• Addiction and Substance Use

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Emotional Regulation

• Family Conflict

• Life Transitions

• Relationship Challenges

• Self-Esteem

• Trauma-Related Stress

In-Person Therapy in Kitchener-Waterloo

• Individual Therapy - $160 per Session

Online Therapy

• Individual Therapy - $160 per Session

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

• Client-Centred Approaches

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

• Harm Reduction

• Motivational Interviewing

• Narrative Therapy

• Solution-Focused Therapy

• Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), Registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), License Number: #21231

• Supervised by Shambhvi Sharma, Registered Psychotherapist, Registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), License Number: #14355

What happens in the course of counselling varies from person to person, depending on your goals for counselling and your life circumstances. That being said, for most people counselling follows the same overarching pattern.

Assessment is where you'll work together with your therapist to determine your goals for counselling, what barriers prevent you from meeting those goals, and how best to address those barriers.

Phase one of counselling is for establishing safety and stabilization. The main reason for this is to make sure that you're ready to do the hard work of therapy - kind of like a runner training for a marathon. This is done externally by making sure you're free from danger (safety) and internally by developing strategies to help you deal effectively with difficult emotions (stabilization). 

Phase two of counselling is the processing phase, where you'll work with your therapist to address the root causes of your difficulties. This could range anywhere from changing relationship dynamics to addressing childhood trauma. This tends to be the longest phase of therapy - kind of like running the marathon itself.

Phase three of counselling is reconnection, where you'll work with your therapist to determine how you want your life to look now that you've dealt with what brought you to counselling. This tends to be the shortest and most joyful phase of counselling - kind of like deciding what you want to do after you finish your marathon. Many people don't need counselling for this phase.

There are no shoulds or musts in counselling, so you're not obligated to complete all three phases in the same course of treatment or with the same therapist.

At the beginning of the session, you and your therapist will go over some boring paperwork about informed consent, confidentiality, and cancellation policy. 

Then the paperwork is finished! You and your therapist will then begin to collaborate about the most effective way to work together to meet your goals and start to work toward them. You'll also have the opportunity to ask your therapist any questions you may have about counselling, his or her approach or training, or anything else you might be curious about.

And that's pretty much it for the first counselling session.

The length of counselling varies according to your goals for counselling, your life circumstances, and your life history.

In simple cases, counselling can take only around 5 sessions. An example of a simple case would be an adult who grew up in a healthy home environment, is able to take good care of him or herself on a day-to-day basis, and is seeking treatment for the resolution of PTSD related to a recent motor vehicle accident.

In complex cases, counselling can take several months or even years. An example of a complex case would be someone who was abused and/or neglected when they were growing up, currently lives in an unstable environment, and is struggling with addiction. This person can still find healing and happiness - it just takes longer and harder work. 

Most people are somewhere in the middle between simple and complex.

After completing an assessment with you, your therapist should be able to give you an idea of how long counselling will take in your specific case.

Yes we do, but there are some restrictions set by some insurance companies.

If you would like us to direct bill your insurance after a session, please be sure to choose a therapist that your insurance company allows us to direct bill with using the guide below:

Insurers We Direct Bill for Sessions with Registered Social Workers (RSW):

• AGA Financial Group inc.

• Alberta Bluecross

• Beneva

• Canada Life

• Canada Life - PSHCP

• Chambers of Commerce (Johnston Group)

• CINUP (Johnston Group)

• ClaimSecure

• Coughlin & Associates Ltd.

• Cowan (Express Scripts Canada)

• D.A. Townley

• First Canadian (Johnston Group)

• GMS Carriers 49 and 50 (Express Scripts Canada)

• Industrial Alliance

• Johnson (Express Scripts Canada)

• Johnston Group

• Maximum Benefit (Johnston Group)

• People Corporation

• RWAM (Requires MSW)

• Simply Benefits

• TELUS AdjudiCare

• Union Benefits

• MDM Insurance Services

• UV Insurance

• Manulife Financial

• Medavie Bluecross (Requires MSW)

  • Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) (Requires MSW + 5 Years of Licensed Experience)

  • Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) (Requires MSW + 5 Years of Licensed Experience) *requires pre-approval) 

  • Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) (Requires MSW + 5 Years of Licensed Experience) *requires pre-approval) 

  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) (Requires MSW + 5 Years of Licensed Experience) *requires pre-approval)

• Greenshield Insurance (Requires MSW)

• SSQ Insurance

• Empire Life Insurance

• MÉDIC Construction (GreenShield Insurance)

• Co-operators

• NexGenRx

• Global Benefits

Insurers We Direct Bill for Sessions with Registered Psychotherapists (RP):

• AGA Financial Group inc.

