Policies
Appointments
As I don’t maintain regular office hours, all sessions are arranged through appointment only. Clients are generally seen weekly or every two weeks as we discuss/agree. Please note that I do not offer evening/weekend appointment times.
- Appointments are generally scheduled for 60-90 minutes.
- Family, Couple or other relational configurations may be scheduled for 90 minute sessions.
- Intense 2-3 hour sessions can be arranged if you would like to really delve into a particular issue or problem.
I am conducting all sessions online. My preference is to use the telemedicine platform Doxy.me for health professionals which complies with HIPAA, and PIPEDA and PHIPA requirements. As a telemedicine platform, it protects the confidentiality and privacy of personal health information. This means that all data is encrypted, your sessions are anonymous, and none of your information is stored. This manner of electronic exchange of your health information is compliant with all federal and provincial laws. If you want further information on the company, please feel free to access their website at Doxy.me.
Fees
Fees are consistent with BC Clinical Counsellors Association recommended fee schedule guidelines. The cost per 60 minute therapy hour is $189.00 for individuals and $220.50 for couple/family work. This fee includes all applicable taxes.
Payment Policy: Payment can be made by e-transfer, or Visa/MasterCard at/before each session. From time to time, I increase my fees to stay in line with professional association guidelines, ongoing education/training and years of experience. If it has been less than 1 year since our last session, the rate you were paying will not change. If it has been longer than 1 year since we last met, the new fee structure will apply.
Missed Appointment / Cancellation Policy: You must give at least 24 hours notice to cancel an appointment. If you cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours notice, I will need to charge you for the time. Missed appointments are billed at the standard hourly rate. All of these charges apply regardless of the reasons for the missed or cancelled appointment. Late cancellation or missed appointment payments are due when cancelled or upon notification of the missed appointment.
Insurance Coverage: Marriage and Family Therapists and Registered Clinical Counselors are often covered under insurance, and some extended benefit plans do offer all or partial reimbursement. You are encouraged to contact your extended health benefits provider to determine what your coverage is for counselling services. Clients are billed directly for services and I will provide you with a detailed receipt to submit to your extended health benefits plan. Direct billing is not available.
Video Recording
I am committed to studying the process of treatment in order to make Psychotherapy more effective and efficient. This means that I use video recording to study that process in between sessions so that I can reflect on ways to improve my work with you. Research shows that just by virtue of recording, you will get a better therapeutic result. All recordings are stored in a secure location and permanently destroyed immediately after they have been used for their intended purpose – They are not kept as part of any client file.
While video recording is not mandatory to our work together, I rely heavily on reviewing recorded sessions to allow me to do my best work for you. Video recording is an integral part of my training. If I don’t have a video recording, I can’t study our session, or get feedback on what has actually happened (as opposed to relying on memory/perception, which can be unreliable). When I can receive supervision feedback, it allows me to try a different approach in our next session to achieve a better result.
For those who consent to video recording, I may review the recording myself (self supervision), or with a supervisor (individual supervision), and/or together with a supervisor and trained therapist colleagues (group supervision).
You have the right to not consent to video recording. If at any point you change your mind about consent, you can revoke this authorization at any time by written request, and any recordings will be immediately destroyed upon receipt of that request.
