You have two options:

1) Free 15 min consultation: I offer you a welcoming introduction to therapy practice and collaborative services and answer any immediate questions you may have.

2) You can skip the consultation call and book your own full appointment. No referral is required.

You can email me at laura@mycounselling.ca to book an appointment or create an account in the online scheduling system (known as “Jane”) to book a 15 min consultation or full appointment.

All appointments are in English.

You have the option to book a virtual appointment or in-person appointment.

Looking for in-person appointments in Carp or Kanata? Contact me at laura@mycounselling.ca to inquire.

Ottawa in-person appointments are located at:

Mondays (9am - 4pm)

69 Kempster Ave, Ottawa ON

*Dark grey building with parking behind or on street. Walk in and have a seat. I will find you in the waiting room at your appointment time.

Tuesdays an Wednesdays (8am - 8pm)

11 Rosemount Ave, Suite 302, Ottawa, ON

*You will see the office has the acronym CTSACT on the door. Walk in and have a seat. There is no receptionist. I will find you in the waiting room at your appointment time.

Virtual sessions are offered Monday - Friday to residents of ON, QC, NS, NB, and PEI.

It depends on your situation and the therapy you choose. After I understand your history and therapeutic needs / goals, we will discuss the treatment plan and the number of sessions that may be useful.

When you first attend therapy, I will likely recommend meeting weekly or biweekly to begin. As you make improvements through counselling, you may switch to monthly sessions.

Therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may recommend 10-12 sessions while Brief Solution-Focused Therapy may recommend 1-6 sessions. Complex trauma histories may require more intensive therapy over a longer period. For children, depending on their needs, can take an average of 20 sessions to complete their therapeutic goals.

It is good to understand your financial situation and insurance coverage for a psychotherapist to ensure that therapy can be tailored to your overall needs and ability to attend sessions.

You will receive a link to our meeting via Jane, a practice management system designed by and for Canadian healthcare practitioners.

The length of sessions varies by type. Individual counselling sessions are typically scheduled for 50 minutes. However, we can book individual, family and couples counselling for 75 minutes.

Yes, I do offer some evening and appointments in person and virtual. I do not book appointments on the weekend. Check the online scheduling system (known as “Jane”).

Therapy is an investment in your mental health and the lives of the people around you. Your insurance may cover the cost of all or some of your therapy.

• 50 minute session = $180

• 80 minute session = $288

Fees for collaborative services can be obtained by emailing laura@mycounselling.ca.

Fees are subject to change in accordance with organization policy (annual review).

The cancellation policy applies to missed, cancelled, late to appointment, and illness. The policy is strict as the appointment could have been provided to another individual in need.

I require 48 hours notice to cancel an appointment without a penalty fee. A cancellation fee of $135 will be charged within 48 hours. The full fee ($180) will be charged for cancellations within 24 hours.

Clients will be responsible for the full hour fee in the case of late arrivals to appointments.

You have the option to change an existing in-person appointment to an online appointment at any time. For example, on snow days (or other weather) when it is unsafe to travel. Exceptions due to weather will not be granted unless otherwise discussed. You can change the appointment type in the online scheduling system (known as “Jane”).

Most Canadian insurers will cover the cost of services of psychotherapists who are registered with a regulatory college (e.g. registered psychotherapists, registered social workers, registered occupational therapists). Please check with your insurance prior to attending therapy, unless you are prepared to pay for sessions without insurance.

At the end of a therapy session, you are required to pay within 48 hours. Generally, clients prefer their credit cards to be charged by the therapist right away. An email receipt will be sent which can be sent to you.

E-transfers must be made within 48 hours. I reserve the right to bill the credit card if payment has not been received.

I accept payment by e-transfer (laura@mycounselling.ca) and credit card. You are required to have an active credit card on file to book appointments.

Cash and cheques are not feasible.

Therapy can begin to have an effect from the very first session. Improvement can continue over a few sessions, a few months, or a few years. You decide how deep you want to go and how extensive the changes are that you want to make. You choose the pace. Significant change may take from 3-6 months up to 1-2 years.

In a trauma-informed practice, I understand that it can be triggering to discuss your trauma. There is no pressure to discuss your trauma directly. You get to make the choice of how much and when you want to share any information. I am trained in therapies that support talking about the trauma aloud and not talking about the trauma aloud, for children and adults.

At present, we work with clients 4 years of age and older for in-person therapy.

For virtual therapy, I only accept children 8 years of age or older, unless discussed otherwise with the parent(s) / guardian(s).

The law considers everything we discuss in counselling to be your private health information. We are required by law to keep your private health information confidential. What this means is that, under ordinary circumstances, it would be not only wrong but illegal for us to share anything you have talked about in sessions with your family, or anyone else, without your knowledge and written permission.

However, there are limits to confidentiality (as defined by the law). There are certain circumstances under which we could be required by law to share something you have said in session. These include:

• If you threaten serious bodily harm to yourself or to others;

• If you report child abuse (even if the victim is now an adult) AND there is reason to believe the abuser is still in a position to abuse children;

• If you report serious misconduct by any registered health professional;

• If your client file is subpoenaed by a court.

Jane (the platform we use for our practice) operates in strict accordance with PIPEDA and PHIPA legislation. You can find more information about Jane's privacy protection in the Jane Guide. When you complete your intake form and in the course of therapy, any information collected is only used by your therapist, or their supervisor, for the purpose of providing care.