• Alberta Bluecross

• Beneva

• Canada Life

• Canada Life - PSHCP

• Chambers of Commerce (Johnston Group)

• CINUP (Johnston Group)

• ClaimSecure

• Coughlin & Associates Ltd.

• Cowan (Express Scripts Canada)

• D.A. Townley

• First Canadian (Johnston Group)

• GMS Carriers 49 and 50 (Express Scripts Canada)

• Industrial Alliance

• Johnson (Express Scripts Canada)

• Johnston Group

• Maximum Benefit (Johnston Group)

• People Corporation

• RWAM

• Simply Benefits

• TELUS AdjudiCare

• Union Benefits

• Manulife Financial

• MDM Insurance Services

• Medavie Bluecross

  • Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) (Requires 5 Years of Licensed Experience)

  • Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) (Requires 5 Years of Licensed Experience) *requires pre-approval) 

  • Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) (Requires 5 Years of Licensed Experience) *requires pre-approval) 

  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) (Requires 5 Years of Licensed Experience) *requires pre-approval)

• Greenshield Insurance

• SSQ Insurance

• Empire Life Insurance

• MÉDIC Construction (GreenShield Insurance)

Insurers We Direct Bill for Sessions with Registered Psychotherapists (Qualifying) or Requiring Supervision:

• Medavie Bluecross

• Greenshield Insurance

• SSQ Insurance

• MÉDIC Construction (GreenShield Insurance)

The terms therapist and counsellor are often used interchangeably. A therapist usually has a Master's or Doctoral degree in at least one of a confusing number of different disciplines: social work (MSW), couple and family therapy (MSc), general counselling (MA), psychology (MA or PhD), spiritual care (MDiv), or sometimes - but not usually - medicine (MD). Therapists tend to focus less on assigning labels to people and more on helping them to address the issues that prevent them from living life fully. The counselling services offered here at Transformation Counselling fall into this category.

A psychologist either has a Master's degree or a PhD in psychology. A psychologist could be a researcher who conducts studies, a clinician who administers psychological tests and makes diagnoses, a therapist who provides counselling, or a jack-of-all-trades who does some combination of all the above.

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing mental illness and prescribing medication. They don't typically provide counselling.

All the different titles and degrees can understandably be really confusing for anyone looking for a therapist. One of the most common points of confusion is the difference between a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and a Registered Psychotherapist (RP). It would stand to reason that a Registered Psychotherapist does psychotherapy while a Registered Social Worker carries around a little clipboard and connects people to community resources, right?

Well, just to make things as confusing as possible to anyone outside our field, the reality is that Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers do the exact same thing!

Psychotherapy is a controlled act in Ontario, which means only people with certain licences can practice psychotherapy. If you Google it, you’ll see that Registered Social Workers are actually at the top of the list, along with Registered Psychotherapists and a few other select professions.

So what does that mean for you? It means that at our clinic, our RSWs and RPs are equally good at doing psychotherapy. The only reason for you to be concerned about your therapist’s professional designation is in case your insurance only covers you for one designation but not the other. Otherwise, your therapist’s areas of expertise will be way more important than their professional designation.

Oh, and by the way, congratulations for being brave enough to find yourself a therapist. Here at Transformation, we think that makes you pretty damn heroic.

If you're wondering if medication might be helpful to you, the best person to ask is a medical doctor - they're the only people who can diagnose and prescribe medication for mental illness. Family physicians are probably the best place to start, and if you need a specialist, they can refer you to a psychiatrist. If you don't have a family doctor, you could also head to a walk-in clinic or use an online service to connect to a doctor.

