FAQ

Qu. 1 What can professional counselling/psychotherapy do for me?

• My understanding is that Professional Counseling/psychotherapy does several things:
• Professional counseling/psychotherapy provides individuals an opportunity to work through those situations that concern relationships, personality, attitudes and find the solutions that they need
• Professional counselling/psychotherapy can happen with individuals who are considered to be functioning well and are in need of some immediate help
• Professional counseling/psychotherapy can help those individuals who have been struggling with more serious long term problems
• Professional counselling /psychotherapy helps to increase one's awareness of inner thoughts and feelings so that individuals can continue to make healthy, responsible choices that will empower and help them to live up to their potential.
• Profession counseling/psychotherapy will help to bring about change. One's awareness, understanding and perception of the issues that are brought to the counselling session will help to identify the desired outcomes as well as experience the benefits of those changes.
• Professional counselling/psychotherapy is theory based, and psychotherapists will draw from a number of counselling approaches to help their clients.

Qu. #2 How long will therapy/counselling take?

The first few sessions

If you haven't been in psychotherapy/professional counselling before, you may feel curious, nervous or afraid, or as to what is going to happen in the counselling session. You may wonder if talking about the problem is going to solve your problem. You may even think that the therapist might choose sides or criticize you for how you think or feel.

The therapist is here to help you, to provide a safe environment to express your thoughts and emotions. You will find that as you begin to share your thoughts and feelings, you will begin to feel relief, less anxiety and therefore have the best chance for positive results. Clients discover that therapy is a safe place to be honest and express their thoughts, feelings and perception. Whether it is right or wrong is not the issue, your perception, is your perception, it is how you see and feel things.

You may feel disappointed or upset (with the therapist) because you are expecting definite answers and may not get them in the first few sessions. However the benefits (the answers) usually come in increments over our work together. The problems did not just happen, they have been developing over time, and some focused time (with the help of the therapist) is needed to find the answers and apply them to your lives. Meaningful and lasting benefits usually happen only with hard work.

Short term treatment means a time-limited relationship in which this work may take the form of simply thinking about what we discuss in the sessions or it may involve completing a specific homework assignments assisting you in dealing with your problem. In long-term treatment, there is also the completion of specific homework assignments as well as allowing you the opportunity to interact and integrate with the thoughts and feelings expressed in the session. It is about making the necessary adjustments and applying some of the insight and understanding in your day to day life and seeing the results, the benefits of your hard work. In our next session, we will then continue to discuss those thoughts, feelings , discoveries , and other concerns. Continued therapy will help you gain relief, obtain skills, find energy, and a new perspective on life. You will once again experience control over your life and your future.

Termination

How do you know when it's time to end treatment? A simple answer is, when your goals for treatment have been met. I can recommend that a certain amount of sessions are needed, however I believe that each individual will determine for themselves how much therapy they need, and when they feel that they want to terminate therapy. I respect the right of the individual to choose for themselves.

Qu. #3 Will my benefits cover counselling?

Usually they will, however it is the responsibility of the client to check with their benefit provider to see if they are covered. Therefore, reimbursement is the sole responsibility of the counsellee. I recommend that you check with your insurance provider prior to setting up a counselling appointment. Payment is due at the end of each session where upon you will be given a receipt that may be used for your reimbursement request.

Qu. #4 What's the difference between a therapist, psychotherapist, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a social workers, a marriage and family therapist, a professional counsellor, and a pastoral counsellor?

At a basic level, all of these mental health professionals/health care providers are similar in that they talk to clients to help them solve their problems. At another level, there are differences in their education and training and that will influence the type of help you receive. Typically the terms psychotherapist, psychologist and psychiatrist denote practitioners with a doctoral level of training, while the other terms denote practitioners with a master's level of training. However I believe that whatever the training background, what determines how much a client resolves their problems while in treatment lies more with the client, how well they are interacting and connecting with the therapist, and how determined they are to resolving their issues in psychotherapy.

Qu. #5 How can simply talking about a problem fix it?

Our society today is very action oriented. We look for the action steps that we can take in order to solve our problems. We look for the quick fix and can become frustrated with the idea of patiently thinking or talking about a given problem. However meaningful, significant change starts from within. Changing our thinking requires a shift in perspective. This can only be actualized as one processes and struggles with an issue for awhile.

Qu. #6 What can I expect in the first session?

In the first session, you will be asked to begin talking by responding to the questions what prompted your phone call?, and what do you hope to gain from psychotherapy? From there I will seek to gain a clear understanding what issue(s) you want to work on, how and to what extent the issue gives you difficulty, or concern on a regular basis, and some of the factors leading to the development of the issue, and how we can address the issue in terms of working toward a solution. We will end the session by discussing how many sessions it is likely to take to attain your goals, as well as find a time to meet on a consistent basis.

Qu. #7 Will what I say in therapy sessions be kept private and confidential?

Generally, what you say in therapy sessions will be kept confidential, however, there are circumstances under which exceptions do exist. The most common ones are: 1) you are a threat to harm yourself or someone else, 2) child abuse or neglect is suspected, 3) your treatment records are requested by subpoena, or 4) to collect payment for services rendered.

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