F.A.Q.

The first session or two are used for evaluation and assessment purposes. This means your psychologist or therapist will get to know you, the difficulties you are encountering, and the history of these difficulties in a lot of detail. You will be given the option to fill out certain questionnaires before your initial appointment to help speed things up. All this information is then used by your psychologist or therapist to help you set goals for therapy and to adapt an approach that is tailor made for you.

In general, our approach is relatively short term, so you should expect an average of 8 to 15 sessions, sometimes less, sometimes more. Of course, we work within your time frame and within your means. If you can only come for a limited number of sessions, it is important to mention this to your therapist at the onset of therapy so they can accommodate you and help you stay focused on one goal.

The length of therapy depends on:

1. The goals you have for therapy
2. The complexity of your situation
3. Your degree of motivation to incorporate the suggestions your therapist may give you.

Someone suffering from anxiety and panic attacks for many years may take longer in therapy than someone who has been anxious for a short period of time. However, if the person who has been anxious for years is really motivated and is able to incorporate many of the suggestions outlined in therapy, they can recover more quickly than the person who has been anxious for a few short weeks, but unwilling or unable to change much of their thinking or behaviours.

Goals for therapy can be simple, such as “learn tools to help alleviate my depression” or varied such as “learn tools to alleviate depression, learn better communication skills with my partner, decrease stress in my life, help with deciding to have children or not, etc…”. All these factors can impact the duration of therapy.

If you would like to set up a first appointment, visit our online booking platform or contact us.

The full fee of the session will be charged if an appointment is not cancelled 24 hours in advance or if an appointment is missed or forgotten. To move or cancel an appointment, all clients must communicate with their therapist directly by email or by phone. Existing clients can also make modifications to their appointments directly from the confirmation email received for each session.

You will connect to your psychologist or therapist using Doxy, a free, secure, web-based videoconference program. No download or installation required.

Once your appointment is booked, you will receive an email with the personalized Doxy link of your therapist, allowing you to access your sessions from the comfort of wherever you are. All you need is a device with a webcam, microphone, and access to quality internet connection.

Online consultations via webcam are conducted using a web-based platform called Doxy, meeting worldwide security requirements. Doxy is HIPAA, GDPR, PHIPA/PIPEDA, & HITECH compliant, meeting worldwide security requirements. This ensures a secure and confidential psychotherapy experience, due to enhanced encryption.

Our team of therapists are aware of the ethical and legal regulations associated with offering this type of service and adhere to them closely.

Our team is here to offer guidance for technical aspects. Our goal is to ensure that your online therapy sessions via webcam runs smoothly. Discuss with your therapist directly or contact our team of coordinators, available 24/ to answer your calls, if you experience technical issues.

Technical glitches have sometimes been brought up as potential disturbances associated with this telehealth. Often, technological glitches are a result of the speed and quality of the Internet connectivity and unrelated to our software.

Nevertheless, during therapy sessions, such interruptions can be distracting. Despite its numerous advantages, technology has its limitations. During the initial assessments, each therapist will assess whether this type of therapeutic approach is beneficial for their client, taking various aspects into consideration.

It is also important to note that technological glitches may result in a misconception that eye contact is not being maintained or avoided when this is not the case. Visual contact is a core component in communication and an important indicator in conversational mannerism such as turn-taking. Eye contact and developing a sense of comfort with one’s psychologist or therapist is of the utmost importance during therapy. Please discuss any issues relating to online sessions with your therapist – they are there to help in any way they can.

In the event of a technological issue that cannot be resolved quickly, your psychologist or therapist will contact you by phone. Next steps will be discussed and the decision to continue the session by telephone or via online therapy at a later time will be agreed upon.

Each PsyVitalitï therapist offering teletherapy services will provide online psychotherapy services that conform to the ethical and legal aspects enforced by their respective local professional legislative bodies.

If you fear for your own safety or the safety of people around you, or if you are thinking about suicide, contact emergency services (9-1-1), the health information line (8-1-1), a suicide prevention line (1-866-277-3553) or go to an emergency facility urgently.