As a psychologist, it is my responsibility to offer you a caring, evidenced-based, ethical and confidential relationship. When people find a psychologist they fit with, they find that through conversations, they are able to develop an awareness of themselves that is different than they had before.

I know that in order to us to work together productively, I am going to do my best to be clear in what your rights are as a client and how I will act to protect those rights. In the initial 2-3 sessions of the therapy relationship we spend quite a bit of time discussing your rights and I provide information about our mutual responsibilities so we both know how to show up to get the most out of our work together. Psychologists are required to obtain Informed Consent prior to starting treatment – which means that collaboratively you and I will create a plan that includes:

• Purpose of our work together
• Mutual responsibilities
• Confidentiality protections and Limits to confidentiality,
• Likely benefits and risks of treatment & Likely consequences of not seeking help
• Alternatives to psychological intervention
• Options to change your mind & How to take back consent
• Period of time our agreement spans

While this all sounds quite clinical – I promise it is not as difficult as it sounds. In these conversations, I get to learn about your ideas of what may work best for you and provide some options of what has worked for others in your situation.

One way to look at the work we will do together in therapy is to imagine we are two people going out on a road trip together. You are in the driver’s seat – we are not going anywhere you don’t want to go. I, as the psychologist, am in the passenger’s seat.

As the passenger I have done some research on the road-trip routes (how to get to where you want to go!) and am willing and able to offer to coach you on the chosen route. There are some routes I taken others through and some routes (i.e., addiction treatment, eating disorders treatment) that I do not know. I will let you know if I don’t know how to get where you want to go! As the passenger, I will do my best to plan for us to get where you want to go, I need to keep informing myself of the conditions and checking in with you on how you are doing in order to know what to plan. I am an encourager and someone who will be with you through the hard patches and the delightful parts of the journey.

As the driver, you have a lot of important responsibilities as well. It is your life and your course that we are working on together. You get to choose when to go faster or slower, when to take breaks, if we need some quiet time in the trip together (i.e., you want something different from me), or if you want to ask me to leave the car and continue your trip with someone else (i.e., end the therapy relationship or receive recommendations for other therapists). As the driver, you really are the boss. You listening to your own needs is so important for us to get where we need to go – if you don’t we might be in for a rough ride. You get to choose if you want to turn around and go back (i.e., stop the plan) or want to take another route all together (i.e., change your mind about a plan).

I like to think of informed consent as the ongoing conversation but it is important that we establish clarity on a few things before we get in the car.  Before we jump in, these are some questions we want to be clear on together: where are we headed, how are we going to get there, what do we need to get there, what are the risks and benefits of our route, what are the limits of each of us that we need to respect, what can we count on from one another, have we reviewed other ways of getting there or the risks and benefits of not starting the trip at all, and how do we let one another know when there are parts of the trip that are not working for us or if we want to call it off.

Therapy is different from a friendship – it is not a peer-to-peer relationship. We each have valuable contributions to make if we want to get to where you want to go. Sometimes we can expect that the work will be challenging and knowing where we each stand and you can expect from me is so important in getting through those challenging times.

Informed Consent is explained in the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (2017) as:  “…full and active participation as possible from individuals and groups…in decisions that affect them, respecting and integrating as much as possible their opinions and wishes…..[and] is a process that involves taking time to establish an appropriate trusting relationship and to reach an agreement to work collaboratively, and may need to be obtained more than once.” (p. 12-13)

Registered psychologists in Alberta are required to adhere to a strict set of practice rules and ethical guidelines to ensure that clients like yourself are offered competent and ethical psychological treatment services.

You can expect me to do my very best to follow these standards:

• Keeping your information very private
• I will notify you at the start of our relationship about the circumstances in which I have to share your information with others
• I will provide access to your file when you request it
• I will provide you information on how to make a complaint if you receive unethical or incompetent service
• I will provide you information about my qualifications
• I will provide you information when you and I are trying something new that I have not been trained in
• I will keep strict boundaries. For example, I will never become romantically involved with a current or past client. I will do my best to limit our relationship to our professional treatment relationship and not develop friendships or business relationships with clients.
• I will let you know about my fees and give you notice when my fees change

Standards of Practice are the rules and standards set out by the College of Alberta Psychologists and can be accessed here: https://www.cap.ab.ca/resources-regulatory-information

The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists is the ethical code that I am bound by as a psychologist: https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Ethics/CPA_Code_2017_4thEd.pdf

Psychologists are in many cases the “vault” that safely holds and protects your private information from others. When psychologists protect confidentiality, this can allow people to feel safe to talk about sensitive and personal things they need to discuss in order to move forward to their goals. I know that this takes courage and is a risk that each client takes when they sit across from me. I am very committed to protecting your privacy.

I take some precautions with security and the technology I have chosen to keep your information as secure as I am able to. I do not have conversations with friends and family about what you share with me. If we meet in public, my default is actually to ignore you so that you have the choice of sharing with others that you know me. 

However, there are specific times when psychologists must share information from the vault with others. There are situations in which my moral or legal duties to keep people safe and to protect others (including animals) from danger mean I need to share some of your information with others. This means that you do not have 100% privacy or confidentiality in some situations.

I am sharing these limitations with you prior to our first conversation so that you can use this information to make choices in your best interest. You always get to choose what you tell me. My hope is that by sharing this information, you will have a clearer idea of how I will respond when I become aware of information contained below.

