No.  Psychotherapy is not covered by OHIP.  However, some insurance providers may have coverage for psychotherapy.  Please check with your insurance provider.  For your information, psychotherapy services can be claimed as a medical expense in your Canadian income tax.   

We do not offer direct billing.  It is the client’s responsibility to check if their insurance plan covers psychotherapy and what documents are needed.  Once payment is received, an official receipt will be issued to the client for the purpose of reimbursement.

Yes.  We offer a free 15 minute phone consultation so you can get a feel if we are a good fit. Click CONNECT NOW to book.  Once you decided to work with us, you can book your 1st appointment with your therapist.

Yes.  In an effort to make psychotherapy more accessible to those in need but struggle financially, some of our therapists do offer a limited number of sliding scale slots.  Please check with your therapist to see how they can help.  At the moment, Cassandra does not offer sliding scale.

Therapy sessions are strictly confidential.  Information shared in therapy will not be released to a third party without client’s consent.  In couple and family therapy, participants are responsible for confidentiality of information shared within the group.  However, there are circumstances that therapists are required by law to disclose client information to appropriate third parties without the client’s consent.  Examples of such circumstances include, but limited to, when the client is a danger to self or others, when possible child or elder abuse is suspected, when the therapist has reasonable suspicion that the client has been sexually abused by another regulated health professional, or when records may be subpoenaed in a response to court proceedings.

We hold a “NO SECRETS POLICY”.  We consider a couple or a family as a treatment unit (the client).  During the course of our work with couples or families, we may see a smaller part of the treatment unit for one or more sessions as part of the therapy.  Information learned in these sessions may be disclosed to the entire treatment unit based on our professional judgement.  This “no secrets” policy is intended for us to provide the best possible care for the couple or the family without conflict of interest.  Therefore, if you have matters that you want to deal with but do not want to share with your partner or family members, please request a referral to see an individual therapist separately.

Counselling is a collaborative effort. Your therapist’s role is to provide structure, guidance, skills and professional insights to support you reaching your goals. As a client, your role is to participate actively in working through difficult issues, overcoming obstacles, implementing changes, and giving honest feedback to the therapeutic process. Your commitment, collaboration, and openness to change are keys to effective counselling.

Your first appointment is an intake session, in which your therapist will get an initial understanding of your presenting problem and answer any question that you may have about therapy.  Your therapist will go through the consent form with you, explain to you what you need to know about working with us, and obtain your verbal consent for treatment.  Once we decide to work together, you will be supported to describe the presenting problem, to define measurable treatment goals and to understand the treatment approach. 

We are sorry that it is our policy not to involve in any legal proceeding.

Your privacy and confidentiality are most important to us.  It is our policy not to make contact with our clients in public.  Please do not feel offended if your therapist does not greet you.  However, if you initiate the contact, we would be happy to connect.  Please note that we would refrain from discussing any clinical issues for the sake of privacy.  

While we value our therapeutic relationship with you, overlapping of roles and dual relationships is against the code of professional ethics.  We are sorry that we would not be able to befriend a current or recent client.  We would not “friend” you on Facebook or accept an invitation to LinkedIn, or other social media.