Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing a counsellor can bring up practical questions about qualifications, confidentiality, insurance, fees and what counselling is actually like.
Below are answers to some of the questions people commonly ask about working with me and about the approaches that inform my practice.
If you're considering counselling and don't see your question here, you're welcome to ask during a free 15-minute consultation.
Can I Work With You if I Don't Live in Alberta?
Yes. I provide virtual counselling to clients located throughout Canada. All counselling sessions are offered online, so you do not need to live near my practice in Cochrane to work with me.
What Is a Professional Counsellor?
I am a Professional Counsellor registered with the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA) and hold the designation Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling – Provisional (MPCC-Provisional).
I completed a Diploma in Professional Counselling through Rhodes Wellness College. My education included counselling and psychological theory alongside substantial practical training in the interpersonal skills involved in working directly with clients.
Professional regulation differs across Canada. Professions such as psychology and social work are provincially regulated, while counselling therapy and psychotherapy are regulated in some provinces. Professional counsellors may instead practise under the standards, ethical requirements and scope established by their professional association, depending on their training and jurisdiction.
My registration with the CPCA requires me to practise within my professional scope and according to the association's ethical and professional standards.
If you have questions about my education, designation, supervision or scope of practice, I'm happy to answer them directly before we work together.
How Is a Professional Counsellor Different From a Psychologist, Social Worker or Psychotherapist?
These professions have different educational pathways, scopes of practice and regulatory structures.
A psychologist, for example, has graduate-level training in psychology and may provide services such as psychological assessment and diagnosis that are outside my scope as a Professional Counsellor.
Social workers, psychotherapists, counselling therapists and professional counsellors also have their own training pathways and professional requirements, which vary by province.
There can be overlap in the kinds of counselling concerns different professionals work with and in the therapeutic approaches they learn through continuing education.
The important question isn't simply whether these professions are interchangeable—they aren't. It's whether a practitioner's training, professional scope and experience are appropriate for what you're looking for.
I'm always willing to discuss that with you. If what you need falls outside my scope, I'll tell you.
Are Your Services Covered by Insurance?
Coverage depends on your individual insurance or employee benefit plan.
I don't currently offer direct billing.
Some extended health plans provide reimbursement for counselling with professionals registered through the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA), while others restrict coverage to particular regulated health professions.
Before beginning counselling, I recommend asking your insurer specifically whether services provided by a CPCA-registered Professional Counsellor / MPCC-Provisional are covered under your plan.
After payment, you'll receive a receipt that you can submit to your insurer if your plan provides coverage.
Can I Claim Counselling Sessions as a Medical Expense on My Income Tax?
My services do not qualify as an eligible medical expense for the federal Medical Expense Tax Credit based on my professional designation.
If you have a Health Spending Account (HSA) or Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) through an employer or private plan, counselling expenses may be eligible depending on the rules of that particular plan.
Because tax and benefit rules can change and individual circumstances differ, you should confirm eligibility with your plan administrator or a qualified tax professional rather than relying on your counselling receipt as confirmation.
What Happens in the First Session?
The first session is approximately 90 minutes.
The additional time gives us room to review relevant information from your intake forms, talk about what brings you to counselling, discuss what you're hoping to get from our work, and begin understanding what's happening in more depth.
You don't need to arrive with a perfectly defined goal or explanation.
Part of the first session can simply be figuring out where it makes sense to begin.
How Long Are Regular Counselling Sessions?
Regular appointments are booked for 60 minutes.
Approximately 50 minutes are spent in direct counselling, with the remaining time reserved for clinical documentation and necessary administrative work related to your session.
Are Sessions Confidential?
Yes. Counselling is confidential, subject to the legal and professional limits of confidentiality that apply to my practice. Those limits are explained as part of the informed-consent process before counselling begins, and you're welcome to ask questions about them.
I don't routinely communicate with employers, family members, healthcare providers or other third parties simply because you're attending counselling.
If communication with someone else becomes relevant, we can discuss what information would be shared and what consent is required.
Do I Need to Know Exactly What's Wrong Before I Contact You?
