A referral is not required to access services, but you may want to confirm if one is required by your insurance company to cover costs.
The fee for services are informed by the recommended rate by the Ontario Psychological Association. As of June 2023, for therapy and consultation services, it is $235 per 50 minute session. Assessment fees are based on the time spent completing the assessment at the rate of $250 per hour. This includes interviewing, file or documentation review, direct testing, scoring, interpretation, report writing and meeting time.
No, however, most extended health insurance plans will provide at least partial coverage for psychological services. Please check with your extended benefits provider to determine coverage and if you require a referral from a family doctor for services to be covered. Please note, I do not bill directly to insurance plans, but I do provide you with a receipt that you can then submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Any psychological fees not covered by your insurance can be used as a medical expense for income tax purposes.
Clients are expected to pay at the time that services are rendered. This includes at the end of each session and when a report is released. I currently accept cash, credit card, and e-transfer.
Due to the nature of my practice, I am unable to provide urgent and crisis services. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency, is in immediate danger or a professional consultation is needed to determine risk, please contact crisis services. This includes crisis lines, such as the distress line at 613-238-3311, or going to the nearest hospital emergency department. For children or youth under 17 years of age in the Ottawa region, you can go to CHEO's emergency department. For clients who are already seeing me, I do ask that you contact me as soon as possible should you experience a crisis. At times, I may be able to see you sooner than your next appointment. Other times, we may need to wait to discuss what occurred at your next appointment, or cancel and reschedule until after you have finished being involved with crisis services (e.g., if you are in the hospital).
Currently, I ask for no less than 24 hours notice of any cancellations. If you provide at least 24 hours or more, then there is no charge. If less than 24 hours are provided, then there is a fee of half the charge for your appointment, and full charge for no shows. Related, if you are feeling unwell and likely unable to come in to your appointment, please notify me the day before to cancel and reschedule.
Psychological services can vary considerably in terms of length or duration, depending on the nature of the referral and case. Consultations and assessments tend to be more brief, but also can range. Therapy duration can vary notably. For some, this might only last a couple appointments, with some brief support and guidance provided after information is gathered by interview and measures completed. For others, such as those with chronic issues, therapy may last a long time, but often will start with being relatively more regular, such as weekly or biweekly sessions, and eventually spread out to more follow up sessions, such as every month or two. All services are voluntary, so a client can decide to end services at any time. They are encouraged however, to notify us, so that we are aware and can move on to providing services to others in need.
After completing a screening interview, during which you would discuss what you are looking for and I would describe what to expect and answer any questions you might have, you will be contacted by my office to schedule an initial appointment or two. This likely will be in advance (such as two to three months), depending on how many new clients are waiting to see me. After this initial booking of appointments, all others are done by clients themselves. Given the services are voluntary, we will assume that should you want to proceed further, you will contact to book more sessions. If I have not heard from you within a month of your last session, then it will be assumed that you currently no longer require services and close your file at that time. Should you wish to re-initiate services, depending on the time elapsed, availability of appointments, as well as presenting concerns at that time, you may be able to re-engage in services. However, there may be a wait. If I do not provide the services you require at that time, you will be provided with some recommendations for services elsewhere.