I will secure additional help (i.e., calling an emergency contact, parent/guardian, children’s services, senior’s abuse help line, or 911) and share as little information as necessary (i.e., sharing only the information necessary in order to get help) for my clients or participate in sharing information with others in the following situations:

• The client appears to be at risk for seriously hurting themselves or in need of emergency medical attention
• The client shares information with me that identifies another person (or animal) who is in danger (this includes elder abuse, child neglect or abuse, and vulnerable persons who may require care).  

I will follow my obligations by law to share information in these situations:

• A judge orders me to release a client’s information (i.e., a search warrant served to me by police, court order to release my file or testify in court)
• The College of Alberta Psychologists conducts an audit of my records
• If the Worker’s Compensation Board requests a summary of my records or if you share with me that you have sustained a psychological injury at your place of work
• If someone discloses that there has been inappropriate sexual conduct by a registered health professional in Alberta

Within my clinic, I have made some choices to include others in my team and to offer some services that might involve me sharing information about your services with others:

• Third Party Payers (i.e., private or group insurance benefits company, disability benefits company, parents of adult clients) often may need some information in exchange for payment for your services
• Debt collection for unpaid accounts require me to release basic client information
• My team at the office may become aware that you are a client and some aspects of your services (i.e., admin person may be scheduling appointments or shredding documents for me, IT person or Accuro Help team may view my online storage records to help me maintain security and functionality of my records system). Individuals who would have access to your information would be bound to keep information confidential by signing a confidentiality agreement or the organization promising protection in accordance with healthcare standards.

In order for me to provide ethical and competent services, I engage in regular consultation with other psychologists and health professionals. By agreeing to work with me, please assume that this is something I will continue to engage in. If I ever need to conduct a specific consultation that would include identifying information about your case, I would ask for your written permission before proceeding.

Please know that sometimes I also need to consult with lawyers and similar to when I consult with other health professionals, I will keep the details of the consult general and only ask your permission in situations where you would be likely to be identified by the specifics of my consultation.

Did you know: You have the right to ask the names of any individuals I am consulting with at any point in your care. 

For Adolescent Clients: If when I am working with someone under the age of 18, I have an obligation to keep your parents informed of your treatment plan and progress. This also includes updates about your safety. Your parents have the right to access your file. 

For Couples: My policy is to not keep information from partners EXCEPT in situations where the safety of one person may be compromised by sharing the information with the other partner. My rationale for this is that in order for the couple relationship to improve, it is important that I know about safety risks so that I can support each partner in working towards safety. I will work with each person on safety planning in the way that also supports the couple in these sorts of situations. 

At this time, I provide services on Tuesday and Fridays between 9am and 5pm (last appointment of the day starting between 3:30pm and 4:00pm).

Like most people, I do take vacations from time to time or time off for personal reasons. In situations where I am aware ahead of time that I will be away for longer than 1 week, I will provide information via secure email/messaging or post the information on my website to let you know. In unexpected situations, I may need to cancel appointments and will do my best to give you some idea of when I am able to reschedule.

Right now (January of 2023), I am available to see clients in-person and via telehealth (i.e., video conference or phone sessions). 

The most recent recommendations from the College of Alberta Psychologists advises psychologists to monitor government health orders and guidelines.  As such, I am making plans for in-person or telehealth treatment on a case by case basis with each client. As circumstances or recommendations change, this may mean we have to pivot together so that we can proceed with psychological services in the most effective and responsible manner. 

The answer to this question is that it depends! Sometimes people want to keep continuity in their care and it may be useful to do so as they travel. If your travel plans keep you in the province of Alberta I am able to provide services. As soon as someone leaves the province of Alberta, I am not legally allowed to provide services.

Psychologists keep notes during sessions so that it is possible to keep a record of your words, the issues discussed, and ideas that have been developed in the counselling. These are kept electronically, are secured and confidential, and are maintained according to current health and privacy legislation.

You have full access to your file, and may request it at any time. Your file will be closed after one year without services or if we have closed off our work together. Even if you close your file at our office, you are welcome to return in the future to request additional services.

Files are securely maintained for a period of 10 years after the last session (and for 10 years after the age of majority for a client 18 and under at the time of service). In some cases where the law requires (i.e., in the case of permanent disability, situations where the client has been a victim of a serious crime), your record will be kept permanently.

By the time you are scheduled for an in-person appointment, you and I will have already had a discussion about the risks and benefits of both telehealth and in-person sessions. Having made a decision together to move forward with an in-person session, these are some of what you might anticipate when you arrive for an in-person appointment. 

– Before the appointment there will be a pre-screen process.  You will be asked to self-assess (using the AHS Self-Assessment Tool: https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Journey/COVID-19/Pages/COVID-Self-Assessment.aspx) for your own health status and follow directions provided on that form.

– I will self-assess using the same tool and advise you if I am not able to proceed with our appointment.

– When you arrive, you will be invited to sanitize or wash your hands upon arrival. 

– We will maintain physical distance in appointments of 6ft.

– I will be wearing a mask when you arrive for your appointment. At this point in time, masking continues to be recommended but you have the option to wear a mask or not. If health orders or guidelines change, you will be informed of the requirement to arrive wearing a mask. 

– I will verbally confirm with you that the pre-screen for symptoms was completed and that neither of us has knowledge of reasons that we should not be meeting in-person. 

– For your first in-person session, I will review a form with you that puts into writing the main points of our discussion about the risks and benefits of in-person appointments and your decision to move forward with that option.