No. Some people come to counselling knowing exactly what they want to work on.
Others know only that something feels different: they're more irritable, disconnected, anxious or exhausted; something in a relationship isn't working; they're carrying something from the past; or life simply doesn't feel the way they think it should.
Figuring out what is happening can itself be part of counselling.
Do You Work Only With Men?
Men are a primary focus of my practice, but my counselling services are not limited exclusively to men.
If you're wondering whether I might be an appropriate counsellor for what you're experiencing, a free consultation is an opportunity for us to discuss that.
Do You Work With Pilots and Other Aviation Professionals?
Yes. Before becoming a counsellor, I spent more than 21 years working as a professional pilot. My aviation experience included flight instruction, corporate and airline flying, air ambulance work, and operations in Canada's North.
I provide counselling for pilots and aviation professionals, including air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance professionals, dispatchers and others working within aviation.
That background gives me first-hand familiarity with aviation culture, professional responsibility, irregular schedules and some of the concerns aviation professionals may have about seeking counselling.
Will My Employer or CAME Know That I'm Attending Counselling?
I don't routinely notify your employer, Civil Aviation Medical Examiner (CAME) or another third party simply because you're attending counselling. Counselling is confidential, subject to the legal and professional limits of confidentiality that apply to my practice.
If you're a pilot and have questions about medical certification or your individual reporting obligations, those questions should be discussed with your CAME. I'm happy to discuss how confidentiality works in my counselling practice before you decide whether to proceed.
What Is CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, explores relationships among thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
It can help us notice patterns in how you're interpreting or responding to situations and examine whether those patterns are still useful.
I use CBT as one tool rather than as a formula. Depending on what brings you to counselling, it may be combined with other ways of understanding your experience.
What Is Parts Work?
Parts work begins with the idea that we can have different internal responses, needs or impulses that don't always agree with one another.
One part of you might want closeness while another wants distance. One might be highly self-critical while another feels exhausted from constantly trying to meet its expectations.
My parts work is informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS).
Rather than treating these responses as problems that need to be eliminated, we can become curious about what they are doing, how they developed and what they may be trying to protect.
What Is Narrative Therapy?
Narrative Therapy pays attention to the stories and conclusions we develop about ourselves and our lives.
Sometimes a problem becomes so closely connected to identity that I'm struggling with this gradually becomes this is who I am.
Narrative work can help create some distance between the person and the problem, examine how particular stories developed, and make room for experiences, values and possibilities that may have been overshadowed.
How Does Attachment Inform Your Work?
Early and significant relationships can influence what we learn about closeness, dependence, trust, conflict and safety with other people. I may draw on attachment ideas when they help us understand patterns occurring in your current relationships.
I don't assume that everyone fits neatly into a single “attachment style,” nor does an attachment label explain everything about a person.
The framework is useful when it helps us understand your experience—not when it becomes another box to put you in.
What Does Nervous-System-Informed Counselling Mean?
Stress and difficult experiences aren't experienced only as thoughts.
They can also involve physical responses: tension, changes in breathing, increased heart rate, restlessness, shutting down, feeling numb, or a strong urge to leave or protect yourself.
My work is informed by an understanding of the nervous system and by aspects of Somatic Experiencing. I may help you notice these responses alongside the thoughts and emotions you're experiencing.
The purpose isn't to tell you that every reaction is caused by your nervous system.
It's to include what is happening physically as another source of information about your experience.
What Approaches Do You Use?
My work draws from several approaches, including:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
parts work informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Narrative Therapy
aspects of Somatic Experiencing
trauma-informed and nervous-system-informed counselling
I think of these as tools rather than formulas.
I don't begin by deciding which model to apply to you. We begin with what's happening, what you need and what seems useful, and draw from different approaches as appropriate.
How Do I Get Started?
You can book a free 15-minute consultation if you'd like to speak before scheduling a counselling session.
The consultation gives you an opportunity to ask questions, tell me a little about what brings you to counselling, get a sense of how I work, and decide whether working together feels like a fit.
You can also contact me through the website if you have a question before booking.