided by eCounseling.com the counselor proposes three specific meeting times (i.e., Saturday, June 1st, 8pm EST). These proposed times are sent to the client who can either choose one, or reject all three. If the client selects one of the proposed meeting times the session is scheduled and an email is sent to the counselor to inform him or her of the confirmed time. If the times are rejected by the client, the counselor is re-sent the form, to propose three more meeting times.

At the time of the session, the counselor goes to his or her account at eCounseling.com and enters the secure chat room. After the session, the counselor can makes notes on eCounseling.com, and can process payment by clicking the “Close Session and Process Payment” button.