Frequently Asked Questions

You are important to us! It is recommended that you call to inform us before coming down so as to ensure that a social worker/counsellor is available to attend to you. Appointment can be made through:

• Tel: 65442263
• Email: sbl@sblvisionfsc.org.sg
• Contact Us through the website

Our social workers/counsellors will contact you within 3 working days to schedule an appointment. However, if you require urgent assistance from our Family Service Centre (FSC), you may walk in to the centre during office hours.

A session usually takes around an hour. It may vary on a case-by-case basis.

The number of counselling sessions you require is determined in part by the nature of your concerns and the goals set by you and your social worker/counsellor. This may range from several weeks to months.

You will need to bring your NRIC/Passport/Visit Pass and/or children’s birth certificate/NRIC (if necessary). You may be required to bring additional documents for your appointment and your assigned social worker/counsellor will inform you accordingly.

Service fee is applicable to all cases, except mandatory counselling cases. The service fee is subjected to social worker’s/counsellor’s assessment and is based on the following guidelines:

Waiver of Fees is subjected to social worker’s/counsellor’s assessment. Please inform your social worker/counsellor if you require fee waiver.

Due to issues of confidentiality, you are encouraged to get verbal consent from the concerned individual for the FSC to contact them. In any case, please do call us to check and we will assess on a case-by-case basis.

You may call the following helplines after office hours:

• SOS hotline: 1800-221 4444, which is a 24-hour hotline manned by trained volunteers
• ComCare Hotline at: 1800-222 0000, which is a 24-hours service, manned by trained personnel, who will be able to provide information on supportive services.

Casework and counselling is a confidential process designed to help you address your concerns. All interactions with your assigned social worker/counsellor, including the content of the sessions, progress in counselling and records are kept confidential except for the following conditions:

• The staff in the FSC work as a team. The social worker/counsellor may consult other professionals to provide the best possible care. These consultations are for the professional and training purposes.
• If there is evidence of clear and imminent danger to yourself and/or others, the social worker/counsellor is legally required to report this information to the authorities responsible for ensuring your safety and the safety of others.
• Singapore’s law requires the staff of a FSC who learn of, or strongly suspect, physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child or elder to report the information to the appropriate authority.
• When there is a court order issued by a judge which requires disclosure of information contained in a record and/or requires the social worker/counsellor to testify in a court hearing.
• Our FSC works closely with the other government agencies and/or community partners. We might disclose some information pertaining to the session(s) with our partners so as to provide the best possible services to our clients.

Please be informed that one’s information will be stored in the database of the Social Service Network (SSNet) and/or any other government-related databases. The data management system complies with confidentiality policy as issued by the National Council of Social Service and the Government. This system aims to foster inter-agency service delivery and coordination, to serve you better. Please contact our staff should you have any concern on this arrangement.