They were part of my employer's EAP, so were free for limited sessions. I spoke to 3 different counsellors over one year. I was booked in to talk to 5 different ones at different stages. One counsellor was excellent and helped me through the Melbourne lockdowns. They also lived in Melbourne. But frankly, the rest of my experience was a mess and was even triggering. This year (2022) I have been shunted around from counsellor to counsellor, each time someone was sick and cancelled last minute. I had 3 cancellations in a row, within one hour of the appointment, last I dealt with them. When I asked to provide feedback I was told that my feedback and personal details (including employee login ID) would also go to my employer! I doubt this is true but just the mention sent my anxiety into a spiral. A requested someone who could help with a particular psychological condition I have and then when I spoke to the counsellor they said they did not cover this. And at a really bad time during lockdown, the NSW-based counsellor I had been lined up with was making jokes about working from home on a public holiday (I was at about day 250 of lockdown / isolation then). When I last tried to line up an appointment through Convergence, after the 3rd cancellation in a row, I was told that half of the the staff were off sick, which does not indicate that Convergence support their staff at all. Somewhat ironic considering they are an EAP for a couple of very large employers. I have never written a review of a counselling service before, and I do not care where my employer spends their money, but to anyone considering using Converge, even as an EAP, I urge you to consider one of the other online services now available. My experience with Converge was so bad it sent me into an anxiety spiral that took me 4 days to recover from, and a phone call to Beyond Blue (that thankfully was excellent). Even though I paid nothing for Converge I am still listing them as low value because a free service that triggers you into 4 days off work is not good value at all. Employers reading this too: do not put your staff through this.

Approximate cost: $1