New Client Information

The following information will provide you with answers to the practical questions that you may have prior to arriving for your first session.

What to do prior to your initial session

Once you have booked an appointment, or reached out to inquire about our services, you will be receiving a couple emails from us. An email with a link to our secure online intake forms, which need to be completed prior to your initial session and an appointment confirmation email once your appointment has been booked that will also provide a secure link to your video conference session if the session is taking place online.  Our intake forms take about ten minutes to complete and help us understand what you are looking for help with as well as providing us with consent to collect your personal information in order to provide you with therapy.

What to expect from your first session

The initial session is centred around gathering background information, defining what it is that you are looking for help with, beginning to set goals, discussing expectations, and beginning to establish how you and your therapist might work together based on the information that you provide. It is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions that you may have about the therapy process.  

What to bring to the first session

There is nothing that you need to bring to the first session. You may want to have with you a journal to make notes in. You may also want to write down prior to your session any questions or concerns that you may have about the therapy process, and any notes that will help you remember what you want to share about yourself, your concerns, or what you are looking for help with.

Methods of Payment

For in-person sessions, you are welcome to pay for your appointments with cash, personal cheques, credit card or debit cards that have a MasterCard and Visa logo on them. We are unable to accept Interac debit cards. If you have benefits provided through your employer that you are hoping to use, please discuss this with us prior to your first session to ensure that you will be reimbursed for the cost of the sessions.

For online session we do not accept cash or personal cheques and the therapist will discuss payment with you at the time of your initial session.

Benefit Plans & Insurance

All of our therapists are highly qualified individual, couple and family therapists with different professional credentials. If your provider covers services of Registered Psychotherapists, Marriage and Family Therapists, or Registered Social Workers, we can provide services that you will be reimbursed for, dependent on specific therapists' availabilities.

If you have benefits that you are hoping to use for your sessions, please note that you will be responsible for paying for the sessions yourself and submitting your receipts for reimbursement with your benefits provider directly. Please note that each benefits provider is unique regarding which types of professionals they cover and plans can vary even with the same provider, therefore you will need to verify with your benefits provider that they will cover our services. Please let us know if your plan only covers certain therapy professionals to make sure that we have a therapist available that will be covered by your plan.

Cancelling Appointments

Since we are in an appointment-based fee-for-service profession, short notice cancellations affect our income and also affect our ability to offer available spots to clients who are needing support. Because of this, we require 48 hour notice for cancellations or you will be responsible for the regular session fee. We understand that there are exceptional circumstances, because of illness or emergency where it may not be possible to provide such notice, and we are willing to be flexible in these specific circumstances on a case by case basis. 

Although we require 48 hour notice, we appreciate being notified with more notice when possible in order for us to be able to offer the appointment time to somebody else.  You are welcome to notify us by phone or email should you need to cancel or reschedule and we request that you reach out directly to your therapist - as they are your point of contact once you have booked your initial appointment. 

If you have any other questions prior to your first session - do not hesitate to call or email.

Learn more about our therapists. Read articles about therapy, relationships, parenting, sex and mental health.

For more information on therapy and counselling for individual adults,  couples, families and kids & teens.