Frequently Asked Questions

First sessions are known as intake sessions. These sessions are casual, comfortable, and approximately 50 minutes long and cover the initial paperwork including covering informed consent, privacy, practice policies. The first session helps give us some important background pieces about who you are. The second half of intake session is more of a fluid conversation identifying and setting goals so the counselling process can begin.

The answer is that it really depends on a few things. What are your goals? What is going on in your life right now? What has happened in the past that is affecting your life right now? A lot of things that can affect the answer to this question.

Counselling can last anywhere from a couple of months to several years. People are often looking for different things from counselling. So, it will depend on your objective.

A few things we can give you a more solid answer on. Attending counselling consistently will help. We usually recommend weekly sessions because it allows for continuity from session to session to the next, while gaining momentum

There are a few ways that you may go about doing that. One way is the “you’ll know when you know” method. It’s helpful to feel like you connect with someone if they’re going to be your counsellor.

You may want to research a little and see if anyone specializes in the problems that are bringing you to therapy. That can be valuable. You can even have consultations to see how you feel about a fit by phone. We provide a 30 minute free consultation for people interested in counselling.

In the end, it’s really is your decision and it’s one that you are definitely able to make! If nothing else, you deserve to decide on your counsellor.

Yes. Virtuous Circle Counselling provides counselling and mental health support for children, teens, adults, couples, and families. Our team includes therapists with experience supporting children and youth with a variety of emotional, behavioural, social, and life challenges.

Because every child is different, we focus on finding a therapist whose experience, approach, and age range are a good fit for your child’s needs. Our team can also help parents and caregivers navigate the process and determine an appropriate next step.

Use our Find a Therapist tool or contact our Client Care team for help finding the right therapist for your child.

Social workers and psychologists are regulated health professionals. In Alberta, Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers, while Registered Psychologists are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists.

Both professions are required to meet professional standards and participate in ongoing professional development. While individual clinicians may use different therapeutic approaches, they must practise within their scope of competence and follow the standards and ethical requirements established by their respective regulatory bodies.

Registered Clinical Social Workers and Registered Psychologists may both provide assessment and psychotherapy within their professional scope. Certain qualified professionals may also diagnose mental health disorders within the scope permitted by their profession and provincial legislation. Neither Registered Clinical Social Workers nor Registered Psychologists prescribe medication; medication is prescribed by appropriately authorized medical professionals.

Professional regulation and requirements differ across Canada. In Alberta, registration as a psychologist does not necessarily require a doctoral degree; psychologists may meet the College’s registration requirements through an eligible graduate-level pathway.

We all face challenges. At any given time, we may feel as if these challenges require more support than others. Sometimes we may also put off facing these challenges for hope that they will resolve themselves.

If you find yourself evaluating how these challenges are affecting your life and how well you are coping, you may find benefit to coming into therapy as an opportunity to gain support in a supportive non-judgmental environment.

Many extended health benefit plans provide coverage for counselling and psychological services. Coverage varies depending on your individual insurance plan and the professional designation of your therapist, so we recommend confirming the details of your coverage with your insurance provider.

Virtuous Circle Counselling offers direct billing to many major insurance providers for eligible services and clinicians. When direct billing is available, we can submit your claim to your insurance provider on your behalf, helping make the payment process as simple and convenient as possible.

Before your first appointment, we recommend confirming:

• whether your plan covers your therapist’s professional designation;
• how much coverage you have per session or per year;
• whether your plan requires a referral; and
• whether your particular plan allows direct billing.

Our Client Care team is also happy to help you understand our direct-billing process and answer questions before you book.

Medication is a personal decision. What you choose to put in your body is your choice. Medication is a decision we would encourage you to explore and make the choice that is the right approach in your health care. You are the expert of your life.

Our stance is that while medication is a personal decision, medication and therapy can be a wrap around support that treats both the symptoms of illness and the thoughts, feelings, behaviours and emotions of an underlying illness. Depending on the issue, discussing medication with your treatment team can be a collaborative option that can help you gain greater treatment outcome.