Messaging
Message a Therapist Before You Book
How Does Messaging Work?
Messaging lives inside the Saalvio mobile app and the web client portal at client.saalvio.com. Once you find a therapist you are curious about, you open a private thread and write to her directly. She reads it and replies when she is next able to, inside the same secure thread. Nothing about it is public, and nothing about it is shared outside the two of you.
The channel is encrypted and runs on infrastructure governed by PHIPA (Ontario's health privacy law) and PIPEDA (Canada's federal privacy law). Your message is visible only to you and the therapist you sent it to. It is never visible to Saalvio's broader team, never used to train any AI system, and never shared with an employer, an insurer, or a referring physician without your written consent.
What Is Messaging For?
Messaging has two honest uses, and it is worth being precise about both.
Before you book: ask your fit questions
This is the free, no-commitment step. Message any therapist on our roster with the questions that would actually help you decide: her language, her approach, whether she has worked with people in a similar situation, how a first session typically goes. Most Canadians never get to ask a therapist anything before they are already paying for the hour. Here, you can.
Between sessions: brief check-ins
If you are already working with a Saalvio therapist, messaging is there for short, practical things between sessions. Rescheduling, a quick clarification about something raised last time, a logistical question. It keeps the thread of care from going cold for two weeks over something that takes one sentence to answer.
What messaging is not
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Not therapy by text
Messaging is not therapy by text, and it is not a way to receive ongoing counselling outside of booked sessions. The clinical work itself, the part where a therapist is actively helping you work through something, happens in a scheduled session, not in a chat thread.
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Not crisis support
Messaging is also not a crisis line and is not monitored in real time. Saalvio is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, please call 911. If you are in a mental health crisis, please call 988 (the Suicide Crisis Helpline of Canada) or visit your nearest emergency department.
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Not a clinical assessment
The clinical work itself happens in a scheduled session, not in a chat thread. A few exchanged messages cannot do the work of a booked session with a registered psychotherapist or registered social worker.
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Not a way around scheduling
If what you need to say cannot wait, that is a sign you need a different kind of support right now, not a longer message. Messaging is a small channel by design.
Is Messaging Private and Secure?
Yes. Every message you send to a Saalvio therapist stays inside a private, encrypted thread between the two of you. It is governed by PHIPA in Ontario and PIPEDA across Canada, the laws built to protect Canadian health information. It is stored on Canadian servers.
Messaging sits alongside the rest of Saalvio's privacy architecture. What you write in your journal or notice in Thrive AI, your self-help companion, stays private to you unless you choose to share it. A message you send your therapist stays private to that conversation. None of it is sold, and none of it trains any system beyond what you have explicitly consented to.
For the full picture of how Thrive AI handles your data, see our Thrive AI privacy page.
How Long Does a Therapist Take to Respond?
Saalvio's therapists set their own messaging hours, and most respond within one business day. A message sent on a Friday evening will usually be waiting for a reply on Monday, not overnight. This is intentional. It protects your therapist's ability to be present for the clients she is seeing in session, and it protects the boundary that keeps her sustainable for everyone on her caseload, including you.
If you have not heard back within a few business days, it is fine to send a short follow-up. If what you need to say cannot wait, that is a sign you need a different kind of support right now, not a longer message.
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Find a therapist you are curious about.
Browse the Saalvio therapists page. Once you find someone whose profile fits, open a private thread and write to her directly.
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Write in a private, encrypted thread.
She reads it and replies when she is next able to, inside the same secure thread. Nothing about it is public, and nothing about it is shared outside the two of you.
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Expect a reply within about one business day.
Most therapists respond within one business day. A Friday evening message will usually wait until Monday. That boundary protects her time in session and keeps care sustainable for everyone on her caseload, including you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I message a therapist before I book a session?
Yes. You can message any therapist on the Saalvio roster with your questions before you book anything. It is free, and it commits you to nothing.
Is messaging the same as therapy?
No. Messaging is for questions, fit-checking, and brief between-session clarifications. The clinical work of therapy happens in a booked session, not over a chat thread.
What should I ask a therapist before booking?
Ask what would actually help you decide: the languages she speaks, her approach and training, whether she has worked with people in a situation like yours, and what a first session looks like.
What if I message my therapist and it is an emergency?
Messaging is not monitored in real time and is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you are in a mental health crisis, call 988, the Suicide Crisis Helpline of Canada, or go to your nearest emergency department.
Who can see the messages I send?
Only you and the therapist you are messaging. Your messages are never visible to Saalvio's broader team, never used to train AI, and never shared with anyone else without your written consent.
How much does messaging cost?
Messaging a therapist, before you book and between sessions, is free.
Ready to Ask Your First Question?
Browse our clinical team and send a message to the therapist who feels like the right starting point. There is no cost, no commitment, and no script.
Not ready to message yet? Learn more about how Saalvio works, read about your first therapy session, or see how CANADAHEALS makes your first step free.
Your first therapy session walks through what to expect once you do book.
CANADAHEALS covers the free app year and your free first session.
Last clinically reviewed on 2026-07-13 by Saalvio's clinical team of registered psychotherapists and registered social workers. See our medical review policy for how we review messaging guidance.