As the world’s largest emotional support system offering compassion on a global scale, 7 Cups has both affordable therapy as well as free services that can be therapeutic.
7 Cups has been featured as the Best Online Therapy Platform for Free Services (2021) by a review by OnlineTherapy.com
This article aims to review some of the free resources available at 7 Cups, alongside their therapeutic benefits.
1) The Community
Community is at the heart of 7 Cups. You can find support and friendship in chat rooms and forums for many issues, like depression, anxiety, relationships, LGBTQ+ and more. Community check-ins help you share how you are doing whilst feeling supported and accepted in an environment where people understand what you are going through.
2) 1:1 Conversations
We all need to feel heard and understood and during a 1:1 conversation with a listener you can feel the therapeutic value of being validated in a caring and safe space on 7 Cups. Discussing what is on your mind with a trained volunteer active listener can make you feel supported and just knowing that you have someone there to help listen to you empathetically has great healing benefits.
3) Group Support
Guided discussions at 7 Cups can help you to release what is on your mind in a safe and caring moderated chat room with others just like you. We all want to feel like we are not alone and Group Support at 7 Cups is a thriving space to feel supported. Therapeutically, when we feel we can relate to the vulnerabilities shared by another person we are more likely to feel comfortable sharing our own struggles which in turn helps us to feel better.
4) Emotional Wellness Test
The 7 Cups online emotional wellness test uses the clinical PHQ-9 and GAD-7 exams given by mental health researchers and professionals to gauge your emotional wellness and give you feedback on any depression, anxiety and stress levels you may be having. You can take this every two weeks and it is very useful in knowing how much a certain issue is causing you problems in your own daily functioning levels and also you can monitor your own progress on your journey of feeling better.
5) Sharing Circles
Often it is therapeutic to be part of a group that really understands how you think, feel and behave and that is why we developed Sharing Circles at 7 Cups. These are based on the tradition of Alcohol Anonymous and other research-backed, effective group support principles. 7 Cups has launched and conducted Sharing Circle Sessions since March 2020. These sessions provide an uninterrupted space where you can share your thoughts, emotions, and experiences comfortably, all without feeling judged. It is a group chat-based setting where all members, listeners, and hosts are compassionate and willing to listen to you.
6) Questions and Answers
Often in life, we have questions that we search for the answers and often those questions are unheard and unanswered but not at 7 Cups! We have a section where you can ask your questions and receive helpful answers which might help you move forward in your own life with whatever struggle you might be facing. They also help you feel less alone because reading through the other questions helps you to relate and connect to others.
7) Self-Help Guides
We have a variety of self-help guides that can really help you to learn techniques, coping skills, and ways in which to enhance your life and better cope with the challenges that you face. You might be struggling with your sleep routine and by reading a few chapters of the Self-Help Guides you can feel better each day. Often, we struggle to find meaning and know what to do when we are faced with a particular concern and the Self-Help Guides can walk you through your issues.
8) Personalized Growth Paths
We have 35 research-backed protocols which are essentially treatment plans at 7 Cups that help you to feel better by guiding you therapeutically through learning how to sleep better, mindfulness, coping with depression and anxiety, and many more. You will take small steps each day to achieve your goals, usually, these step-by-step approaches work best to reach your goals and feel better.
9) Expert Contributor Section
At 7 Cups, we have an Expert Contributor section where you can find self-help articles on feeling better and learning coping skills to navigate through the ups and downs of life. You can search for topics that you might want to learn more about and receive psychoeducation. It often helps to read about clinical issues that are bothering us to be able to make progress towards our own healing and personal growth.
For more support, join our empathetic community, chat with a free, trained listener, or start affordable online therapy today.