FAQs
Can I use my extended health care plan?
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Many clients have been able to successfully claim, but I encourage you to confirm with your plan details or provider to see if Registered Psychotherapists are covered. You may need to ask your employer to add "Registered Psychotherapists" to their list of approved paramedical providers for psychological services.
I may also be able to directly bill your insurance company on your behalf through TELUS eClaims. You may wish to check if your insurer has elected to participate in TELUS eClaims here.
What if I need to miss a session or don’t show up?
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Cancellations and no-shows certainly happen! If you know that you need to cancel, send me a message with more that 24 hours notice and there will be no cost incurred. A late cancellation, within 24 hours, or failing to attend a session without notice will incur a full session fee for my time.
Exceptions can be made for emergencies and special scenarios. I'm happy to discuss more if you have a special circumstance that requires last minute changes to a booking.
I am bound by law to keep your information and the details of our sessions secure and confidential. So no, I won't be calling up your significant other/employer/parental unit and tell them all about what you think about them. I may consult other professionals on my cases at times, but this would be without any identifying information.
I use a practice management tool called Owl Practice, which stores my records digitally, secured in a manner that matches legislative standards. All other communications (email, phone calls, etc.), although private, may be less secure, so discussions around personal health matters are encouraged to be kept to a minimum using these methods.
Legal reasons for breaking confidentiality are the following :
If there is evidence of harm, or risk of harm to a child;
If you present a risk of harm to yourself or to another person;
If a subpoena is issued by a court for my records;
If you reveal sexual abuse by a registered health professional.
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What about privacy?
How long until therapy starts working?
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For those looking for a quick fix: There is no magic number of sessions that I can guarantee will get you to your goals. How long it takes to meet your goals depends on a lot of things, including the complexity of your issue and your motivation to make changes. I would say that a good portion of the actual "therapy" happens outside sessions as you start putting things into action.
With that said, my approach is to not provide service when it is no longer needed, and I will regularly check-in on our progress together. I like to think that my job is to make it so you don't need me anymore.
I’m new to this! What should I expect?
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It's completely normal to feel nervous, I dare say that it's even expected. Here's a bit of a cheat sheet of how things tend to play out:
What I will do:
Help make an individually tailored treatment plan
Respect and keep an open-mind around what you bring up
Help you build on the tools you already have
Follow along with your pace
What won't happen:
Diagnosis or labeling (i.e., I won't put you in a box / my professional designation means I cannot legally provide any diagnoses)
Forcing change or exploration of topics when you aren't ready for it
Staying in therapy forever