CONSENT 

Nature of Counselling:

The Therapists at Your Counselling Ltd approach counselling from an integrative perspective using modalities such as Client-Centered, Cognitive- Behavioural, Narrative Therapy, Dialectal Behavioral, and Solution Focused techniques.

We encourage you to ask questions regarding your Therapist’s education, training and credentials during your initial session. You can also review their profiles and education by going to: https://yourcounselling.ca/get-to-know-us/

Counselling Services:

Counselling is a complex and personalized process, shaped by the unique personalities of both the counsellor and the client, as well as the specific issues addressed during sessions. Effective counselling requires active participation from the client, with progress often extending beyond the office setting. While counselling can bring numerous benefits, such as improved relationships, new coping strategies, skill development, reduced distress, changes in unwanted behaviours, and enhanced self-esteem, it can also evoke difficult emotions like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, or helplessness. The counselling process involves personal exploration and reflection on life perspectives and decisions. Initial sessions typically focus on assessing the client’s needs, after which a treatment plan may be developed if both parties choose to continue therapy. Clients are encouraged to evaluate their comfort level with the therapist, as therapy demands a significant commitment of time, money, and energy. Any questions regarding the therapist’s procedures can be addressed at any point during the process.

Confidentiality:

Confidentiality is a fundamental right of all clients seeking counselling. Any information shared during sessions is kept strictly confidential and will not be disclosed without the client’s written consent, except in specific cases. These include: (a) Duty to Warn, where the counsellor must notify appropriate parties if a client poses a danger to themselves or others, or if there is suspected or confirmed abuse involving a child, elder, or vulnerable person. (b) Court Subpoenas, where legal cases may require the disclosure of the counsellor’s notes or records. (c) Consultation, where information may be discussed confidentially with other counselling professionals to ensure the client receives the best possible care, without revealing the client’s identity.

Clients’ Rights:

Clients have the right to ask questions about any aspect of their therapy. Therapists are open to discussing their methods and are willing to explore alternatives that may better suit the client’s needs. Clients are encouraged to request adjustments or refuse certain counselling techniques if they do not feel comfortable. Additionally, clients may inquire about the therapist’s qualifications and can request a referral if they feel the therapist is not the right fit. Clients are free to discontinue therapy at any time, though a termination session is recommended for closure.

Respectful Communication and Conduct:

Your Counselling Ltd. is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and professional environment for clients, therapists, administrative staff, and visitors.

We recognize that counselling often occurs during times of significant stress, frustration, or emotional difficulty. Clients are encouraged to share concerns, ask questions, and provide feedback about their care or experience with the practice. We are committed to addressing concerns in a respectful and professional manner.

To support a safe environment for everyone, abusive, threatening, harassing, intimidating, discriminatory, or aggressive communication and behaviour will not be tolerated. This includes conduct that compromises the safety, dignity, or well-being of our team, clients, contractors or others connected to the practice.

This expectation applies to all forms of interaction with the practice, including in-person, by telephone, email, text message, video session, social media, or any other form of communication.

If respectful communication or conduct is not maintained, the practice may take appropriate steps to support safety and professional boundaries. This may include pausing communication, limiting written correspondence, cancelling or rescheduling future appointments, restricting communication to written correspondence, suspending or terminating services immediately, and/or referring the client to alternative service providers where appropriate. Any outstanding fees remain payable in accordance with this agreement.

By engaging in services with our practice, you acknowledge and agree to maintain respectful communication and conduct throughout your relationship with the practice.

Record Keeping

Your Counselling Ltd. maintains your demographic and administrative record, including information such as your contact details, appointment history, billing information, consent forms, and other non-clinical documentation. Your treating therapist maintains your clinical record, including documentation related to your assessment, treatment, and therapeutic progress.

All records are maintained in a secure digital format utilizing encryption protocols and industry-standard safeguards designed to prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years following your final session, or longer where required by applicable legislation, regulatory standards, or professional obligations.

Clinical records are concise in nature and document attendance, clinical observations, therapeutic interventions, treatment planning, and general topics relevant to the course of therapy. Process notes or personal working notes maintained by a therapist, where applicable, are not considered part of the clinical record and are generally not subject to disclosure.

Upon written request, your therapist may prepare a clinical summary for you or another authorized party, subject to applicable privacy legislation, professional standards, and your written consent where required. Individual psychotherapy session notes are not routinely released. Reasonable administrative fees may apply for the preparation, duplication, or transmission of records or summaries.

Your treating therapist is responsible for the creation, maintenance, security, and professional management of the clinical record in accordance with the standards of their regulatory college and all applicable legal and ethical requirements.

Contacting your Therapist:

For scheduling, billing, or other administrative matters, please contact our main office. Our administrative team is available Monday through Friday and will be happy to assist you.

Therapists are not available by telephone without a pre-arranged appointment.

If you leave a voicemail or send an email directly to your therapist, messages are typically reviewed and responded to within 36 hours during regular business days.

If your therapist will be away for an extended period, you will be provided with an alternate contact for time-sensitive matters. For urgent scheduling or administrative concerns, please contact our administrative team through the main office.

