Can difficult feelings come up in therapy?
Do I have to talk about my feelings?
How do I know if therapy is working?
Will therapy always work?
Is information about me kept confidential?
What are your fees?
Are you covered by OHIP or my health insurance?
What happens in the first meeting?
Do you belong to a regulatory body of psychotherapists?
Are you supervised?
Can difficult feelings come up in therapy?
Sometimes, while in therapy, we can go through periods where unpleasant emotions increase. This can happen when we start moving towards and connecting to parts of our experience which we find difficult or unpleasant. Staying disconnected with these parts has a cost as we tend to spend energy trying to control and manage our experience. Sometimes this can lead to us restricting our lives and, possibly, depression and anxiety. Admitting more parts of ourselves into consciousness necessarily entails facing, accepting, and learning new ways of being. Usually we are able to be in therapy and address these issues without making any major changes to our day-to-day lives.
Do I have to talk about my feelings?
Feelings are an important aspect of our mind/body experience. However, talking or not talking about how you feel about an issue is entirely up to you. You will not be asked to do anything in therapy which you do not feel ready to move towards. You are the best judge of what is best for you, therapy can help you get in touch with that inner sense of control.
How do I know if therapy is working?
I trust that you are your own best judge of how therapy is working for you. Generally, for myself, I find that therapy is working when I am finding that I am more aware of myself, more trusting and open to experience, more able to exercise choice in how I respond to my environment, and more able to not get caught in unskillful and restricting patterns of relating. You might notice positive changes in your general psychological well-being and the quality of your relationships. You might find that you are trying out new ways of feeling, thinking and behaving which lead to less stress and more ease.
Will therapy always work?
Psychotherapy has been shown to have benefits. Therapeutic interaction, by its definition, offers us a safe setting to feel heard, accepted, and allows us to explore and assign meaning to experience. However, there are times when psychotherapy does not work. There is the possibility that the therapy relationship is not a good fit and is lacking in the sense of intuitive connection and trust which forms a basis of any successful psychotherapy. Therapy might not work for other reasons as well, such as strong transference issues. If we come to the conclusion that therapy is not contributing to your well-being, I will offer you possible referrals for other therapists.
Is information about me kept confidential?
All information about you, what you discuss in therapy, and the fact that you are in therapy, remains strictly confidential. I do take clinical notes after each session. These are stored in a locked cabinet in my office. Information about you is not released to any third party without your written consent. There are certain limits to confidentiality. I will discuss these with you in the first session. Please refer to the PHIPA guidelines at Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care for more information.
I continue to elect to be supervised by a registered clinical psychologist. The purpose of these supervisions is to make sure I am providing you with the best possible care. Any information shared during supervisions remains strictly confidential. The consulting psychologist is registered with the Ontario College of Psychologists and is governed by the College’s rules on confidentiality.
What are your fees?
My fees are $70 per session if not otherwise negotiated. I offer sliding scale based on financial ability, and significantly reduced rates for students. I accept cheques and cash. Fees are payable at the start or end of each session.
Are you covered by OHIP or my health insurance?
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) does not cover psychotherapy services. However, these services are covered under some extended health benefit plans.
What happens in the first meeting?
The initial consultation is 50 minutes long. It gives us a chance to learn more about each other and to get a sense if working together will be a good fit. At the start of the session I will ask you to read and sign a standard consent form which explains expectations for therapy. We will also agree on a suitable fees structure for future sessions. From here we can move into discussing the concerns which bring you to therapy and what you would like to achieve. At any point after the consult, if we both sense that we are compatible for working together, we can proceed to set a time for the first therapy session.
Do you belong to a regulatory body of psychotherapists?
I am a clinical member of the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association (Certificate: 5486). I am bound by the Association’s Code of Ethics.
Are you supervised?
Yes. All of my clinical work has been under supervision of registered clinical psychologists (who hold a PhD in Psychology and are registered with the Ontario College of Psychologists). I continue to elect to be supervised by a registered clinical psychologist.
Tel: 416.996.3195. Click for address or contact me. Serving the communities of Markham, Stouffville, Unionville, North York, Thornhill, Richmond HillScarborough, Maple, Langstaff, Buttonville, Toronto and the GTA, Greater Toronto Area.
