User guide

When you sign in for the first time and haven't yet had a session, you land on the WWAIT home page. There are two ways in: “Start your first session” takes you straight into a session, and “Book a time” takes you to the “My process” page to agree a time.

Before the first session, WWAIT asks four short things: what you'd like to be called, your age, your gender and your country. They're asked once. This is not a health questionnaire.

You don't need to know in advance what to talk about. Start with whatever is on your mind right now. Find a quiet place and set aside the full session. If you use speech, headphones help.

Once you've started your first session, signing in takes you to the “My process” page from then on — that's the home of your process.

A Regular session is an agreed 50-minute meeting. The waiting room opens 5 minutes before the agreed time: there you can check your text and speech settings and try the voice. When you're ready, press “Enter the session”.

The session ends at the agreed time even if you start late. That keeps the session's time frame intact.

The first session can be started immediately, with no booking. Every later Regular session is agreed in advance, so the process gains a rhythm.

If a session is still in progress, the “Session” button in the top bar takes you back into it.

An Acute session is a 30-minute session for when something particularly significant happens in your life and working on it right then may matter for the process. It sits alongside the Regular process and does not turn WWAIT into a conversation service that is open all the time.

Acute starts first of all from what brought you to the session right now. Things that have come up in earlier sessions are drawn on when they help make sense of the current situation. In Regular sessions, in turn, the longer-term process is built, and earlier conversations and themes are connected with the work in the present.

You start an Acute session straight from the “My process” page; no booking needed. You have four Acute sessions a month, and the number left is shown on the “My process” page.

Acute doesn't replace your next Regular session and doesn't move the agreed time. An Acute session runs 30 minutes, and it can't be given extra time.

Speech works best with two things in place: a stable, uninterrupted internet connection and good hands-free audio — ideally a headset with a microphone. They cut echo and background noise, so your speech and the “Continue” command are recognised reliably and WWAIT's voice comes through without breaks. On a phone speaker with a weak connection, speech can break up or go unrecognised.

You choose separately whether you speak or write, and whether you listen to WWAIT's replies or read them. You can switch mid-session.

The turn is yours until you hand it over. Start speaking with the “Start speaking” button — or simply begin speaking if automatic start is on. When you're ready to hand the turn over, finish your thought first, hold a brief natural pause — take a breath, for instance — and then say, as a separate phrase: “Continue.” You can also press the button with the same word. A short pause before the command helps WWAIT tell the word apart from your speech, and said in a clear, firm voice it works more reliably than when spoken quietly.

There's no need to hurry. A pause, thinking time or ordinary silence never hands the turn to WWAIT. The turn moves only when you say the command or press the button.

When you hand the turn to WWAIT you'll hear a very short, soft two-note cue (rising). When WWAIT has finished speaking and the turn comes back to you, you'll hear a similar falling cue. The sound is just a quiet acknowledgement that the turn has changed — you can safely ignore it.

While WWAIT is speaking, you can interrupt it simply by starting to speak. You can also press “Stop speaking”. The buttons are always available as an alternative to voice commands.

If you write, Enter sends your message and hands over the turn; Shift+Enter adds a line break.

You can choose WWAIT's voice and adjust its speed, warmth and expressiveness under “WWAIT's voice”. These settings only change how WWAIT sounds.

The top bar always shows the time remaining. From there you can also open the “My process” page.

A Regular session runs 50 minutes of clock time. The time starts when the session starts, and it doesn't pause if you switch tabs, lock your phone or close the browser.

Leaving the view or closing the window doesn't end the session. When you come back, you continue the same session where you left off — as long as time remains.

If you need a little longer, you can ask for it in your own words during the session. WWAIT can grant a Regular session up to 10 extra minutes.

In an Acute session the time runs the same way throughout, but extra time isn't possible.

You can also ask WWAIT to forget a single thing. WWAIT briefly checks what you mean and then removes it permanently. You don't have to give a reason.

WWAIT doesn't start winding down too early. Around five or six minutes before the end it may mention lightly that time is running short. The actual ending begins only about two minutes before the end.

The ending is calm and personal: WWAIT picks up on what was just being discussed and closes the conversation warmly.

The next Regular time is always agreed at the ending. If no time is agreed then, WWAIT books the next one and emails it to you; you can move or cancel it later on the “My process” page. After an Acute session, no next Regular time is agreed this way.

Technically, the session ends only when you press “End session”. You're welcome to keep talking after the ending, but WWAIT no longer takes up old or new themes.

The “My process” page is the home of your process. You can reach it from the top bar both during a session and between sessions.

There you see your next agreed session and can book, move or cancel the time, start an Acute session, check your weekly rhythm, and read the memory your process has built: goals, recurring themes and patterns, earlier insights, agreed between-session tasks, and what stayed with you last time. That is not an agenda for the next session: every session starts from whatever is on your mind then.

The same page holds “My data”, where you can request a copy of your data or delete the whole stored process.

The process continues from session to session: WWAIT doesn't begin each session from scratch but uses the understanding retained from earlier sessions. The time between sessions is part of the process too.

Your process page is protected by a separate four-digit PIN. You choose the code yourself on your first visit, and after that it is asked for every time you open the page.

The PIN is not a login and grants nothing new. It is a privacy lock: if someone else gets hold of your device, the content of your process is neither drawn on screen nor fetched until the code has been entered.

If you enter the wrong code several times in a row, the next attempt has to wait a moment, and the wait grows. Your account is never locked permanently.

If you forget the code, the old one is not handed back. Choose “Forgot your PIN?”, sign in as usual and set a new one. Your process, its memory and its history are left untouched.

When you leave the “My process” page or sign out, the page locks again.

Book on the “My process” page: pick a week and a free time, then confirm. How many Regular sessions you have per week depends on your plan or your pilot access.

A week's Regular sessions are available only during that week: a time left unbooked or unused does not carry into the next week. Acute sessions are counted separately.

The next Regular time is always agreed at the end of the session. If no time is agreed then, WWAIT books it and emails it to you.

An agreed time can be moved freely to any time your weekly rhythm allows — there is no limit on how many times, and a move never adds a session.

You can cancel or move the time any time before the session starts, and that week's session stays available to you. If you don't turn up and haven't cancelled, the session counts as used.

Your upcoming session is shown on the “My process” page and in the top bar.

WWAIT runs in your browser and needs a stable internet connection. On a poor or unstable connection speech may lag, cut out or not come through at all — switch to text or improve the connection if so.

The first time you use speech, your browser asks for microphone permission. Without it speech won't work, but you can always continue by writing.

If WWAIT doesn't hear you: check that the browser has microphone permission, that the microphone isn't muted, and that the right microphone or headset is selected. You can also reload the page — you'll continue in the same session.

If the command “Continue” isn't recognised, hold a brief pause and say it more clearly and firmly — or press the button. The button always works. If the turn doesn't hand over on the first try, say “Continue” again — two consecutive commands usually work reliably.

On a slow or unstable connection a reply may take a moment. Replies always appear as text as well, and you can switch between speech and text mid-session.

On a phone, keep the WWAIT tab open and the screen on during the session. The time runs by the clock either way.

WWAIT is not a healthcare service and does not replace treatment. It doesn't diagnose and doesn't give treatment instructions. In an emergency, call the emergency number or contact local crisis support.

There's more on the Safety page.