Well, firstly, welcome! I am so glad you are here and that you are thinking about starting this journey.

I know it can be quite intimidating to start this whole process so lets take a breath and start simple.

I would recommend taking a look at some of the information on other pages of this site. In the About Me section, you can get a sense for who I am, the style of my work, and my values. On the Services page, you can see whether the types of services I provide are a good match for what you are looking for.

Another great way to get started is to book a complimentary consultation with me. During a consultation, we can talk, you can ask any questions you may have, and we can see if we seem to work well together.

Just know, although this decision can feel really big, it is not a permanent choice. You can always change your mind. You may decide to book a few sessions and then realize you want something else, and that is perfectly fine! What's important is taking the step to try it out, and going with what feels best to you.

You have a choice here, you can either choose in-person sessions (if you are in the Edmonton area), or virtual sessions (from wherever you are in Alberta).

In-person sessions will be held at my office, located at 200-6732 75 Street NW, Edmonton.

For virtual sessions, ideally, you will have access to a private space where you feel comfortable and secure. If you do not have access to a fully private space, there are definitely ways to make it as private as possible. This might involve using headphones, turning on something that makes noise (could be a fan, a sound machine, playing music on another device, etc.).

That depends a little on you and what you want, but I like to start sessions with a brief check-in to see how things have been for you. Depending on your goals and needs, we may have more or less structured sessions. Often, I will ask you what feels important to discuss during our session. For some, this will mean consistently working on specific issues, and for others it will mean addressing various issues as they may arise. In my experience though, it tends to be a mix of the two—where we will work toward your goals consistently, addressing a few specific issues, while also holding space for anything else that comes up.

Toward the end of sessions, I will give you a heads up about how much time we have left, and check in to see how we can best use the remaining time. This could include wrapping up a conversation, writing down anything we did not get to that you want to address next time, doing some grounding exercises together, and/or checking in about how you're feeling about our work together.

That really depends on you and your needs. Some people find that they need more regular sessions, while others do not. Sessions can be booked weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or in other frequencies. This might also change during your therapeutic journey. Together, we can make sure that you feel you are attending as frequently as you want or need to.

I do want to highlight that therapy is an active process, taking energy and requiring time and space for reflection. Outside of our sessions you may find yourself thinking about and processing things we explored, and this is an important part of the process. This can also be really tiring, which may be an indicator that we need to adjust the frequency of our sessions.

I totally get it! Life happens sometimes, and when things pop up suddenly, it can be stressful to re-organize. I do my absolute best to be understanding and empathetic to situations that arise and impact your ability to attend sessions. If you communicate with me, I will always do my best to accommodate and ensure you receive whatever support you may want or need.

If you are going to be late for a session, please email me and let me know. If you are going to be more than 15 minutes late, it might be better to reschedule, depending on your circumstances. While I do not charge any fee for showing up late, I also do not reduce my session fee when you arrive late.

If you need to cancel a session, please do your best to give me 48 hours notice. This helps me to make sure my schedule is organized, and allows other people to book in sooner if they need to. It also helps me to know that, while something might be going on in your life, you are at least surviving, even if you are not thriving.

If an emergency comes up at the last minute and you cannot give me the 48 hours notice for a cancellation, please send me an email letting me know that there has been an emergency, and if you want to reschedule. Even if you cannot email me until after the session time, please just do your best to communicate with me. This is highly preferable to simply not showing up for your appointment, because I will worry since that is who I am as a person.

If you cancel late multiple times or no-show for appointments, then you will be charged a cancellation fee and your ability to re-book with me may be limited or restricted. A reminder of this policy will be given and discussed after an initial late cancellation or no-show.

I will always do my best to keep you updated and stick to our scheduled sessions. Perhaps unfortunately, I am only human, and sometimes I will get sick, experience emergencies of my own, and have other things that might come up and impact my ability to attend our sessions. In these situations, I ask for your patience and grace.

I will always communicate via email, so please ensure that you receive my emails and either check them regularly or have your notifications turned on.

If I am having troubles (in life, with technology, whatever it may be) that might result in my being late to our session, I will give you as much notice as I can, as well as an estimate for when I should arrive. If I am late, I will do my best to provide you with an option that works for you to make up any missed time. This may include offering to end the session slightly later (this is where it also comes in handy that I allocate 10 minutes at the end of sessions for my administrative tasks), or adding some additional time to a future session.

If I need to cancel a session, please know that my policy also applies to me. I will do my very best to give you a minimum of 48 hours notice that I need to cancel and re-schedule our session.

If an emergency occurs, and I am unable to provide you with 48 hours notice that I will be unavailable, I will give you as much notice as I can. If this happens, I will offer times to reschedule, or inform you of when I expect to be able to return to work, and offer alternative options for support in the meantime.