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Prospective Clients
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If you are interested in working with us towards improved mental health and life functioning please register via email at: [email protected]
Frequently asked questions to help you decide if therapy is right for you/your child.
What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, also referred to as CBT, is an evidence-based psychological treatment proven to be effective through rigorous scientific research. This means that CBT treatment is not based on what people think might work, but what has been shown to work. CBT involves learning how to change your thoughts (also called cognitions) and your actions (or behaviours), in order to change unwanted or excessive negative emotions. Furthermore, this treatment involves dealing with the symptoms that you are struggling with right now, rather than focusing on the cause of your problem. The goal in child CBT is to get you/your child back to a more typical level of functioning as soon as possible through application of practical and concrete skills.
How does your intake process work?
A first session is scheduled for either 2x one-hour meetings or a 90-minute single meeting. We will send you via email a variety of intake forms to complete including an informed consent to sign and ask that you bring these with you to the first meeting. During this meeting we will gather details from you about the reason for your seeking treatment and will share a hypothesis of what we think is going on including a diagnosis if we believe this is applicable. At the end of the intake we will jointly decide whether CBT is the best fit for you/your child.
How many sessions and how often do you recommend we meet?
When we meet face to face, please ask for our specific recommendation. For most families when meeting with the youth we suggest 2 x per month for 6-9 months. When meeting with parents alone, we typically recommend 1x every 3-4 weeks for 6-12 months.
What should you expect from me?
We will do our utmost to be up to date with the latest research to ensure the principles and skills taught in therapy are maximally effective for you/your child, and to be respectful of your cultural and family values to ensure these principles and skills are relevant and applicable to your lives/family. We work from an equity lens and try our best to support anti-opression values but also recognize we will make mistakes and will continue on a learning journey indefiniately. As well, we will be open and honest about our assessment of you/your child’s situation and what we will cover in treatment, and will be open to your thoughts and joint input. We are available to you at no charge for brief phone/email correspondence between sessions lasting < 15mins at a time. We do not use AI/Chat-GPT in any of our work.
What should I expect from you?
Please come to sessions, on time and ready to work. Sessions last 50 minutes with activities assigned to do between sessions to maximize learning. Please ensure you/your child complete these activities in time for the next session, and if there are materials required at each session, that you bring these (eg monitoring sheets).
Do you take insurance and how is payment made?
We are not affiliated with any insurance panels however, as a registered psychologist you can submit receipts from our sessions and seek reimbursement with your insurance provider. For student trainess, insurance does not typically cover those sessions which is why we can offer a lowered student rate. Payment can be made at each session in the form of cash, CQ, or electronic transfer via email. We are unable to accept debit or credit card payments at this time. Fees are set in accordance with the College of Psychologists recommendations and are currently $240/hr for an RPsych and on a sliding scale from $50-$100 for strudent trainees.