Emergencies:

In case of an emergency between sessions, clients are advised to contact the appropriate support based on their location:

• Calgary: Contact the Distress Centre Calgary at 403-266-4357 (available 24/7), visit the nearest Emergency Room or Urgent Care Centre, or call 911 for immediate assistance.
• Dartmouth and surrounding areas: Contact the Mental Health Crisis Line at 1-888-429-8167 (available 24/7), visit the nearest Emergency Room, or call 911 in an emergency.

Clients in either location may also call the 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline, a national, 24/7, confidential service available across Canada, by dialing 988.

Clinic Structure:

Therapists operating under the name “Your Counselling Ltd” are independent practitioners and not business partners. While they may collaborate on clinical or business matters when necessary, each practitioner is autonomous. All client concerns are addressed directly between the client and their respective therapist.

Questions, Concerns, and Feedback

We are committed to providing a respectful, responsive, and professional experience.

If you have questions, concerns, or feedback about your therapeutic care or your therapist’s clinical services, we encourage you to discuss these directly with your therapist whenever possible. Many concerns can be resolved through open communication within the therapeutic relationship.

For administrative matters—including scheduling, billing, clinic policies, documentation requests, or other non-clinical concerns—please contact our Client Services Team. They are responsible for the administration of the practice and are authorized to make decisions regarding administrative policies and procedures. Decisions made by the Client Services Team on administrative matters are considered final.

If your concern relates to a therapist’s professional conduct, ethics, or standards of practice, our Client Services Team can provide you with the contact information for your therapist’s regulatory college and explain the appropriate complaint process.

Professional Consultation and Collaboration

To support the highest quality of care, your therapist may consult with other therapists or members of the clinical leadership team within the practice regarding your care. These consultations are intended to enhance clinical decision-making, treatment planning, and professional support.

Whenever possible, these discussions are conducted using non-identifying information. All individuals involved are bound by the same legal, ethical, and professional obligations of confidentiality. Information is shared only to the extent necessary for clinical consultation and in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and professional standards.

By providing your consent to treatment, you acknowledge and consent to these professional consultations as part of the delivery of your care.

Standard Rates:

* Fees are billed in 15 min increments based on session type should any variation need to occur. In these instances, for extended or shortened Sessions, fees will be discussed with your therapist.

Fees are paid following each session. Debit, Credit, Cash, and E-Transfer are all accepted forms of payment. Detailed receipts are provided following payment.

While we offer direct billing to various insurance companies we cannot speak to the level/type of coverage you have as we are not able to access this information.

Any balance not covered by direct billing is payable at the end of your session.   

APPOINTMENT POLICY

We consider any appointment that you have made important. Your appointment is for your exclusive use and when it is cancelled with short notice, or missed altogether, it is too late or impossible to offer this time to someone else and the appointment time goes unfilled.

The following outlines how missed and late cancelled appointments are handled:

• A full 24-hour notice is required for all cancellations and changes.
• Confirmation from either our booking system or our admin team is required for confirm a session has been successfully cancelled.
• If you cancel with less than 24 hours before your appointment time, you will be billed for 100% of the cost of your appointment.
• Clients who fail to show up for a scheduled appointment (“no show”) are billed/invoiced for the full cost of their scheduled session.

• Our booking system will send out reminder emails. These reminders are a courtesy only; clients are responsible to keep or cancel their appointment regardless of whether they receive a reminder or not.
• If you are uncertain when your next appointment is, please call our office.

• There is a range of valid reasons for cancelling an appointment. To be consistent with all clients, cancellation fees will only be waived in the event of a documented medical emergency requiring urgent professional treatment, a death in the family or unsafe weather for travelling (i.e. severe snowstorm).

• If you have booked a series of counselling appointments and have cancelled your most recent appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice or have missed that appointment, you have 24 hours to pay the associated fees to retain your remaining pre-booked sessions.
• For any bookings of more than two (2) appointments in the future, we require a credit card on file. This  helps us manage our schedule effectively and ensures your appointments are confirmed. Your card will only be charged in accordance with this cancellation policy.

• Missed appointments and late cancellations are payable via debit, credit, cash or e-transfer prior to your next session.

• All no-show fees or cancellations fees collected have receipts marked “cancellation fee” or “missed appointment” and cannot be marked as a “counselling session”.
• We are unable to direct bill your insurance for any late cancellation or no show appointments.
• Weekend Appointments must be cancelled by the Friday before the appointment occurs.
• Clients with overdue invoices and funds owned are not able to book sessions.
• Any unpaid accounts may be referred to a third-party collection agency for recovery. To avoid this, we encourage timely payment or to contact us to discuss payment arrangements.
• Online scheduling may, at times, be unavailable at our discretion or due to automatic system changes. This may occur as a result of program requirements, outstanding invoices, or a pattern of frequent cancellations, changes, or no-shows. When online booking is unavailable, appointments must be scheduled through our reception team during regular business hours.

For support with scheduling, please call our reception team during our regular business hours.