Answers to the questions I’m asked most often, grouped to help you find what you need. If yours isn’t here, reach out through the Get in Touch page — the first conversation is free.
Fit matters as much as credentials, and the honest way to find out is to talk — which is why the first step is a free consultation, so you can get a feel for working with me before committing to anything. Notice whether you feel heard rather than judged or rushed; most people sense within a session or two whether it’s right. If it isn’t, I’ll say so and, where I can, point you toward someone who might be a better match.
I offer an initial conversation to help determine whether I might be the right therapist for you and whether the kind of therapy you’re looking for fits my practice.
The first session is mostly about understanding what’s bringing you in and the bigger context around it — your history, what you’ve tried, and what you’re hoping will change. It’s less formal than people expect: no clipboard checklist, just a conversation with some structure to it. By the end, you’ll have a sense of what working together would actually look like, decided together rather than handed to you.
To start, weekly — that continuity is what builds momentum and lets us actually track what’s shifting. Once things stabilize, many people move to every other week. There’s no fixed formula; we adjust to what’s happening in your life.
There’s no set endpoint, and I’d be skeptical of anyone who promises one. Some people come for a focused stretch of eight to twelve sessions to work through something specific; others stay longer because the work keeps evolving. I check in along the way about what’s changed and whether it still makes sense to continue, so it never runs open-ended without reason.
I don’t work from a single script — I draw on what fits the person in front of me. That includes cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness, attachment-based work, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Relational Life Therapy (RLT) for couples, and experiential approaches like Internal Family Systems (IFS). In practice, the work is shaped around you and whatever you’re navigating — anxiety, depression, ADHD, a relationship, or a period of change.
Yes. Alongside the deeper work of understanding your patterns, I’ll offer concrete, usable tools — ways to steady anxiety in the moment, interrupt an unhelpful thought, or communicate differently with a partner. The aim is that you leave sessions with something you can actually do, not just insight.
Yes — men’s mental health is a particular focus of mine. Many of the men I see are functioning well on the outside but feel disconnected from themselves or the people they love, and were never really given permission to talk about it. The work tends to be direct and practical, built around what actually shows up for men rather than a generic approach.
Yes — couples work is central to my practice. Partners come for three very different reasons, and all are valid grounds to start: to strengthen a relationship they want to keep, to end one thoughtfully and with less harm, or because they genuinely aren’t sure whether to stay or go. I draw on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Relational Life Therapy (RLT) to get underneath the surface arguments to the patterns driving them — so you can either rebuild the connection or find the clarity to decide well.
Both. I see clients in person at my Midtown Toronto office and virtually across Ontario over a secure, encrypted video platform. Research shows virtual sessions are as effective as in-person for most concerns, and you can move between the two as your week requires — travel, childcare, or just what suits a particular week.
My office is at 425 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, ON M5N 1A4 — near Avenue Road, just west of Avenue Station on Line 5 Eglinton, with Green P parking right around the corner. Virtual sessions are available anywhere in Ontario.
The best first step is a free, no-obligation consultation — a short call to share a bit about what’s going on and see whether it’s a good fit. You don’t need a doctor’s referral. You can arrange it through the Get in Touch page, and if it feels right, we’ll book a first session from there.
I ask for at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule. Late cancellations may be subject to the full session fee. Life happens — just let me know as early as you can.
My fee is $250 per session, for both individual and couples work.
Yes. I provide a detailed invoice and receipt after every session, which you can submit to your insurer for reimbursement or claim as a medical expense on your income tax return.
Often, yes. I’m both a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and a Registered Psychotherapist (RP), and holding both designations widens the plans that qualify — many private and group extended health plans cover one or the other. Check your plan for ‘psychotherapy,’ ‘social work,’ ‘registered psychotherapist,’ or ‘mental health counselling’ coverage, or ask your provider directly whether it covers a Registered Social Worker or Registered Psychotherapist. I don’t bill insurers directly, but the receipts I provide are everything you need to submit.
Psychotherapy with a Registered Social Worker or Registered Psychotherapist in private practice isn’t covered by OHIP. It is, however, often covered by private and workplace extended health benefits, and can be claimed as a medical expense at tax time.
That’s completely normal — and figuring it out is part of my job, not something you need to sort out before you arrive. Many people come in with just a sense that something’s off, not a clearly named problem. In the first conversation we’ll look at what’s going on together and decide what kind of support actually fits — individual work, couples work, or something more specific.
It’s worth naming what didn’t work last time, because that’s useful information rather than a dead end. Therapy that doesn’t land usually comes down to fit, pace, or approach — not that therapy can’t help you. I work in a fairly direct, practical way and draw on several different methods, so if a past experience felt too passive or wasn’t the right match, this may feel quite different. We can talk about what you’re looking for on the consult.
You’ll usually get a sense within the first conversation — whether you feel comfortable being direct, whether the pace feels right, whether you leave feeling heard rather than managed. The free consult exists specifically to test that before any commitment. And if it’s not the right fit, I’ll tell you honestly and help point you toward someone who might be better matched.