I direct bill most Blue Cross plans, and am registered as a provider with Green Shield. Most of my clients with other plans have had no issue getting reimbursed, but please check withyour insurance provider. After each appointment I will provide you with a  copy of your paid invoice with my license information. This can be used to make a claim with your insurance company.

Individual sessions are 50-60 minutes. Couple’s sessions are 60-90 minutes.

The decision to see a counsellor/therapist can sometimes feel daunting. The idea of meeting someone you don’t know and sharing parts of yourself that maybe you’re not even sure how to explain can often prevent us from taking the step to reach out. Some questions to ask yourself that can help guide your decision to see a counsellor/therapist might be:

• Does it feel like the solutions I’ve used to move toward change are no longer useful or working? Do I/we feel stuck?
• Does it feel like there are ways I am overwhelmed and confused and unable to sort through everything?
• Am I ready to enter into a process that might be hard work in order to take steps toward healing or change?
• Is my relationship with my partner/spouse becoming too hard for the both of us to figure out on our own? Does negativity seem to be taking over?

If some of these questions feel like a “maybe,” a “yes”, or a “yes definitely,” then counselling may be a good place to start. The good news is, counselling is always your choice. If you’re not sure, setting up a first appointment to meet me will give you the opportunity to see what it’s like and to ask any remaining questions you might have. Some people find the hardest part is making the first appointment and notice once we get started that it gets a little less intimidating.

The first session is a chance for us to get to know each other. This means I will guide us with some questions so I can get an idea of the things that are most concerning for you and if you have any particular goals. It is important to understand that this first session will simply guide the next one, and the next one will guide those that follow. Though we will get a good sense of things, counselling is an unfolding process. We’ll get to know each other over time. The first session gives us a place to start, and allows me to understand what is most important for you to talk about and what goals you may have (if that’s clear at the time).

A lot of counselling is about making sense of your experience by putting words to that experience. It’s also a conversation, so talking will certainly be a part of it. I’m also interested in understanding the way we learn through our bodies and emotions as well as our minds (the talking/thinking parts). When simply “talking about it” isn’t working,  we can explore other ways of  learning. This might include things like experiential learning such as art, poetry, writing and mindfulnes. My goal is to meet you where you are and if exclusive talk therapy is not working, I’m happy to explore other ways.

How many sessions you may want or need depends on your goals. Many clients find that 6-10 sessions is a good amount of time when they have a goal that they are working toward. Some find that a longer stretch is helpful as they navigate some long standing concerns or explore painful parts of their past. This is something we will check in about often and doesn’t have to be decided right away.

Whether or not counselling is actually helpful depends on many factors. Some factors include the people in the session (counsellor, client(s)) and the relationship between them. It’s also been found that people who enter therapy trusting that it will help are more likely to find that it does. Because counselling is based on a relationship, when something isn’t working, you can always tell me. Often this is what helps get things back on track.  Counselling is a collaborative process. As we each do our part it has the potential to lead to connection and growth.