Frequently asked questions
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About Headspace
Headspace offers confidential emotional support through coaching via text-based chats, available alongside 3000+ guided mindfulness exercises and skill-building activities in-app. This is all offered at no cost for 90 days for members aged 18+. In-the-moment support is available anytime, anywhere, for whatever issue you may be going through—all from the privacy of your smartphone.
Visit Kaiser Permanente at kp.org/mentalhealth for exclusions.
After selecting “Get Headspace” on the http://kp.org/selfcareapps page, you will be authenticated as an eligible Kaiser Permanente member and directed to a Headspace landing page.
The landing page will guide you to connect your existing Headspace account or create a new account.
Once complete, you will be asked a series of short questions to personalize your Headspace experience and prompt you to open or download the app.
Headspace offers confidential emotional support coaching via text-based chats, as well as meditations and skill-building activities in the app.
Yes! We are excited to announce our new language options. We are currently offering the ability to change your language between English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin.
Yes, Kaiser Permanente members can see:
• The number of coaching sessions and content cards they have completed
• A timeline of their coaching sessions
• A history of their PHQ/GAD and adaptability scores
Emotional support coaching
We all need support from time to time to help us navigate difficult emotions or situations. Coaching is a collaborative relationship where you and a coach work together to identify the small steps needed for you to move through a challenging time or to accomplish your mental health goals.
Our research shows that coaching is most effective when done regularly. We recommend scheduling sessions weekly or every other week. Along the way, your coach will make adjustments to keep you on track. Some of the issues a coach can help you with include relationships, sleep, anxiety, depression, productivity, career, confidence, self-esteem, grief and loss, and mindfulness. Unlike therapy, coaching focuses on the present and what you want to accomplish in the future.
Coaches can help with many of life’s challenges and stressors. Typically, they will work with you to help manage stress or overcome issues with work, relationships, and sleep, for example.
Coaches will help you to set, manage, and reach the goals you’ve identified, keeping you honest and keeping you on track, with your personal or professional development in mind.
After downloading the app and navigating to the “Care” tab, members simply answer a few questions and, within a few minutes, can chat with a coach or schedule an appointment. It’s as simple as texting with a friend. Each coach arrives with an intention to meet each member where they are, offering guidance and support.
More on how it works:
- First appointment: Members schedule their first coaching appointment (the initial consult) in the app. Just tap "Chat" or reach out to your assigned coach.
- Follow-up appointments: For ongoing support, work with your coach to set up a regular time which is convenient for you.
Coaching occurs through text-based chats in the Care tab of the Headspace app. However, if members prefer speaking over typing, they can use the voice-to-text functionality on their Android or iPhone. Our in-app texting function is private and secure.
No. Emotional support coaching from Headspace is offered to Kaiser Permanente members at no cost.
You can chat with your lead coach anytime during your scheduled appointments. But if you urgently require in-the-moment support, another on-duty coach will always be available for you. Our coaches work collaboratively and communicate with each other, so they’ll know what you’ve been working on with another coach and where each session left off, so you receive a consistent, seamless experience.
You can request a coach with a specific background or identity, and our Member Support and Coach Management teams will work together to find the best possible fit for you. However, they’re not always able to accommodate specific requests. Our coaches are trained to work with people from a variety of backgrounds, including the LGBTQIA community, as well as racial and ethnic groups traditionally underserved in the mental health field. Your coaches will provide support that is tailored and relevant to you. If you would like to switch coaches, you can request a change in the app, or through the Member Support team.
Nope! You will be chatting with another human being who is an experienced, qualified coach, sitting on the other end of the line, offering support, guidance, and insight. And just like the rest of us, coaches need breaks too — which is why, occasionally, you might have a delayed response. All coaches are carefully vetted before they join the Headspace team to ensure we’re providing high-quality care for our members. Each one either has a graduate degree in psychology or a related field and/or a coaching certification.
Coaches have the following training and backgrounds:
• Graduate degree in mental health-related field
• Accredited coaching certification
• Average six years of prior coaching experience
• 200+ hours of training a year. Courses include communication skills, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and more
• Coaches are provided with monthly trainings, case reviews, collaborative team meetings, ongoing professional development, mentorship, and performance management
If a member’s coach believes that a member needs clinical mental health services, the member will be provided with the contact information for their regional medical center. Coaches can continue to support members while they receive clinical care from their therapist or psychiatrist.
Coaches can continue to support members while they receive clinical care from a therapist or psychiatrist.
Coaches can continue to support members while they receive clinical care from a therapist or psychiatrist.
Coaches can continue to support members while they receive clinical care from a therapist or psychiatrist.
You will need to renew your access to Headspace every 365 days. To do so, navigate to http://kp.org/selfcareapps and select “Get Headspace.”
Once you are directed to the Headspace landing page, select ‘“Yes, I already have an account” and login with the credentials you used when you initially enrolled.
Your access will be reinstated and you can continue chatting with your coach.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. If you do not have insurance or are not using insurance, you have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” (GFE) explaining how much your medical care will cost.
• This GFE shows the costs of items and services you can reasonably expect for your health care needs.
• You have the right to receive a GFE for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services.
• The GFE does not include any unknown or unexpected costs that may arise during treatment. You may experience additional charges if complications or exceptional circumstances occur.
• Health care providers are required to provide a GFE within the following timeframes:
• If the service is scheduled at least three business days before the appointment date, no later than one business day after the date of scheduling;
• If the service is scheduled at least ten business days before the appointment date, no later than three business days after the date of schedule; or
• If the uninsured or self-pay client requests a GFE (without scheduling the service), no later than three business days after the date of the request. Healthcare providers must supply a new GFE within the specified timeframes if the patient reschedules the requested item or service.
• If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
Note: A GFE is for your awareness only and does not require immediate financial commitment or payment.
For questions or more information about your right to a GFE or the dispute process, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 800-985-3059. Keep a copy of this GFE in a safe place or take pictures of it. You may need it if you receive a bill in a higher amount.
