Frequently Asked Questions

Anything you believe might be helpful. Or nothing at all. Come as you are.

During your free initial consultation, conducted via a Jane video call, we will talk about your concerns to be addressed in therapy, and we I will explain how I approach such concerns. If I find that I am unable to help you, I will be happy to refer you to a colleague. 

According to Jane website:

• Online Appointments (Telehealth) is currently supported and best experienced on a computer, laptop, or Android device with Chrome.
• While Chrome is best, Jane also officially supports Firefox, Safari and Edge within 2 major versions of their current release.
• If you’re using Online Appointments on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad) you will need the Jane Online Appointments app which is available on the Apple App Store.

Jane is fully PEIPDA-compliant.

During your first session (conducted either in person or via a Jane video call), we will go through the informed consent together.  Then, I will get a little more background information about you. I may ask you about your family situation, how you manage stress, where you work, what your health is like.  

Please feel free to decline to answer any questions you aren't comfortable with, and volunteer any information you are comfortable sharing and consider relevant.. At the end of the conversation, I will offer to you to set some goals for your counselling journey.  

Informed consent is a process outlining our respective duties and rights in the counselling relationship. For example, you have the right to a counselling process that is respectful and helpful. In the beginning of the first session, we will review and sign off our mutual understanding of what our counselling relationship will look like. 

However, consent isn't a signed-and-done deal. You have the right to pause and review the terms of our agreement as we continue to work together.

1. I am taking notes so that next time we meet, I can more easily remember what we talked about. 
2. I do not provide diagnostic impressions, as it is beyond the scope of my practice. I can, however, support you in self-assessment and provide a clinical impression. If you would like to pursue a diagnosis, you will need to work with your doctor or a psychologist.
3. Yes, you have the right to see your notes. Please place the request in writing, and I will print them out and bring them to the next session if in person.  I can also transfer them to you via Jane. 

It's totally okay if you are not ready to talk. 

I encourage you to observe me so you can go at your own pace building comfort as we continue to work together. I also encourage you to wait until you're comfortable before disclosing memories that evoke powerful feelings.   

In many cases, we can do a lot of work without discussing traumatic events directly. EMDR is a therapeutic approach that allows to work with trauma without talking very much about it. 

 Most certainly. (Fuck yeah!)

If you've been disappointed or hurt in therapy before, it's fair and necessary to ask "Am I in for more of the same?"

In order to answer that, I'd like to hear what went wrong last time, what have you tried, what worked, and what didn't. 

You have the right to a counselling process that is respectful, helpful, and based on science. We can discuss ahead of time what it is that we will need to do to create such a process.