What To Expect

Our clinic is unique in that we offer 5 services: Counselling, Behaviour Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology and Speech Pathology. Our counselling services are diverse, with expertise in helping young children through teens, as well as counselling for adults, families and parents. Counselling these different ages requires training, specialized training such as Play Therapy, DBT, and accreditation in mediation and family therapy as just a few examples. We are extremely proud of our team of therapists and the breadth of skills and experience they have.

Family Coordinators

Our front desk staff are called Family Coordinators; they are very knowledgeable and can help answer all of your questions. Many people reaching out for the first time are not even sure what they are needing and this is where Family Coordinators are very helpful. FC’s take the time to speak with you and guide you through the process of connecting with supports. As well, they are always available to help with scheduling and billing.

Family Coordinators help determine which therapist is the best fit for your family, depending on style, availability and expertise. Family Coordinators help make the process of reaching out and getting support much less daunting and intimidating. We are proud to have such a great team available to welcome you and guide you through the process.

Consent to Treat

Consent to treat is required for all service areas. For children 11 and under, consent is signed by parents or legal guardians.

When there is separation or divorce, either both parents must sign the consent, or a custody agreement is needed to determine that one parent has sole decision making rights.

Children 12 and over who are considered capable of giving informed consent, can sign for themselves.

Length of sessions

Sessions are 50 minutes, with the remaining 10 minutes used for notes and planning. When suitable, 25 minute sessions are booked for quick check-ins or follow-up. Psychology assessments vary greatly in length, depending on the assessment.

We welcome email and phone call exchanges with parents (with the need for confidentiality always the guiding principle). However, if exchanges require more than 15 minutes of the therapists’ time, we request the time be booked as a half or full session.

If you or your child is in crisis:

Our clinic is not equipped to operate as a Crisis Centre. In the event you are worried about suicidal risk, or moods are feeling too overwhelming, see below for a list of resources:

For younger children and families:

• Rock Crisis Line: 905-878-9785
• Halton Crisis Line: 905-877-1211
• Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868
• LBGT Youth Line: text 647-694-4275
• Children’s Mental Health Ontario: https://cmho.org/youth-resources/
• Mind Your Mind Canada: https://mindyourmind.ca/

For adults:

• Distress Centre Halton: Oakville 905-849-4541, Burlington 905-681-1488, Halton Hills/Milton 905-877-1211, and Hamilton 905-561-5800; dchalton.ca
• Another good option is 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline. You can call or text it from anywhere in Canada, 24/7, and it’s staffed by trained responders.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Virtual Sessions

We offer virtual sessions as an alternative to in-person when needed and when appropriate with the age of the child. Please ensure clients have a private space, along with headphones to help ensure confidentiality is observed.

Substance Use

We remind all clients, most importantly the teens, that sessions will not be conducted if the client is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Severe Weather

In the event of inclement weather, we follow the school board for guidance on closure. If the local school board is closed, we will also close our clinic. If the local schools remain open, but the buses are cancelled, our site will remain open. On non-school days, we will make a decision based on weather forecasts and the goal of keeping all staff and clients safe. Closures will be posted on our social media.

Hours