FAQ on Mental Health Counsellors

No, appointments are available for those 16 years and older as the care we are able to provide to support youth over video consultations may be limited. If you are 16 or 17 years old, your counsellor will spend the first 10 minutes of your first appointment discussing terms of confidentiality. Parents are welcome to book an appointment for advice on how to best support a child’s mental health at any time.

Counsellors are unable to prescribe medication and cannot provide advice about medication. If you need to have a medication review or you feel you might benefit from medication then please book an appointment with one of our doctors. If your counsellor identifies that you might benefit from medication alongside/or in place of counselling, they will discuss the next steps with you, which may include recommendations to speak with your family doctor or one of our doctors, who can then undertake further assessments.

Yes, you can. You can discuss this with your counsellor during your first session. You can book in advance for a series of counselling sessions with the same counsellor, and your counsellor will help you decide what is best for you.

During the session, your counsellor will listen and ask questions to help you identify priorities, goals and needs. Wherever possible your counsellor will help you with tools and strategies to manage the issue. They may also give you homework or additional resources so that you can learn more or practice new skills.

Counselling is a collaborative process, and you can choose what you are comfortable sharing. Your counsellor will not judge you, will not make decisions for you, and will not offer you a cure.

Counselling appointments are $120 per 50 minute appointment. You will be charged tax for appointments with registered clinical counsellors (RCC) and Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC). Following your appointment, you will be provided with an in app receipt for reimbursement if applicable.

Usually, it takes many sessions to notice improvements but for some people a single session can be enough. You and your counsellor will agree to a certain number of sessions, which may be adjusted as you review your progress together regularly.

Your counsellor’s goal isn’t to keep you in counselling indefinitely but to empower you to better manage your difficulties on your own. All counselling appointments are 50 minutes in length.

In the first session, your mental health counsellor will spend some time getting to know you, ask about your life, your difficulties, what brought you to counselling and what you want to achieve through the sessions. You will then agree whether counselling is going to be useful to you, what type of counselling you may benefit from and how many sessions you may need. There will also be opportunities for you to ask any questions you may have.

Counselling appointments are $120 per 50-minute appointment. Following your appointment, you will be provided with an in-app receipt for reimbursement if applicable.

Here’s a list of some things that you can see our mental health counsellors for:

Counselling can be used for many different reasons. Some individuals choose counselling to simply have a professional listen and reflect their concerns. Others use counselling as an active process in which new coping skills are acquired to be able to handle problems differently. Counselling can be emotionally healing and it can also be solution-oriented. What someone uses counselling for depends on the issue and the individual's goals for change.

If your counsellor thinks that you are a serious risk to yourself or others, or someone else may be at risk, then they have a duty of care to report this to the relevant authorities. Where possible the counsellor will discuss this with you. If you have any questions regarding this, please discuss with your counsellor.