Question 1

Do you offer other outlets for therapy such as telephone and online?

Accepted Answer

Given the ubiquity of the cell phone and the personal computer, one would assume that counselling through telephone and video conferencing would be an easy and effective way to receive treatment. While I do offer online counselling, it is my experience that it is a less intimate and effective medium of communication than talking face to face. If you live locally, please consider taking the time to come in and see me in person.

However, if you are unable to attend sessions in person, please consider that the idea of online therapy isn’t just convenience, it is to bring the same conditions that exist in the therapist’s office (peace, security, and confidentiality) into your space at home. For direction on this, please read my policy on Setting Up For Online Therapy to ensure yourself an optimal experience.

Setting Up For Online Therapy:

• Please ensure you have privacy in a secure and quiet space before our therapy commences. In other words, please ensure your space is free of people, animals, and other possible distractions, such as loud music or television. 
 • Please ensure your equipment is working and your internet connection is strong. It is especially important that your microphone is working well. Technical interruptions such as lag time, poor connectivity, hardware issues involving microphone and camera interrupt communication and moments of emotional vulnerability and degrade the therapeutic experience.
 • Please ensure that your body, from the knees up, (and your partner’s body) is included in the video frame. I need to see both of you at the same time to know how you interact with each other.

I have written these guidelines based on past experiences with online clients, in an attempt to help you set up conditions for an optimal online experience. Thank you for considering them!

Question 2

How do you manage confidentiality in your practice?

Accepted Answer

I subscribe to the Hippocratic Oath: “Whatsoever things I see or hear concerning the life of men, in my attendance on the sick or even apart therefrom, which ought not to be noised abroad, I will keep silence thereon, counting such things to be as sacred secrets.”  -Hippocrates

The Parameters of Confidentiality | Informed Consent: Informed consent is the moral foundation upon which the therapeutic relationship is built. When you attend a therapy session, you can be certain that your private information will NOT be shared under any circumstances, except under the following conditions:

1. When disclosure is required to prevent clear and imminent danger to the client or others.
2. When levels of jurisprudence demand that confidential material be revealed.
3. When a child or persons with diminished capacity is in need of protection and disclosure is mandated by municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal law.

Taking Hand-Written Notes: In addition to using HIPPA and PHIPA compliant AI software, you will observe that I take hand-written notes. These notes never contain your full name, or any distinctive information that could identify you. These notes, which are barely legible to most, are scribblings of thoughts and observations that I consider to be useful to the therapy. They are written down to prevent useful thoughts from escaping my memory and are rendered to ash on a bi-monthly basis with the help of a wood furnace.

Question 3

Will my sessions be covered by insurance?

Accepted Answer

As a registered counsellor in good standing with the BCACC and the CCPA, my services are covered by many insurance plans. However, it is best advised that you check with your provider to see if you are (a.) covered for services by an RCC or CCC, and (b.) how much counselling you are covered for. For those clients with SSQ Financial and Green Shield Canada, I do direct billing through Provider Connect. 
My registration numbers are the following:
Registration # (CCC): 11242347
Registration # (RCC): 20873

Question 4

When and how should I pay?

Accepted Answer

I accept the following payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Interac, Cash and Cheques. Payment must occur before each session. Payment should be done before sessions and can be done through the booking app (Stripe) or paid by cash or cheque.

Question 5

Do you work with people under the age of 19?

Accepted Answer

No. I work only with adults.

Question 6

What do we do if we meet in public?

Accepted Answer

There may be times that we run into each other in public. For some clients, this is an anxiety-inducing experience where they feel torn between the social custom of greeting a familiar face, and the act of identifying their psychotherapist in the presence of family and/or friends. 
As a general rule, if I see you in public, I will not identify you or approach you. I will not make eye contact and wave you down in the dairy aisle, or cock my eyebrow at you in the liquor store. This is out of respect for your confidentiality and boundaries, and not because I don’t want to say “hello”.