When you have a free consultation with a client who is referred to you through Headway, you'll call a Headway-provided phone number to connect directly. Below, you'll find how the consultation phone line works, what to expect during your consultation, and how to share the status.
The consultation phone line does not record or listen to your calls. It only logs whether the call connected and how long it lasted — the same type of information your phone carrier records. Your conversation is completely private.
What's changing and why
The consultation phone line tells us if a free consultation occurred so we can better support you and your clients with next steps. Here's how it works:
- You call the consultation phone line displayed on the appointment pop-up on your calendar. This line routes directly to your client’s phone number.
- Headway receives a notice that the call was connected (no audio recording, no content).
- S If the call doesn't connect for any reason (e.g. client didn’t pick up), you'll be prompted to share the consultation status in “Tasks” within the Provider Portal.
This change applies to free consultations with clients referred to you through Headway only.
What's not changing
Consultations you schedule yourself
If you schedule a consult yourself, it will not go through the consultation phone line. Instead, call the client directly.
The client experience
When you call using the consultation phone line, your client will still see your phone number — so the client experience will remain the same as it was before the consultation phone line was introduced.
Before your consultation
Verify your phone number
The consultation phone line connects your call by matching the number you dial from to the one in your Headway profile. If these don't match, the call won't go through.
Before your first phone line consultation, confirm the number in your provider profile is the one you'll be calling from — including if you use Google Voice or another service.
Find the phone line number
The consultation phone line number appears in the appointment pop-up on your calendar and appointment reminders.
The consultation phone line number replaces the client's direct number on the appointment pop-up on your calendar. The client’s number will always be present on the client detail page and in the client list row.
Contacting your client before the consultation
The consultation phone line is only active during the appointment window. If you need to reach your client beforehand, use the messaging feature in your Headway portal.
In emergency or time-sensitive situations, please use the client’s direct number from your Clients list.
During your consultation
When the consultation phone line is active
The consultation phone line number becomes active one minute before the scheduled consult start time and stays active through the appointment end time.
If your call is still in progress when the window closes, the call will continue — it will not be cut off. Once you hang up, you won't be able to redial the phone line number if the appointment time has ended.
If something goes wrong
You'll always have a way to reach your client, even if the consultation phone line isn't working as expected.
- Report an issue: Prior to your appointment start time, you can select Report an issue by clicking the “Learn more” link on the appointment pop-up on your calendar to connect with Headway support. You can access the client's direct phone number on the client detail page and the client list.
- System outage: If the phone line is unavailable, the client's direct number will appear in your portal automatically.
Reaching your client after the consult
Once the consult window ends, you can refer to the client's direct phone number on the client page and client list or use the Headway messaging feature.
Sharing the consultation status
If the consultation phone line records a completed call, no action is needed from you — the status will be automatically shared.
If the consultation phone line doesn't detect a completed connection (for example, you held the consultation through another method or the client didn't pick up), you'll be asked to share the status manually. Here's how that works:
Step 1: In-product prompt
After the appointment time ends, a task will appear on your Sigmund homepage and in the appointment pop-up on your calendar. You'll be asked whether the free consultation occurred.
Step 2: Text message (24 hours later)
If you haven't shared the free consultation status, you'll receive a text reminder. We ask that you share the status within three days of the consultation.
After that, the window closes and the consult status is recorded as unknown. Once the window closes or the status has been updated, the status can't be edited. Not sharing the status of your free consults may affect your ability to receive referrals in the future.
When sharing the status is not needed
You won't be prompted if:
- The consultation phone line recorded a completed call where both you and the client connected
- The appointment was rescheduled before, during, or after the appointment time
Holding consultations without the phone line
You're not required to use the consultation phone line. If you hold the consultation through another method — such as calling the client directly or meeting by video — the manual option described above will prompt you to share the status. Using the consultation phone line will mark the free consultation as complete automatically.
Group practices
Right now, the consultation phone line is available for solo providers only. Support for group practices using a PIN-based method is planned for the future.
If you run into issues with the consultation phone line or have questions about recording the status of a free consultation, contact us.