Counseling is an opportunity for the client to talk about critical difficulties with a skilled professional (therapist/counselor) who can offer advice on how to deal with both the current situation and similar ones in the future. Counseling may address a single issue or a number of issues.
Counseling is a collaborative process, wherein the counselor works with the client to help them identify goals to the presenting issues. The counselor often supports the client in getting a new perspective on their experiences, finding new things about themselves, changing problematic thought and behavior patterns, processing challenging situations, and developing effective coping mechanisms.
Counseling and psychotherapy typically refer to the same thing and have many similarities. Both terms refer to experts who employ talk-based strategies to help a person in recovering from a mental health issue or concern. I use the terms interchangeably.
Benefits of therapy depend on your commitment and level of readiness. Gaining a better understanding of yourself, changing old patterns and creating new ones, or managing your emotional feelings like sadness, anger, or other intense emotions you may be feeling are just a few of the benefits. Other advantages include boosting self confidence or improving self esteem, improving communication skills, learning/finding new coping skills, and improving communication skills.
Your level of receptivity to the process will determine how successful you are. You will be successful if you are prepared to put in the time to examine yourself and carry out the required work for transformation.
Therapy isn’t intended to be a “quick fix or cure” where you just sit back and listen. The activity involves participation. You will almost certainly get greater outcomes the more you participate in the process. Applying what you learn from a session to your everyday life is a discipline that you may engage in. To make those adjustments in your life, you must thus be psychologically ready for them and be open to new ideas.
I hold a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work and Psychology. I am a Certified Clinical Counselor (CCC #10007049) and Registered Clinical Counselor (RCC #19678). You can learn more about my qualifications and certifications on the About page.
Therapy isn’t intended to be a “quick fix or cure” where you just sit back and listen. The activity involves participation. You will almost certainly get greater outcomes the more you participate in the process. Applying what you learn from a session to your everyday life is a discipline that you may engage in. To make those adjustments in your life, you must thus be psychologically ready for them and be open to new ideas.
Currently, I am providing in-person to the residents of Prince George, BC and online counseling services to the BC residents. Moreover, I am a certified Yoga trainer and hence, I also provide individual yoga sessions as well as Integrated counseling and yoga sessions. To learn more about the services I provide, you can look up my Services page.
I understand that starting therapy with someone new can be nerve-wrecking. I will do my best to walk you through the process of the first session both online and in-person.
If you choose to attend the session online via video, we will be using the Jane platform. Jane will provide you with a video link 30 minutes prior to your appointment. After you click on the link provided, it will direct you to a video platform that is in-built in Jane itself. I will be letting you in at the assigned time.
If you choose to come in-person, you will be arriving at 952 4th Ave Ste 210, Prince George. On the day of your session, I will come downstairs and get you at your appointment time.
In both online and in-person individual counseling sessions, the first session comprises gathering information, getting to you and your goals and expectations from counseling. I would also be going over consents and confidentiality.
Just before your first session, I will be emailing you an intake questionnaire and consents to sign. You will have the option to fill that out in-person as well.
However, I highly recommend booking an initial 15 minute free consultation to determine if this counseling relationship is a good fit. You can book an initial consultation by filling out your details on the Contact page.
Initially, we will meet once every week. I believe it’s crucial to establish some momentum early on by meeting once a week, otherwise development may halt. Less frequent meetings will make sense after some or all of your objectives have been achieved.
Whatever you share with me is confidential. However, there are limits to confidentiality and legally I am obligated to break confidentiality if someone is hurting you, you hurt someone, or you want to hurt yourself. I will be going over confidentiality in our initial session as well.
I require 48 hours notice of cancellation or you will need to pay in full for the appointment. An occasional exception may be made in the case of an emergency.
I accept cash, e-transfer and all major credit cards. If you choose to pay with a credit card, the card fee (2.9% + $0.30) will be added to the total cost.
I am a registered Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) therapist. This means that if you are registered with VAC, I can directly bill them. However, for other insurance companies you will have to pay me upfront and I can give you the specific coded receipts that you can then submit to your insurance provider to get reimbursed. Every insurance provider is different and I will encourage you to connect with your insurance provider first to find out your plan and deductible amount.
