FAQ > Counselling
• How long will each session be?
• How long does counselling take?
• How often can I come for sessions?
• What will my insurance cover?
• What happens if I miss an appointment?
• What do you, as a psychologist, do in the counselling process?
• What kind of training do you have?
• What am I going to get out of counselling?
• Will the process be painful?
• Who has access to my records?
• Will you share anything with my employer/family?
How long will each session be?
Each session is 50 minutes in length. Additional ten minutes are allocated for note taking and other administrative tasks at the end of the session. Shorter or longer sessions are available upon request.
How long does counselling take?
Personal growth and change often occur gradually through an increased self-awareness and understanding of problems and through learning new, more productive attitudes or behaviours and improving interactions with others. The length of the counselling process varies from one person to another. We may meet for only one session or continue for many sessions spread out over weeks, months, or years. How long you attend counselling sessions depends on many factors, including the nature and complexity of your problems, goals for counselling, time constraints, etc. I offer both short-term counselling (1–12 sessions) and long-term counselling (12+ sessions).
How often can I come for sessions?
Generally, sessions are scheduled for once a week. However, this frequency can be adjusted to accommodate your goals, needs, or preferences.
Based on the fee schedule recommended by the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta, individual counselling is $220/session and couples counselling is $240/session. Consultations/corporate services are billed at $900/half day and $1,800/full day. Group therapy sessions are $60/session (2-hour session) and payable in full at the time of registration. At the end of each session, a receipt is issued. You will need this receipt in order to be reimbursed by your insurance company or employee benefits plan.
Private psychological services are not covered by Alberta Health but may be covered in part or in full by your employee benefits plan or your insurance company. A receipt for psychological services will be issued at the end of each session.
What happens if I miss an appointment?
Appointments must be cancelled or rescheduled at least 24 hours in advance. Hourly costs will apply otherwise.
Counselling is a process that can help you better understand yourself and other people and can help you make changes in your life by increasing your awareness of how you feel, think, behave, and relate to other people.
What do you, as a psychologist, do in the counselling process?
My role is to provide guidance, support, and feedback to assist you in managing or resolving problems and making desirable changes in your life. My counselling style reflects my values; I integrate current counselling research with practice, have respect for diversity, and am flexible when choosing counselling intervention techniques in order to meet each client’s unique needs. My approach to psychological treatment is based on the belief that clients are able to work at their own pace. I facilitate their learning through maintaining a sense of direction for each session and provide a theoretical framework to fit each individual. Some of the guiding principles of my work are acceptance and respect without judgment, empathy, expertise, objectivity, and confidentiality.
What kind of training do you have?
I am a licensed psychologist and adhere to a code of professional ethics for psychologists. I am registered with and regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and the Canadian Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (CRHSPP). I am trained to assess and treat emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and relationship problems. I completed my Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary, my master’s degree at the University of Western Ontario, and my Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto and have been in private practice for 10 years. My practice is designed to promote emotional and physical health in individuals, families, groups, and organizations through interventions that are based on ongoing scientific and professional training.
What am I going to get out of counselling?
Counselling can help you recognize your strengths and use them to change attitudes, behaviours, and interpersonal patterns that are no longer working for you. The counselling process will assist you in translating difficult or complex issues into clear goals for change. Some outcomes of the counselling process include enhanced relationships with others, improved decision-making skills, improved physical and emotional health, a reduction of negative feelings, and an increase of positive feelings.
Confronting problems, recognizing feelings, exploring thought patterns, changing old behavioural patterns, and practicing new ways of relating to people can be rewarding but also uncomfortable and challenging at times. I encourage you to share any questions or concerns you might have about the process with me. My role is to help you feel safe and comfortable by providing relevant information about the psychological treatment process and by creating a warm, respectful, and accepting counselling atmosphere.
Nobody has access to your records unless you provide written permission for the information to be released or unless your file is subpoenaed (such instances are rare). Psychologists must retain records of their communication with clients for 10 years after the last instance of communicating with the client and for at least 10 years after a minor client reaches the age of majority. After the 10-year period, files are securely discarded
Will you share anything with my employer/family?
Counselling sessions are confidential, which means that information about you cannot be shared with anyone except when, by law, I am required to report information to the proper authorities or individuals if: (a) you disclose that you seriously intend to harm yourself or someone else, (b) you report or describe physical or sexual abuse or neglect of children, dependent elders, or vulnerable adults, or (c) your file is subpoenaed by a court of law.
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