Appointment Management

Your Practice, Your Way

Every therapist works differently. Whether you offer individual therapy, couples counselling, or specialized sessions, Counselling Buddy lets you create and customize appointment types that match your exact practice needs.

Custom Appointment Types

Create unlimited appointment types tailored to your practice:

• Individual Therapy - 50 minutes, £60 per session
• Couples Counselling - 90 minutes, £100 per session
• Initial Assessment - 60 minutes, £80 per session
• Group Therapy - 120 minutes, £40 per person

Each appointment type stores its own duration, pricing, and communication templates - making scheduling fast and consistent.

Intelligent Reminder System

Never lose a client to a forgotten appointment again. Our flexible reminder system adapts to your needs.

Default Smart Reminders

Every appointment automatically sends reminders:

• 24 hours before - Gives clients time to reschedule if needed
• 1 hour before - Final reminder to reduce last-minute no-shows

Per-Session Customization

Need different timing for a specific session? No problem:

• Add extra reminders (e.g., 1 week before for new clients)
• Remove unnecessary reminders
• Set custom intervals measured in hours
• Override default templates with personalized messages

Communication Templates That Work

Create professional, personalized messages without typing the same thing over and over.

Smart Placeholders

Your templates automatically populate with client-specific information:

Hi %client_name%,

This is a reminder that you have a %appointment_type%
session scheduled for the %session_date% at %session_time%.

If you need to reschedule, please let me know as soon
as possible.

Looking forward to seeing you,
John

Every email and SMS is personalized automatically - no manual editing required. Which would result in:

Hi Jack,

This is a reminder that you have an individual counselling
session scheduled for the 8th october at 1pm.

If you need to reschedule, please let me know as soon
as possible.

Looking forward to seeing you,
John

Multiple Templates Per Practice

Create different templates for different appointment types:

• Initial assessments - Include preparation instructions
• Regular sessions - Keep it brief and friendly
• Final sessions - Add follow-up information
• Cancellations - Professional and understanding

Real Results from Real Practitioners

Seamless Calendar Integration

Your appointments sync automatically with Google Calendar, with built-in conflict detection to prevent double-booking.

Privacy Protection

Worried about client confidentiality? Enable privacy mode:

• Appointments export as “Counselling Buddy Event” to your calendar
• No client names or sensitive details visible
• Full details remain secure in the platform

Conflict Checker

Before creating an appointment, Counselling Buddy automatically:

1. Checks your Google Calendar for conflicts
2. Prompts you if a clash is detected
3. Suggests alternative times
4. Only proceeds when you confirm

Coming Soon: Enhanced Billing

Pricing per appointment type is already built in - when we launch our billing features, you’ll be able to:

• Automatically invoice clients before (or after) sessions
• Send payment reminders
• Track outstanding payments
• Accept online payments
• Automatically bill clients for sessions

Your pricing is already configured - billing integration will be seamless.

Getting Started

Setting up your appointment system takes minutes:

1. Create appointment types - Add the session types you offer
2. Configure pricing - Set rates for each type
3. Customize templates - Write your reminder messages once
4. Connect Google Calendar - Enable conflict checking
5. Start booking - Everything else happens automatically