FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our Member Support team is available to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to reach out to them through the app in the Chat tab or email help@ginger.io Ginger’s Member Support hours are Monday through Friday from 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM (PT). On holidays, Member Support’s hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PT).

Ginger is available in English and Spanish for all employers and organizations.

Ginger offers confidential mental healthcare through coaching via text-based chats, self-guided activities, and video-based therapy and psychiatry*. Support is available anytime (we’re serious about 24/7/365), anywhere (we go where your phone goes), for a variety of mental health challenges you may be struggling with—all from the privacy of your smartphone.

*video-based therapy and psychiatry services are available for U.S. members only.

Coaching is a collaborative relationship where you and your coach work together to help you reach your goals. You’ll work with your coach to identify small steps that you can take towards your goal, and your coach will help you make adjustments as needed to keep you on track. Different from therapy, coaching focuses on the present and what you want to accomplish in the future. Coaching happens through private in-app text-based chats with your coach.

In short, coaches can help with any emotional issue you’re struggling with. Typically, our members work with coaches on stress, anxiety, depression, issues with work, relationships, sleep, and more. They can work with you on techniques to help improve your sleep, share strategies for managing stress, or create a plan and hold you accountable to any goal you’re working towards

Currently Ginger is only available in English. We’d love to provide Ginger in other languages in the future. Stay tuned.

Coaching occurs through text-based chat in the Ginger Emotional Support app. Phone and video chats with coaches are not available. However, if you prefer speaking over typing, you can use the voice-to-text functionality on your Android or iPhone.Text-to-speech is also available.

You can schedule a coaching session in the app. You can also chat with a coach without a scheduled session if you need immediate support.

You can schedule a coaching session in the app. You can also chat with a coach without a scheduled session if you need immediate support.

If you have access to Ginger through your employer, university, or organization, there is no cost to use coaching services. Likewise, the clinically validated exercises and content in the app are available to you at no cost. To learn about why we ask for your credit card information and other payment questions, see the Payment and Cancellation Policy section below.

You can chat with a coach when you need that support, even without an appointment. We have a coaching team that is available 24/7.

If your primary coach is not available, you have the option of chatting with a different coach, who will become part of your care team. Our coaches work collaboratively and communicate with each other, so they’ll know what you’ve been working on with another coach and where you left off.

You can request a coach with a specific background or identity and our Member Support team and coach management will try 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, economically disadvantaged individuals, and racial and ethnic groups traditionally underserved in the mental health field. Your coaches will provide you care 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! They’re not robots. Our coaches, therapists, and psychiatrists are real-live human beings with thoughts, feelings, and life experiences. And just like us, they need occasional breaks too — which is why you might have a delayed response occasionally. Every care provider is carefully vetted before they join the Ginger team to ensure we’re providing high-quality care for our members.

Ginger is a licensed medical provider group with our own nationwide network of psychiatrists, therapists, and behavioral health coaches. Each one either has a graduate degree in psychology or a related field and/or a coaching certification.

Ginger coaches are trained to recognize when a member requires therapy or psychiatry support. In addition to training coaches, we use technology to help us assess your clinical needs to ensure you get the right level of care when you need it.

If your coach believes you may benefit from therapy or psychiatry sessions, our Member Support team can help you understand your options. If available through your employer’s plan, our Member Support team can connect you with a Ginger therapist or psychiatrist, who will become part of your care team. Your coach will continue to support you while you receive clinical care from a psychiatrist or therapist and after. If working with a therapist or psychiatrist is not available through your employer’s Ginger plan, our Member Support team can help you access care through your insurance benefits.

Absolutely. Coaching is an excellent complement to therapy and psychiatry sessions. Together your coach and therapist or psychiatrist make up your care team. Coaches can serve as an on-demand check-in between appointments with your therapist or psychiatrist. They can help you with challenges that may arise in between your therapy or psychiatry sessions. They can also help you recall insights and lessons from previous sessions and provide you with the opportunity to practice new skills regularly. And, they can help you work on exercises that your therapist or psychiatrist may assign.

You can still work with a Ginger coach in addition to your non-Ginger therapist or psychiatrist. Most Ginger members who have a therapist or psychiatrist outside of Ginger find it useful to share with their coach the type of support they’re receiving from their therapist or psychiatrist. It also helps your coach ensure cohesiveness of your overall care.

An activity card contains information about mental health techniques that you can access on your own. There are different types of activity cards. Some contain audio guides, others are self-guided mental health exercises, while others contain articles, research and tips. Your coach will make suggestions on activity cards that are right for you. Feel free to explore!

