Answers to Common Questions
If you do not find the answer to your question below, please use the form at the bottom of the page to submit your question to be answered by a registered counsellor.
What is counselling?
Counselling is a way for people who are having problems that they can't handle, can't control, or just don't know how to deal with, to find help from a trained professional. A person goes to a counsellor because he/she can't find the answers to a problem. A counsellor will listen to the problem and ask probing questions to get at a deeper level of what is going on. We use a variety of techniques depending on your presenting problem and your preferences for therapy. We will explore with you ways that you can change your thinking about the issue, help you resolve underlying issues or teach you skills so that you can correct this concern on your own.
How can it help me?
Therapy can help alleviate emotional pain and suffering. It can teach you new skills with which you can successfully deal with your problems. It can save a marriage. It can help increase your self-esteem. It can give you hope that there is a better way, or a way out. It can do all these things and more. The only thing it can't do is change you. You have to do that by yourself. You have to take the skills or new ideas and put them into practice in your life. We continually tell our clients that unless they make a commitment to take what they learn and put it into practice, counseling will not help.
What can I expect to pay?
See our Counseling Fees page.
I am divorced or separated; can I get counselling for my child(ren)?
You may choose to meet with the counsellor for the first session to give the counsellor some background information about your child or children. If there is a custody agreement, our office must have a copy of the most recent agreement AND consent for minor forms signed by both parents before the child's counselling sessions can begin. You can download the consent for minor form here.
What are the risks and benefits of counseling?
There are risks and benefits of counseling. Benefits may include relief from distressing symptoms, improved emotional health, new approaches to problem solving and decision making, better coping skills, more satisfying relationships, increased levels of creativity, maturity, and intimacy, as well as improved physical health. However, significant personal change has the potential to be stressful and painful, and may include periods of intensified emotions. Other risks may include an increased awareness of feelings, values, and beliefs that could lead to new choices, behaviors, and changes in your relationships.
What does successful counseling feel like?
Successful counseling feels like something has changed, something is different. You feel more hope and self-confidence. You are trying out new behaviors and they are working. The way successful therapy looks is other people begin to comment that something about you seems different. Maybe they don't know what has changed in you, but you feel better to be around. You will also notice that you are having different results from actions that in the past would not have gone so well. In the end, you will always be the one to make the decision about whether therapy has been successful or not.
What do I do if it is not helping?
The first thing you do is tell your counselor. Explain what is not working and why. Discuss things that have worked in the past. But it is important to reflect on what your therapist says. The reason we need counseling from time to time is that we can't see our self-defeating thoughts or behaviors and it sometimes takes an impartial observer to point out to us what is obvious to others.
How do I know when I am done?
You will feel done. Most of the concerns and anxiety that brought you into therapy will have dissipated. You will have learned coping skills and new behaviors to deal with any issues that may persist. Your therapist should be able to give you feedback about your decision and discuss whether or not they feel you are ready to terminate. Ultimately the decision is in your hands.