Frequently Asked Questions

You do not need a referral. Just contact me!

An individual session is 55-minutes in duration. You decide what you want to focus on and explore during each session. Therapy is tough work. You may find yourself facing what may not be working in your life and examining the forces shaping your thoughts and actions. A therapist won't advise you or impose insights on you, but with curiosity and compassion, will use creative questioning to give you the opportunity for self-discovery.

It is important to me that you are confident that I am a good fit for you. Contact me to schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your hopes for therapy. Afterwards, we can determine next steps.

Confidentiality is considered a cornerstone of the profession of psychotherapy. You come to me with sensitive, personal information, and keeping that absolutely private is essential to build trust in our therapeutic relationship. I can only disclose your personal health information with your consent. However, in law, there are a limited number of circumstances where disclosure of personal health information is required, even without consent. We will discuss these limits to confidentiality before we begin working together.

My practice is virtual. I offer services online through a secure platform called OWL Practice (compliant with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004). All you will require is a private space, a computer with a camera and microphone, and a stable internet connection.

55-minute individual psychotherapy sessions are $225. The Canadian Revenue Agency allows fees paid to Registered Psychotherapists to be deducted on your personal income tax return. Click here to take you to the Canada Revenue Agency website for full details.

The services of a Registered Psychotherapist are covered in part by many insurance plans. To confirm, contact your provider with these specific questions: Does my plan include mental health benefits? What professional designation must my service provider have? Can she be a Registered Psychotherapist? Is there a maximum dollar amount covered per session? What percentage of each session am I covered for? What is the annual maximum covered?

The terms "counselling" and "psychotherapy" are often used interchangeably, but in law, they are not the same. In Ontario, counselling is not a legislated act (there is no restriction on or educational requirements for who can perform it.) In counselling, the focus is on providing information, giving advice, encouragement or instruction. For example, a counsellor may work with you to foster life skills, teach you techniques for coping with immediate causes of stress or anxiety, or offer crisis intervention. Psychotherapy however, is a legislated act that only qualified individuals may perform. This is similar to other health procedures that may have serious consequences like injecting a substance, diagnosing a condition, or prescribing medication. All psychotherapists registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario who use the title Registered Psychotherapist, a well as Clinical Psychologists, are specially trained and authorized to provide psychotherapy. Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Nurses are also legislated to be able to provide psychotherapy if they have appropriate training in psychotherapy and comply with certain conditions. The defininitions of appropriate training and specific conditions is specific to each of those three professions. Not every social worker, occupational therapist or registered nurse has specific psychotherapy training. Psychotherapy is an active process to increase an individual's sense of their own well-being, improve psychological functioning and promote adjustment to life. Psychotherapy occurs when a psychotherapist and client enter into a psychotherapeutic relationship where both work together to bring about positive change in the client’s thinking, feeling, behaviour and social functioning. Psychotherapy requires more training than counselling does.