How I Work:
Your stress and your relationships with others have special dynamics. Listening to you carefully and questioning your assumptions will help me to help you to think things through.
We will look at your situation together to understand the context of the problem and your feelings about it. When is it worse and when is it better? What works for someone else may not work for you or your family.
Usually I meet with new clients for a joint assessment of just under an hour. In the first session we decide together whether my professional style of counselling is a good fit for you. All discussion is confidential unless I become aware of danger to you or another person. We will talk about the next steps.
My in-person rate is $80 for fifty minutes. Extra time is prorated. My rate for online visual or telephone consultations is $60, also for fifty minutes. At the end of each session you may use cash or cheque or e-transfer for payment. I am an Ontario-registered professional (RSW) so most insurance applies. Submit my written receipt to your benefits company for reimbursement. Government services and some insurance companies do let me bill directly. Several employee benefits programs, called Employee Assistance Programs, will cover your costs. Otherwise my fees are a tax deductible medical expense.
Please notify me about changes or cancellations at least 24 hours in advance to make the time available for others. They will appreciate it, and so will I. A later cancellation entails half the hourly fee.
Call me at 905-937-9706 for a brief consultation and to arrange an appointment, usually within the next business week. You may need to wait longer for an after-five pm session. If you would like to come in-person during the current pandemic, please ensure that you have no respiratory or other possible symptoms of COVID-19 and have not traveled within the last two weeks. Wear a mask in the building’s public spaces.
MY COUNSELLING EMPLOYERS AND CONTRACTS, Present and past:
Arete HR Inc. (Employee Assistance Program), Calgary
Community Mental Health Centers, City of Chicago
Chedoke Child & Family Centre, Hamilton, ON
ComPsych (Guidance Resources), Chicago, IL
Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, ON
Design for a New Tomorrow, Niagara Region
Family Service Bureau, Chicago, Ill.
Homewood Human Solutions, Vancouver, BC
Indigenous Services Canada
Lifeworks EFAP
Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Companies, ON
Optima Global Health, Montreal, Quebec
State of Illinois, Mental Health Dept.
Victim Quick Response Program, Niagara Region
Workplace Options, Raleigh, N. Carolina, US
Other Insurance Companies will reimburse my receipt
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
ON College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (RSW), ocswssw.org
ON Assoc. of Social Workers, oasw.org