Psychiatric medication (known by people who like big words as "psychotropic medication," "psychoactive medication," or "psychodynamic medication") is most helpful for severe mental illness, such as severe depression or anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Neuroscience can't yet tell us exactly how, but research shows that such medication tends to lower the intensity of symptoms - but doesn't eliminate them altogether.

In severe cases, medication can be extremely helpful. Taking medication is not a sign of weakness. It's also not a silver bullet that will make everything better. Oftentimes, the best course of treatment for severe mental illness is some combination of taking medication (known by big word enthusiasts as "psychopharmacotherapy") and going to counselling (aka "psychotherapy"). 

Only medical doctors or Registered Psychologists can make a diagnosis, and only medical doctors can prescribe medication. Often family physicians prescribe medication, but psychiatrists are specialists in this area. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in diagnosing and prescribing medication for mental illness. Their services are covered by OHIP, but, as with other specialists, it can take a long time to get in to see one.

If you have questions about diagnosis or medication, you can book a psychological assessment with a Registered Psychologist or ask your family doctor. If you don't have a family doctor, doctors at the walk-in clinics in your area or online doctor apps may be able to help.

There are a ton of therapists, and choosing the right one can seem daunting. Everyone has different likes and dislikes, but here are three basic criteria that can help you make the right choice.

1. You can see yourself having a good relationship with them. The healing of counselling takes place in the context of a relationship, so having a solid relationship with your therapist is the foundation of everything else. Regardless of individual style or characteristics, a good therapist should be empathetic, authentic, and capable of seeing the best in you.

2. They are skilled and confident. At the end of the day, you can have a good relationship with your grandma - and she probably won't charge you money for it. A good therapist should therefore not only be empathetic and kind, but also highly skilled and confident in their abilities. They should also be able to keep you in the loop as to where therapy is headed and why they're doing what they're doing. 

3. They've done their own therapy. What separates excellent therapists from their peers is that the excellent ones have done their own inner work. People who have worked through their own shit tend to live their own values deeply, laugh easily, and relate to others with profound understanding and compassion. Going to a therapist who hasn't done their own work may not be the best use of your resources - kind of like going to a personal trainer who doesn't exercise.

MSW: Master of Social Work. In Ontario, MSW is the most common designation of therapists - and it's also the most commonly covered by benefits. Our therapists with MSWs specialized in clinical counselling practice with individuals, families, and groups.

MSc: Master of Science in Couple and Family Therapy. This degree is awarded by the University of Guelph’s highly prestigious couple and family therapy program. It’s a bit of a mystery why it’s a Master of Science rather than a Master of Arts program, but hey, either way, they really know their stuff.

MDiv: Master of Divinity. Having this degree means your therapist can cast awesome spells and conjure animals to help him do things. Just kidding. It's a degree that focuses on the existential/spiritual aspects of counselling. John got his MDiv from Laurier in Waterloo, and in it he specialized in spiritual care and psychotherapy.

RSW: Registered Social Worker. Being an RSW means a therapist is a member in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). This means that 1) most insurance companies will cover you to see them, 2) they meet the ethical and professional development requirements of the College.

RP: Registered Psychotherapist. Like with an RSW designation, being an RP means a therapist is a member in good standing with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). This means they meet the CRPO's rigorous standards for ethics, training, supervision, and continued professional development.

Sessions with our therapists range from $80 to $195 per 50 minutes. If you're covered by benefits, there's a good chance you're covered to see our therapists. Check your benefits package for coverage to see an MSW, RSW, or RP.

If you can't afford our rates, you can bring this up during your session and your therapist can discussed reduced rate therapy options with you.

Our preference is to not put anyone on a waitlist. We work hard to find you a therapist at our clinic, or at another clinic that can help you as soon as today or tomorrow.

If you would prefer to be put on a waitlist for a specific therapist who is not accepting clients at the moment, then that can be arranged. You can usually connect with your therapist within 1 to 5 months depending on availability and size of the waitlist.

admin@transformationcounselling.com

(519) 954-4900

22 King Street South, Waterloo, Ontario.

We have two offices in the building. One on the 4th floor (Unit 404) and one of the 1st floor (Unit 103).