Coaching sessions happen through text-based chat, while therapy sessions happen via live video chats. Coaching focuses on where you are in the present and your goals for the future. Coaching is a collaborative relationship. You and your coach work together to identify small steps you can take to achieve your goals, making adjustments along the way to keep you on track.

Therapy consists of sessions with a licensed clinician to help you address ongoing psychological symptoms, or patterns of thought, behavior or emotion that no longer serve you. Therapy allows you to dive deeper into past or present issues to make positive change in your life.

Ginger psychiatrists are able to prescribe psychotropic drugs, which are medications that target the reduction of mental health symptoms. Examples include certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety medication. Ginger psychiatrists are not permitted to prescribe controlled substances, including stimulants, benzodiazepines, or opiates, as they require in-person visits for a prescription. Ginger psychiatrists are able to treat most issues without the use of controlled substances.

If you are undergoing psychiatric treatment, your psychiatrist will meet with you every 4-8 weeks to evaluate how your prescribed medication(s) are affecting you. Depending on their evaluation, they might increase or decrease the dosage, or prescribe a different medication.

Our therapists and psychiatrists cannot honor requests for letters of recommendation for service or emotional support animals.

Therapists take a broader approach to help you gain an understanding of why patterns develop and identify ways to create change. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medication to manage more severe or enduring symptoms.

Therapy and psychiatry sessions happen via video chat right from the Ginger app—which means you can have your session anywhere you'd like. You can also access your appointment over a platform called Zoom on your computer. It’s important that you find a quiet, private place where you feel comfortable. Sessions can range in number and frequency, depending on your needs.

Ginger therapists are state-licensed healthcare professionals trained in a variety of evidence-based therapeutic approaches and have either a master's or doctoral degree. Ginger psychiatrists are medical doctors with four additional years of psychiatric training. They're state-licensed to prescribe medication and monitor its effects on your health.

Sessions with a therapist are 45-50 minutes. With a psychiatrist, the first appointment is 45 minutes and follow-ups are 20 minutes.

Your coach can help determine whether you should start working with a therapist or psychiatrist. If you do not have a Ginger coach, reach out to a member of our Member Support team through the app to find out if your employer’s plan or health plan covers therapy and psychiatry. Someone from the Member Support team can answer any questions and help you schedule your first appointment.

Coaching is the ideal place to start for most members, since coaches are trained to work with a wide range of situations and can assess the level of care needed. However, we understand that some members are looking for treatment for an active diagnosis or a higher level of care than coaching. If this is you, you can reach out to Member Support to schedule an appointment with a Ginger therapist or psychiatrist by clicking on “Chat with Support” on the Video tab after completing the onboarding process.
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(For members accessing the app through an employer, you must complete the onboarding process, including scheduling a chat with a coach, in order to access Member Support. However, it is not necessary to chat with a coach prior to meeting with a therapist or psychiatrist, if you choose not to.)
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Once you have completed onboarding, Member Support will be able to answer questions and schedule your appointment.

After you meet with a therapist or psychiatrist, we recommend chatting with your coach, who can help you make progress between therapy or psychiatry appointments. Your coach will also be able to support you when you step down from clinical services.

To provide medical care (such as therapy and psychiatry) outside the United States, medical providers, such as Ginger, are required to meet country and regional legal, licensure, and medical practice requirements. Some countries require that medical providers also must have a local office in the region. Currently, Ginger delivers all services from the United States and does not maintain international medical licenses or offices. For these reasons, Ginger can only deliver coaching services, and not therapy or psychiatry, to its international members in approved countries.

Reach out to Member Support in the Chat tab to schedule a clinical session. You will be asked to fill out an intake form and provide payment information. To reschedule or cancel your therapy or psychiatry appointment, contact the Member Support team in the app at least 48 hours before your scheduled session, or you can view the appointment on the Video tab, and then tap Reschedule or Cancel. You will be able to see and access your appointment in the video tab in the app or through the confirmation email sent.

To change your appointment, use the Video tab or contact Member Support at least 48 hours before your scheduled session

Yes and yes. Ginger does not and will not share anything about your individual activity, sign-up information, or private data, with your employer. We only provide summarized reports that are aggregated and anonymized to preserve the privacy of our members. Ginger is a healthcare provider and protects your confidential health and personal information in accordance with state, federal, and international law as described in our Privacy Statement and Terms of Service.

