đĽď¸ For clients using the Oasys portal on the web. Using the iPhone app? See Messaging your care team.
This article shows you where to find secure messaging, who you can message, how sending and read receipts work, what to do when messaging is read-only, and how message notifications work.
In this article
1. Opening your messages
Secure messaging is private messaging with your care team inside Oasys. It isn't text messaging: you may get an email or text telling you a message is waiting, but you always read and reply in the portal.
Click Messages in the menu (on a phone, Messages in the bottom bar). The page is titled Secure Messaging: "Securely message your care team." This is the same whether your provider works independently or is part of a practice.
You can also go to Settings â My Provider and click Message your therapist (the message icon on a phone) to go straight to your provider's conversation. If you have a care team, go to Settings â My Care Team and click Message next to a provider.
Messaging shows up only if your practice or provider has secure messaging turned on and the account you're using has messaging access. If you can't find it anywhere, ask your practice.
If you manage more than one account, messages belong to the account selected in Switch account. Each account has its own conversations.
â ď¸ Important: Messages aren't monitored around the clock. If you're in crisis or need urgent help, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.
2. Who you can message
Your conversations with your provider and, if your practice uses it, practice staff appear in one inbox, newest first.
Your current provider: you can start this conversation unless messaging is turned off. If you haven't messaged before, your provider still appears in the list so you can send the first message.
Your care team (if your practice gives you one): you can start a conversation with your usual contact. If a provider leaves your care team, their conversation stays in your list as read-only.
Practice staff (such as the front desk): staff start these conversations. Once they've messaged you, you can reply, but you can't start a new conversation with staff yourself.
A previous provider: you can't send new messages. See When messaging is read-only.
Use Search messages... to find a conversation by the person's name.
If nothing is open yet, you'll see "Select a conversation to read and reply."
If you have no conversations, you'll see No conversations yet: "Messages from your care team will appear here."
3. Sending a message
Type in Type a message... and click the send button.
Enter sends and Shift + Enter starts a new line.
Under your latest message you'll see SendingâŚ, Delivered or Read. Read means the other person has opened it.
If a message fails to send, it's marked Not delivered. It isn't saved if you refresh or leave, so check your connection and send it again.
Very long messages (over 3,000 characters) are shortened in the conversation with a Show more link.
Messages are text only. You can't attach photos or files, and you can't edit or delete a message after sending.
"Online" and "Last seen"
Under your provider's name you may see Online or Last seen with a date and time. This is based only on when they last sent you a message. Online means they sent one in the last 5 minutes. It doesn't tell you whether they're reading right now.
4. Guardians and minors
A minor's account has one shared conversation with each person on the care team.
Every login with messaging access on the minor's account (each guardian, and the minor if they have their own login) reads and writes the same conversation.
Messages sent from any of those logins appear as sent from the account. Your conversation doesn't show which login wrote them, but your provider may see Sent by guardian under a message written from a guardian's login. In conversations with practice staff, a reply from another login on the account may appear on the other side of the conversation.
When one login opens the conversation, it's marked read for everyone on the account.
Message notifications go to every login with messaging access on that account.
Your provider or practice sets which logins have messaging access. If a login can't see messaging, ask the practice.
đĄ Tip: If something should stay between one guardian and the provider, the shared conversation isn't private from the other logins on the account. Ask your provider about the best way to share it.
5. When messaging is read-only
Sometimes you can read a conversation but not send. The message box shows Messaging disabled (hover over it to see why):
"You're no longer connected with this provider. You can still read past messages."
"Your therapist has turned off messaging for this conversation. You can still read past messages."
A read-only conversation shows a Disabled label in the list.
When a provider connection ends, the conversation usually leaves your inbox.
If your provider works independently and has turned messaging off, Messages doesn't appear in your menu at all.
If you need a response and sending is blocked, call or email your practice.
6. What messaging isn't for
Use the right place for these instead.
Emergencies: call or text 988, call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. Don't wait for a portal reply.
Same-day answers: response times vary by practice.
Paying invoices: use Payments.
Sending files: use Upload on Documents.
Joining a video session: use Join Now on Appointments.
7. Message notifications
When your care team sends you a new message, Oasys can let you know by email, and by text if your practice uses text notifications and you've verified your phone.
The notification goes out about a minute after the message arrives, and only if you haven't read it yet.
You get one notification when a conversation goes from no unread messages to one, not one for every message in a burst.
The email and text don't include the message itself. Sign in to read it.
Unread counts show as an N new badge on Messages in the menu. On a phone, Messages in the bottom bar shows a number.
Changing message notifications
Go to Settings â Notifications.
Find Secure Messages under Therapist (or Care team, if you have a care team).
Tick or untick Email and SMS.
SMS stays greyed out with (verify phone) until you verify a phone number in the Text Messages section at the top of that page.
You'll only see the Secure Messages row if secure messaging is on for your practice.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I type a message?
Messaging may be turned off for that conversation, or you're no longer connected to that provider. You'll see Messaging disabled and can still read past messages. New messages need an active connection with messaging turned on.
Why can't I start a conversation with the front desk?
Practice staff start those conversations. You can reply once they've messaged you. To reach your provider, use their conversation or Message your therapist in Settings â My Provider.
My message says "Not delivered". Did it send?
No. It stays in the conversation until you refresh or leave the page. Check your internet connection and send it again.
Does "Read" mean my provider has replied or acted on it?
No. It only means they opened the conversation.
Can I send a photo or file?
No. Messaging is text only. Upload files on the Documents page instead.
I'm a guardian. Why don't I see my child's messages?
Switch to your child's account with Switch account. If you still don't see messaging, your login may not have messaging access on that account. Ask the practice.
Can my child see the messages I send their provider?
If your child has their own login with messaging access, yes. Everyone with messaging access on the child's account shares the same conversation.