The real questions, answered plainly.
No. shrinQ is a self-guided educational program. Therapy is a relationship with a licensed clinician who knows your history and adjusts to you over time. shrinQ is structured education you work through on your own. It's built on principles used in psychiatric practice, but it isn't treatment, and buying it doesn't create a doctor-patient relationship. It can sit alongside therapy. It doesn't replace it.
shrinQ is built for everyday overthinking, anxiety, and mental noise. If that's the shape of your experience and you want a real structure rather than scattered advice, it's likely a good fit. If your symptoms are severe, getting worse, or interfering with your work, sleep, or relationships, a self-guided program isn't the right starting point. Phase 1 includes a checkpoint that helps you tell the difference, and points you toward an evaluation if that's what's needed.
It depends, and anyone who promises otherwise is selling something. shrinQ teaches you to read what your mind is doing and respond to it differently. For many people that makes the loud stretches shorter, less frequent, and less frightening over time. Some notice a shift quickly. For others it takes longer. For some, a self-guided program isn't enough on its own, and the program is honest about that throughout. Individual results vary, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Then shrinQ will say so. The checkpoint in Phase 1, and notes throughout the program, help you recognize when everyday anxiety isn't the whole picture and when working with a clinician is the right move. Needing more than a program isn't a shortfall on your part. It's information, and it's common.
There's no schedule. shrinQ has four phases. Plan for roughly a week or two in each, with Phase 1 usually taking longest because it's the foundation. You can move faster or slower. Because access is for life, you can work at the pace your life allows and return to any module whenever you want.
The full program: four phases, eleven modules, the Module 0 self-assessment, and the checkpoint. Each module has a teaching section, one or two interactive exercises you do on the page, a takeaway line, and a progress marker. The shrinkMD Reset, the core framework, is one tap away throughout. You get lifetime access and free updates. A premium tier with audio companions is planned for later and isn't part of this purchase.
There's a 14-day money-back guarantee. If within 14 days of buying shrinQ you decide it isn't right for you, write to [email protected] and you'll get a full refund, with no explanation needed. The refund policy is also shown plainly at checkout, along with a reminder that shrinQ is educational and that results vary.
Your email and account are used to run the program and, if you opt in, to send the follow-up series. We don't sell your information. The full detail is in the privacy policy, linked in the footer of every page.
Dr. Shariq Refai is a board-certified psychiatrist with dual board certification in psychiatry and in sports and performance psychiatry, more than fifteen years in practice, the founder of shrinkMD, and the author of the three books shrinQ is built from. There's more on the About page.
No. shrinQ is an educational program, not a medical service, so it isn't billed to or covered by insurance. It's a one-time purchase. If you're looking for care that insurance may cover, that's a conversation for a clinician or your insurer.
Still deciding? Start with the free self-check. It costs nothing and it's useful on its own. Ready for the full system? See the shrinQ Program.