COUNSELLING FAQs
I am scared to try therapy. I do not know what my problem and do not know what to talk about
Why do I continually act out in self-defeating ways?
People act out in ways that are not ideal, because it is the best way they have learned to reduce their anxiety and pain. If the anxiety is reduced in other ways, the negative behaviours that you do not want to be continually doing, will no longer be reinforced and the behaviour will disappear, because it no longer serve the anxiety reducing function and you will see the pain they actually cause and will decide to stop them.
I have tried therapy before and did not get the results that I wanted. Can you tell me how your style of therapy is different?
There are so many different models of therapy and therapists, so finding the right model and therapist is the key to getting the results you want. Person or Client-centred evocative therapy starts with you. You talk about whatever is on your mind and I trust you that you are wanting to get at the truth of your experience and together we work to resolve what is conflicted in your experience. We will process both fresh and old wounds that are still alive in you and bring them to life in the here and now so that you can fully process them and extinguish them for good. I will try to hear what you are able to comfortably reveal to me, attend to your full message and reflect back to you a message that will seem familiar but that will go just a little bit deeper than what you were able to express. When you feel heard in this way, you will be encouraged to go even deeper and confront what was previously unexpressed due to how painful it would have been to experience it. Through hearing the edge of your experience, I will help make facing the meaning and emotion of what you are dealing with in that moment safe to experience. I will be reinforcing you for thinking and facing feelings and seeking out experiences and solutions. We will be doing this in succession moment by moment with each new uncomfortable stimuli that comes up for you and you will leave feeling like you have conquered several conflicts within yourself every session, which will empower you to do so outside of therapy.
What are the risks and benefits to counselling?
Counselling has both benefits and risks. You will experience memories, thoughts, and feelings in counselling that may not be comfortable. You will experience fear in small doses in the company of a fully accepting presence, and when no more negative consequences follow, your fear will begin to extinguish. Your fear must be faced to be beaten and therapy helps you face painful thoughts and feelings, making them less painful. You will leave sessions empowered, confident, and think/feel more accurately and see solutions and information in the environment more clearly. Over time, you will start taking actions that you were not able to attempt or sustain before, and this can have tremendous benefits to all facets of your life. Specific and researched gains from therapy include: higher self-esteem, which means you will gain a feeling of personal worth and accept yourself because you will no longer be repelled by your own thoughts and feelings. Secondly, you will gain a sense of personal strength, a sense of control and independence that comes from facing your difficult experiences and conquering them. Third, you will gain more accurate self-experiencing, which means that you will be more comfortable to feel new feelings and seek new experiences without reverting back to the old you. Last but not least, you will gain the ability to be intimate in close relationships, as you will become more empathic and accepting to yourself and those around you.
How many sessions do I need before I see a benefit?
Will what I talk about in therapy be confidential?
Yes. Everything you talk in therapy will remain completely confidential, and will not be released without your written consent.
There are three exceptions/limits to confidentiality, that you will be made aware of, both on the first session, and if there is a potential for a breach and they are:
1) Suspected child or elder abuse
2) An imminent risk of suicide or homicide
3) A court order has been made to subpoena your files
These limits to confidentiality are here for your protection, and I will exercise them in accordance with BCACC guidelines.
What kind of medical coverage or benefits do you accept?
As a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BCACC, I am able to accept most extended medical plans. You can check with your extended medical plans or at the human resources department of your employer to see whether they will accept a Registered Clinical Counsellor, and the maximum yearly allowable amount you are able to redeem per year.
Additionally, I am able to accept coverage, and often bill directly to The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), The Crime Victims Assistance Program (CVAP), Worksafe (WCB), and many others. To find out if you are eligible, call Ofir at 778-288-8361, or click on any of the links corresponding to the insurance provider which will bring you to their respective benefits website.