We often get asked, “I don’t feel bad enough, is therapy right for me?”

We’d like for you to know that you don’t need to wait until things are “bad enough” or you’re in crisis to benefit from therapy. Therapy can help you to maintain your good mental and emotional health, not just help you to recover it once it’s declined. Therapy is a form of self-care, and meeting with a trained therapist can support your mental, emotional, and relational well-being. There’s always something to discover about ourselves, and a therapist can meet you wherever you are on your journey of self-discovery.

If you are in an acute crisis, please contact Durham Mental Health Services (DMHS) at 1-800-742-1890, call 911, or go to your local emergency department.

Psychologists and Psychological Associates have the education and formal training in the areas of assessment (psychological testing), diagnosis, treatment, and research. They are able to formulate and communicate mental health diagnoses and provide treatment in the form of talk therapy. They are registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario and adhere to a high standard of professional practice as defined by several Acts and Standards of Conduct.

Psychiatrists are medical doctors with specialization in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders. Most often, psychiatrists are employed in hospital settings and prescribe and manage medications for patients. Typically, appointments are shorter in duration, involve less talk therapy, and focus more on whether the medication is helping to manage symptoms.

Social Workers (MSW, RSW) have Master’s level education in the area of sociology, psychology, and social work. They have training and experience providing multi-faceted support and therapeutic services to clients with emotional, mental and/or behavioural issues. They are registered mental health providers, regulated by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, adhering to a high standard of professional conduct and ethics.

Registered Psychotherapists (RP’s) come from various backgrounds of education and experience including sociology, psychology, education, spirituality, counselling, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. They work together with clients to bring about positive change in the client’s thinking, feeling, behaviour and social functioning. RP’s are competent to use psychotherapy approaches from a variety of therapeutic modalities, depending on their individual background and experience. They are regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and adhere to a high standard of professional conduct and ethics.

Find a licensed therapist at CORE.

The law in Ontario cites that “controlled acts,” may only be performed by authorized health care professionals. The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 governs those procedures or activities that may pose a risk to the public if not performed by a qualified practitioner.

By definition in the Regulated Health Professions Act, the controlled act of psychotherapy involves five elements:

• Treating
• by means of psychotherapy technique
• delivered through a therapeutic relationship
• an individual's serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory that
• may seriously impair the individual's judgement, insight, behavior, communication, or social functioning (RHPA 1991).

In Ontario, members of six regulatory colleges are authorized to provide the controlled act of psychotherapy provided they do so in compliance with the regulations and the bylaws established by their regulatory colleges. These are the College of Psychologists of Ontario, Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, College of Nurses of Ontario, College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, and College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

We understand how hectic life can get, and we provide convenient and accessible therapy online to help our clients stay on track with their practitioners. Our safe, confidential, and private virtual therapy offers the same welcoming and inclusive atmosphere as our in-person sessions from the comfort of your home.

For more information about the secure video and telephone platform used by our practitioners, and to prepare for virtual sessions, we recommend reading our technology troubleshooting document here. For more information, you may also contact our in-take coordinator.

Pairing clients with the right provider is something we take very seriously, and we strive to ensure a great fit between client and our licensed therapists.

What is known from years of research about the process of psychotherapy, is that the relationship between you and your therapist is one of the most important factors that impacts your process of growth. We encourage you to contact us, so that we may help to answer any questions and provide you with a sense of comfort about taking the next step.

Find a licensed therapist at CORE.

The answer to both of these questions depends mostly on the challenges that you want to address in therapy. In your first meeting, we will begin by reviewing policies around topics such as confidentiality and clinic procedures. Then we will begin to discuss the issues that have brought you to therapy. We will listen and ask questions to gain a preliminary understanding of your concerns. If possible, by the end of the first session we will have generated a list of goals that you have for yourself – things that you would like to achieve through therapy that we can work toward together.

Most often when clients are beginning therapy, it is helpful to meet on a weekly or biweekly basis to begin to address the issues and symptoms that are most distressing. For other clients, meeting less often suits their needs. The frequency of sessions is something that will be discussed with you on an individual basis after consideration of your particular circumstances.

Some specific challenges respond very well to a shorter course of treatment, while others may take a longer time to address. What you can expect is that if you are motivated and willing to look at your life with a new perspective, then you can make positive change, no matter how big or small.

Each session, after the first, will include tools and/or solutions to work on that can be adapted outside of your appointments in your regular life. While it is important for us to learn new strategies together, it will be even more significant to apply parts of your goals and treatment plan in your everyday life.

There is no rule for how often you need to attend therapy and no set amount of sessions. Some clients may benefit from a few sporadic sessions (short-term). Some may benefit from more regular sessions (long-term). Some clients like to come weekly, as they prefer consistency and may have a number of things they are working on, while some find it beneficial to come monthly, to have more time to work on goals and strategies we have developed.

Booked sessions are to be kept to once per week unless a second appointment in the same week is determined to be necessary by your therapist.