Q. What are your areas of specialization?

A. I provide counseling for a wide variety of different issues. Amongst these, my professional training and work experiences give me particular insight into career challenges and work-life balance issues. As a mother and with my years of experience in women’s services, I also have a particular awareness of the issues faced by women transitioning back to the workforce after maternity leaves and the challenges of balancing parenting responsibilities with professional expectations. As well, I have many years of experience working with young people.

As a former criminal lawyer, I am very knowledgeable about what it means for an individual to go through a court process, whether criminal, family, or civil. As such, I am particularly well-suited to provide counseling for individuals who are on bail, probation or seeking assistance for the purposes of a family court assessment. I also provide counseling for individuals who are affected by the stress of a family member who is involved with the justice system.

If you have any questions about the type of services I provide or whether I have experience dealing with a particular issue please feel free to contact me for more information.

Q. How often / for how long will I need to see you?

A. There is no set number of sessions that I recommend individuals attend with me. Depending on the nature of the issue you want to work on it could be as few as a couple of sessions or an open-ended arrangement that could last for months. For example, learning new strategies to cope with a difficult workplace situation would likely take a much shorter time than working on a family relationship that has been troubled for many years. As well, often during the course of counseling clients will reframe or clarify their goals or what they want to achieve as they gain new insight and understanding of their situation.

How often you come in for sessions is also dependent on your situation – the nature of the issue or issues you want to work on, your availability, and sometimes, the financial cost of counseling.

With respect to both the length and frequency of sessions I will make recommendations with all due consideration to your goals and personal situation. The bottom line, however, is that entirely up to you how often you see me and ultimately, your decision as to when to end the counseling process.

Q. What about the confidentiality of what I tell you?

A. Confidentiality is one of the most critical components of the therapist-client relationship and I ensure that the highest level of confidentiality applies to everything a client tells me. Except for very limited reasons where I am legally required to disclose information provided during a counseling session (for example, if I become aware that a child is currently being abused), I am actually legally and ethically required by the standards of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers of which I am a member to keep information I receive from clients between only myself and my client.

If you have any concerns about the scope of confidentiality or its limits please feel free to ask me any specific questions you may have.

Q. What if I can’t make my scheduled appointment time?

A. If I am not able to offer you an appointment time that fits your schedule we can make arrangements to conduct sessions over the telephone. This option is only available for clients with whom I have an established relationship, and on an occasional basis. It is always preferable to meet in person but I will make efforts to accommodate circumstances that make this impossible.

I do require 24 hours notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment or a missed appointment fee may apply.