I have used it twice; it's a great benefit we had. It's easy, and absolutely free. You don't have to have insurance through Sbux. It's through a company called Magellan, they give you a referral # and they have options of counselors who accept it. I had many options within a 15 mile radius.

The first time: My anxiety and panic attacks got triggered /doubled in frequency when my neighbor accidently shot a shotgun through my front window a foot from my face. I started not being able to control my anxiety and was having a real hard time dealing with my DM and my work-life balance. I called it in, got referred to a counselor down the street from my house. I was in for my first appt within 2 days. Did the 6 free sessions, and felt much better afterwards.

Second/third time: My marriage was good, but I could start to feel little things build up and was scared they would turn into big things. My husband was also a partner at the time; he called it in, we did 3 sessions joint as marriage counseling and he did 3 sessions alone. When that was done, we did the same under my partner info. We were able to request the same counselor as I used the first time.

This program has really helped me through some rough times, and I highly recommend taking advantage of it!