FAQs

FAQs

Immediate Need

  1. For immediate mental health support (i.e. if you are feeling scared, lonely, or just need someone to talk to) as well as information and referrals, you can call the 310-Mental Health line at 310-6789 (no area code required).
  2. If your safety is at risk, engage any established safety plans or short-term tactics you can come up with to keep yourself safe. Remove access to any means to harm yourself if possible. This might mean relocating to a safer location or reaching out to someone in your support network to help you stay safe.
  3.  If you are actively suicidal, you can call or text 9-8-8 from anywhere in Canada. Alternatively, you can call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) from anywhere in British Columbia. Both of these services are available 24/7.
  4. If you need help right away, call 9-1-1 or go to the emergency department of your local hospital.

It may not be possible for me to respond immediately to unexpected crises that emerge, but the resources above are intended to be accessible and responsive short-term measures that help de-escalate the situation and keep you safe until the next time you and I are able to connect.

General

Counselling is the process of me helping you move toward your goals. In an atmosphere of trust, validation, and safety, people tend to open up about their problems. With time, the roots of those problems often show themselves and this opens up all sorts of possibilities in terms of understanding yourself better, relating differently (perhaps more gently and compassionately) toward your thoughts and feelings, and establishing new and adaptive patterns of behavior. 

One of my favorite analogies that I use to explain the counselling relationship is this: it’s like you and I are in a car going on a road trip together. You’re in the driver’s seat, and the car doesn’t move unless you make it move. As a passenger, I might have access to a map and offer information about routes we could take to get to where you want to go, but you’ll always be the one in control of where we’re driving. Proceeding at a pace that’s comfortable for you and checking in to ensure that you’re engaged in the process of providing ongoing consent is a key component of how I ensure that my counselling practice is ethical and psychologically safe.

At this time, I am a generalist counsellor. I have a sufficient level of training and experience for me to work with many of the problems that people typically struggle with in their daily lives. This could include stress and anxiety, life changes and transitions, identity issues, relationships and communication, depression and suicidality, gender expression, grief and bereavement, and more. 

Many counsellors gradually specialize over the course of their careers. Areas of specialization may include neurodiversity, sex and sexuality, trauma and complex trauma, relationship/family counselling, and many others. If you have specialized needs in a particular area, I may offer referrals to other counsellors for you to work with either in addition to the work that you and I are doing together, or so that we can maximize the chances of finding you a counsellor that is the best fit for you. My priority is to ensure that you get the best quality mental health support possible regardless of whether it is provided by me or another practitioner.

In the future, I will likely be focusing on working with 2SLGBTQIA+ clients, individuals engaging in some form of consensual non-monogamy, and individuals who have been victims of crime. I am not registered with the provincial Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP) at this time, but becoming a CVAP-registered counsellor is a priority for me.

Scheduling and Session Specifics

I typically offer a brief 15-minute consultation session, so that we can get to know each other a bit, get a sense of whether we might work well together, and give you an opportunity to ask questions. 

Assuming that you have decided that you would like additional sessions with me, the first regular counselling session serves as an intake session. It will involve some basic administrative tasks such as going over the informed consent forms together and discussing in more detail what the counselling process will look like. I will typically ask some questions about the primary concern(s) you are wanting to focus on in counselling, goals that you’d like to work toward, as well as some standard questions about your background (e.g. demographic information, relevant identities, current/past experiences of mental health conditions or suicidality). 

Intake sessions can often feel strange and unfamiliar because we’re still getting to know each other. If you start feeling uncomfortable, we can always slow down or stop. (This is a rule that I feel should always apply in counselling!)

Due to a recent relocation, I do not have access to a physical office space in which to conduct in-person sessions. I will be offering telehealth (phone/video) sessions only at this time.

Sessions typically last 50 minutes, but I also offer 80-minute extended sessions. See the Services page for details on pricing.

It’s difficult to predict how many counselling sessions are ideal for a given client. Some individuals may see results quickly and not feel the need to continue counselling past the first few sessions. In my experience, it commonly takes at least 8-10 sessions for clients to start feeling like meaningful positive change is taking place in their life. 

This is because it can take several sessions to collaboratively build understanding of the nature of the concerns that you’re bringing in. Even once we’ve made progress in that area, gaining insight and understanding is only half the battle. Shifting entrenched patterns of behavior can be a process of trial-and-error. If you’re interested and willing, I may offer ideas or suggestions that involve you experimenting with new ways of behaving or interacting with others. This is something that you can then try out between sessions. Then, we can discuss how it went in the following session, identify what worked and what didn’t, and continue to refine our approach as we go along.

Life is unpredictable and there can be a lot of reasons that a scheduled appointment might need to be moved or cancelled. I do my best to balance flexibility with setting clear expectations. You are welcome to reschedule/cancel appointments with more than 24-hours notice. For missed sessions and reschedules/cancellations with less than 24-hours notice, I charge half of the standard fee for that session.

Fees and Insurance

Most of the sliding scale work that I do is in partnership with Health Initiative for Men (HIM) through their HIM Helps program. If you think that your financial situation may serve as a barrier to you accessing my services, please let me know and we can always discuss whether sliding scale fees might be appropriate.

An RCC is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). This is a professional designation in British Columbia offered by the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). Many extended health plans cover counselling services provided by RCCs, but specific coverage and reimbursement details vary depending on the insurance provider and the specific plan purchased. As a Registered Clinical Counsellor (#233540), my services will qualify for coverage with many plans.

At this time, I am unable to provide direct billing.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Counsellors in British Columbia are held to strict standards in terms of protecting client privacy and confidentiality. See BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and Standard 10: Privacy and Confidentiality of the BCACC’s Standards of Clinical Practice for more information. In summary, everything said in counselling remains private and confidential with four main exceptions:

  • if, by my judgment, I deem that there is a substantial and imminent risk of you seriously hurting yourself
  • if, by my judgment, I deem that there is a substantial and imminent risk of you seriously hurting another person
  • if there is a need to protect an identifiable minor or vulnerable adult consistent with relevant BC laws
  • if I am compelled by a lawful requirement to break confidentiality (e.g. a court-issued subpoena).

As a counsellor, I take risk assessment and safety very seriously. I also highly value the ongoing informed consent of my clients. In a situation such as the four specified above, my first course of action will be to try resolve the situation collaboratively with you. Breaching confidentiality without client consent can be very damaging to trust in the relationship and is always a last-resort option. However, I (and every other counsellor in British Columbia) have ethical and legal responsibilities to protect vulnerable individuals and comply with relevant laws.  

My website is hosted on Canspace, a 100% Canadian-based company, with all servers located in Canada. Client information is stored in Jane App, which is compliant with privacy laws in British Columbia.

Please note that I work with an administrative assistant who provides support for business operations, such as taxes, business licensing, and general office tasks. My assistant does not have access to any confidential client information, clinical records, or counselling content. All client information remains strictly confidential in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).