What to Expect

Here is a brief overview of what to expect in counselling.

What to Expect

Purpose of the sessions: I meet with clients for a number of reasons, to assess the nature of difficulties, provide treatment for a specific difficulty or problem, to provide feedback to clients about the results of an assessment, or to provide second opinion to a client about a diagnosis, assessment results or treatment plan that may already have.

Your First Session: Part of your first session will be devoted to reviewing how counselling works, what I do as a licensed psychologist, what my credentials are, how confidentiality works and what the limits on confidentiality are.

Length of Sessions: A single session typically lasts 50 minutes, after which I will spend 10 minutes writing a note which documents your visit and what we did.

Session Notes: The purpose of the note is to document that we met on a certain day, record the nature of your visit, to briefly describe what we discussed and what type of assessment or treatment was provided, and to record any risks or concerns that may have been present. Not everything we discuss in a session is recorded on the essential information.

Fees: My fee is $140.00 per hour, payable by cheque or cash, for which a receipt is issued.

Cancellation Policy: I do not have a cancellation fee. If you do need to cancel at the last moment, I would be grateful that you let me know as soon as possible.

Office Location: My office number is VNR#4024, located on the fourth floor of the Vanier Building on the main campus of the University of Ottawa. To download a map of my office location, please click here. There are surface and underground parking garages at different locations at the university (see map). Parking is paid though an automated parking kiosk that takes credit cards, coins and in some but not all instances paper bills.

Monitoring Progress: It is important to monitor your progress throughout treatment. I typically do this through the use of standardized questionnaires, which were designed to assess the severity and duration of a number of difficulties.

Confidentiality: The information you provide during a session is confidential. I am not able to discuss the information you provide me with anyone else - even the fact that you have consulted me as a client - without your permission to do so. There are however some exceptions to this rule. Whether or not confidentiality can and should be broken is governed by a number of federal and provincial laws and by the regulatory body, the College of Psychologists in Ontario, which governs whether or not I am able to practise as a psychologist in the Province of Ontario, There are four situations in which confidentiality can be broken.

1. 
Harm to Self. If you are at immediate risk for ending your life or committing suicide, I (as a registered psychologist) am expected to and will take appropriate steps ensure your safety and reduce the risks of your harming yourself.

2. 
Harm to Others: If you are judged to be likely to harm or injure another person I (as a registered psychologist) am expected to and will take appropriate steps ensure that other person's safety. This could include informing that person of the threat to his or her well-being as well as informing the police of that risk.

3. 
Abuse: As part of your assessment, I may ask you about whether or not you ever been abused by someone. This is a standard question that I ask most clients, given the importance and high prevalence of abuse. If you are under the age of 16 and say that you have been abused by a specific person, then I am required by law to report that abuse to the Children's Aid Society, which will then determine whether or not any further investigation or action is required or needed.

4. 
Court Order: Although extremely unlikely under most circumstances, there is the possibility that your record of our visits could be requested to be reviewed by a court of law. Should I receive that order, my first response will be to deny the order, arguing that your record is confidential and that the information cannot be released. This will allow me to negotiate what information (if any or all) should be released to the court, which is done so in a manner that protects your interests.