Your first HEAL meeting: what actually happens
No camera, no real name, no pressure to talk. Here is exactly what to expect when you open the door to your first live room — and how to leave whenever you want.
Walking into a first meeting is hard, even when the room is online. You don’t know the people, you don’t know the rules, and you’re not sure whether you’ll be expected to say anything. This guide walks through a HEAL meeting from start to finish so nothing surprises you.
Before the meeting
Every meeting on HEAL has a human host — a trained volunteer who opens the room, keeps it safe and closes it. Meetings are listed with their type (12-step, family & allies, open share, newcomers and more), the time in your time zone, and how long they run.
If you tap RSVP, we’ll send you a gentle reminder about an hour before. The reminder never says what kind of meeting it is on your lock screen — just that “a meeting you saved” is coming up.
Doors open 15 minutes early
About fifteen minutes before start time the room opens. You can come in, settle, and see the other people waiting — by their chosen name and a simple emoji avatar, never a photo. Everyone, including you, joins muted.
The meeting doesn’t start until the host arrives. That’s on purpose: a HEAL room is never “live” without a person responsible for it.
During the meeting
- You don’t have to speak. Listening is participating. Many people come for weeks before they share.
- Raise your hand if you’d like to share. The host calls on people in order.
- Unmute when it’s your turn, then mute again when you’re done.
- Nothing is recorded. There is no recording feature, and attendee lists are never public.
Hosts can mute someone, lower a hand, or remove a person who breaks the community rules. If something in a meeting makes you uncomfortable, use Report — a moderator will review it.
Leaving
You can leave at any moment with one tap. No one is notified and no one will ask why. At the end of each meeting we show a short list of human-support options and an optional two-question check-in (“Did you feel safe?”, “Would you come back?”) that helps us run better rooms.
What HEAL meetings are not
HEAL meetings are peer support. They aren’t therapy, medical care or an emergency service, and hosts aren’t monitoring you outside the room. If you’re in danger or thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 (US) or call 911.
Last updated October 28, 2026. Stories reflect personal experience and are not medical advice.
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