U.S. Members: U.S. Privacy Statement and Medical Terms of Service.

International Members: International Privacy Statement and Coaching Terms of Service
Additional questions about our privacy or security practices can be directed to: privacy@ginger.io.

As a fundamental pillar to ensuring trust and providing the best possible support and care, Ginger’s information privacy and security governance is aligned with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 and 27002 security standards, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publications 800 Series, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679, and other relevant state and international breach notification and security regulations. Ginger has implemented administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your information.

Ginger stores your Account Data and Personal Information for as long as Ginger needs it to provide services, to serve the purpose(s) for which your personal information was processed, or as necessary to comply with Ginger's contractual and legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements to the extent permitted by law.

If you would like your Account Data or other Personal Information permanently removed from Ginger's database, please contact Ginger at privacy@ginger.io. Ginger will then terminate your account, you will no longer be able to use Ginger services, and you will no longer receive emails from Ginger. Subject to applicable law and necessary record retention requirements, your identifying Personal Information shall be deleted from Ginger records. Please note that Ginger may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes, to complete any transactions that you began prior to your request, or for other purposes as required or authorized by law.

All data is stored and processed in the United States.

No, Ginger will never share usage information with family members, dependents, or primary benefit recipients.

You can access your appointment from your phone or your computer.
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To use your phone for your appointment, join the session in the “Video” tab in the Ginger app at the time of your appointment.
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To use your computer, download Zoom here: https://zoom.us/download. When it’s time for your appointment, go to the confirmation email and click “start session.”
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You will be placed in a virtual waiting room (just like an in-person clinic). Your clinician will admit you into your session as soon as your clinician is ready and has verified your identity.

If you are leveraging your medical insurance coverage (e.g. Cigna) for your coaching services, clinical sessions, or clinical surveys, you may be responsible for cost shares, such as co-pays, deductibles, or coinsurance. For estimates on how much your cost share would be, please reach out to your medical insurance coverage directly, since medical benefits may vary.

For your clinical sessions (e.g. therapy, psychiatry), you will receive an email with an itemized statement from our authorized third-party member payment tool, Gentem. Within the same email, you will also receive a payment portal link where you can review details of the charge breakdown (e.g. total charges, how much your insurance paid, how much you still owe), and make a payment.

Yes. Shortly after you make your payment via the Gentem portal, you will receive a receipt by email. You can use the payment receipt for HSA reimbursement.

Yes. To request a superbill for out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance, please contact billing@ginger.io. Please note that not all insurance plans allow for out-of-network reimbursement, and the detailed breakdown of the charges can be reviewed inside of the statement that you will receive from our authorized third-party member payment tool, Gentem.

Yes. To set up a payment plan, please contact billing@ginger.io.

You can continue your coaching and clinical care under our self-pay / out of pocket pricing. For additional information, please reach out to us within the app.

We ask for your credit card information to keep on file should you need to make a payment at a later date. You’ll only be charged via your credit card on file within the Ginger app a) in the event of a late cancellation or no-show (see policy above); b) if you are accessing Coaching via your Cigna insurance coverage, and you have cost share responsibilities (e.g. copays, deductible) through your medical insurance coverage. We'll always let you know before we charge you.

We accept all major debit and credit cards and HSA cards.

To update your credit card on file within the Ginger app, go to the payment tab, select "Payment Method" and enter your updated credit card information.

To update your credit card stored within the third-party member patient portal, Gentem, please visit the payment portal link that you will receive in the itemized statement email.

Your security is a top priority for us. Ginger doesn’t store the credit card information. Instead, both Ginger and our authorized third-party member payment portal, Gentem, use a payment processor, Stripe, which secures all credit card information. Visit https://stripe.com/privacy to learn more.

If you need to cancel an appointment with a therapist or psychiatrist, we ask that you do so at least 48 hours in advance. This policy helps us ensure all of our patients can receive timely care, allowing us to repurpose missed appointment times for members in need. For appointments canceled with less than 48 hours notice of your scheduled appointment, you will either lose (1)  sponsored session credit or incur a fee of $125, depending upon the nature of your Ginger sponsorship. Please let our Member Support team know as soon as possible if you need to reschedule your session.

If you don’t show up or if you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment, we unfortunately can’t refund the cancellation fee. This is because our clinicians are unable to schedule a new appointment with less than 48 hours notice. However, if an emergency requires you to miss your session, please let us know, and we will review on a case-by-case basis to make refund decisions.

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;
  - 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.

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to our Member Support team.