Psychological services are not covered by British Columbia’s Medical Services Plan (MSP), unfortunately. However, your treatment may be partially or fully funded through one of the following funding services:

Extended Health Benefits - If you or a family member have extended health benefits, check with your insurance company (e.g., Pacific Blue Cross) to find out whether it includes coverage for psychological services with a registered psychologist, and if so, how much you are allotted per year. In the event that you have coverage, you will be billed directly for services and then you can request reimbursement from your insurance company.​

Crime Victims Assistance Program (CVAP) - You may be eligible for partially funded services through CVAP if you or an immediate family member have been victim or witness to violence, including physical and sexual abuse. Call 1-800-563-0808 and speak with a Victim’s Service Worker who can answer questions and offer assistance in applying for CVAP.

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Military/Veterans & RCMP - I offer direct billing through Medavie/Blue Cross for RCMP and members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces. 

Step 1:     The first step to starting treatment is to reach out to me by completing the contact form or to call and leave a voicemail briefly describing the concerns for which you are seeking treatment.  I aim to reply within 2 weeks regarding availability for services.

Step 2:     If I have availability at the time, we will set up a free 15-minute call so that I can learn a little more about you and the issues for which you are seeking treatment, answer any questions about my services, and determine if there is a good “fit” between us. Sometimes there will not be a good fit depending on many factors including (but not limited to) difficulties aligning our schedule for treatment sessions, the issues for which you are seeking treatment are not within my scope of practice, and/or you may be better suited for a different treatment or treatment with a different provider. Therapeutic fit between therapist and client is an important factor in therapy being effective.

Step 3:      If there seems to be a good fit, I will send you some forms to review and complete and we will schedule a 90-minute intake assessment session wherein I will collect information about your history, current issues/symptoms, and strengths and provide you with my diagnostic impressions and initial treatment recommendations.

Step 4:     At the end of the intake assessment session, if you’d like to proceed with treatment and there continues to be a good fit between us, we will set up a first therapy appointment.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a scientifically supported form of psychotherapy that works by helping individuals develop skills to become aware of the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and to change emotions by learning thinking and behavioural skills. Thinking skills in CBT includes learning to look for evidence that may be contrary to one’s initial thoughts and long-held or core beliefs and expanding awareness to include additional information that may not be easy to see when one is “stuck.” Behavioural skills in CBT work by trying new behaviours, which provide opportunities to experientially learn new information that may have been keeping one stuck in painful emotions and ineffective thinking and behavioural patterns. Certain mental disorders are most effectively treated with more structured CBT (e.g., session by session plan, worksheets, and skill practice) including obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and certain anxiety and depressive disorders.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a treatment program for individuals struggling with symptoms of borderline personality disorder, including overwhelming and intense emotions, self-harm/suicidal behaviours and other coping strategies that create problems (e.g., substance use, ineffective communication, avoidance), and unstable relationships. Since its initial development, DBT has been adapted and applied to treat other complex emotional problems including treatment-resistant depression, specific eating disorders, and substance use disorders. One of the core tenants of DBT is the idea that for change to occur, one must first accept reality as it is.  

Comprehensive DBT is typically a year-long treatment program that includes four components - weekly skills group, weekly individual therapy, phone coaching (support with practicing skills outside of individual treatment sessions), and your therapist's participation in a weekly DBT consultation group. DBT involves learning and applying core skills including mindfulness (developing greater awareness of emotions, thoughts, behaviours, and the environment), distress tolerance (coping with intense pain in the moment without making the situation worse), emotion regulation (ways of changing unwanted emotions), and interpersonal effectiveness (improving communication skills, setting boundaries, validating oneself and others).

At Open Mind Psychology, I can provide components of DBT, including individual therapy, which can include teaching DBT skills that are typically learned in the DBT skills group.

Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (RO DBT) is a new evidence-based treatment for individuals who have problems associated with an emotionally overcontrolled coping style. Features of an overcontrolled coping style can include inhibited emotional expression, overly cautious, hypervigilant behaviour (i.e., being hyper-alert to potential threats), an aloof and distant style of relating, self-criticism, high personal standards, and perfectionism.

An underlying assumption in RO DBT is that we live in a society that often reinforces working harder, being more efficient, and being in control of our emotions, which can unconsciously reinforce features of overcontrolled coping in the short-term, but lead to emotional loneliness in the long-term. Overcontrolled coping can get in the way of showing emotions, displaying vulnerability, and flexibly responding in relationships, all of which are essential to joining in with others and establishing intimate bonds.

Emotional loneliness is targeted in RO DBT by teaching essential skills to interact with others in ways that foster connection and close relationships, and to increase openness and flexibility in order to learn, adapt to change, and create more opportunities for joy and fun.

An overcontrolled coping style is thought to underlie many difficult to treat mental health problems, including treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorders, anorexia nervosa*, as well as avoidant, paranoid, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

Comprehensive RO DBT involves 30+ weekly individual therapy sessions and 30 weekly 2.5 hour skills classes.

At Open Mind Psychology, I can provide components of RO DBT, including individual therapy, which can include teaching RO DBT skills that are typically learned in the RO DBT skills class.

* Persons struggling with anorexia nervosa should have a medical team in place to assist them with managing associated nutritional and physical complications.

I will work collaboratively with you to develop a treatment plan based on your specific issues and treatment goals, while considering the scientific evidence for duration and frequency of treatment for specific mental disorders. Research suggests that weekly or biweekly (every two weeks) sessions are most effective, while less frequent sessions are not supported in the research for the types of treatment I offer.   

Once treatment begins, we will work together to develop and monitor treatment goals, monitor progress on symptoms, and modify/change aspects of your treatment that may increase the effectiveness of therapy based on your needs and feedback. Deciding when it is effective to end or graduate from treatment will be a decision made in collaboration with you.