Counselling, sometimes called therapy or “psychotherapy” is a collaborative effort between an individual and a therapist (e.g. a psychologist, a registered clinical counsellor). It provides a supportive environment to talk openly and confidentially about concerns and feelings.

• You feel an overwhelming and prolonged sense of helplessness and sadness, and your problems do not seem to get better despite your efforts and help from family and friends.
• You are finding it difficult to carry out everyday activities: for example, you are unable to concentrate on assignments at work, and your job performance is suffering as a result.
• You worry excessively, expect the worst or are constantly on edge.
• Your actions are harmful to yourself or to others: for instance, you are drinking too much alcohol, abusing drugs or becoming overly argumentative and aggressive.

Yes, we do! We offer video counselling and telephone counselling. Some of our clients live in remote areas, are home-bound or prefer to experience counselling without attending a face-to-face session with a therapist. For these individuals and in many other situations, this is entirely appropriate and can be as helpful as in-person counselling. Your therapist will also advise you if they consider video or telephone counselling appropriate and helpful for your concerns. Meet our team here.

• When appointments are made, this time is reserved especially for you.  Out of fairness to our clinicians and to clients on the wait list, we require 24 hours notice for a cancellation or postponement to avoid being charged the sessional fee.  This is a common practice in counselling.
• We appreciate that emergencies and sudden illnesses may occur.  It this happens, please contact us a soon as possible and explain the circumstances.  You can call our clinic to leave a message or send us an email any time. 
• We do send appointment reminders by e-mail, however this is a courtesy and clients are expected to keep track of their appointments.

Boreal Wellness Centres does not treat clients whose primary diagnosis is a personality disorder. Personality disorders require specialized treatment that we do not provide.  Anxiety, depression and trauma are the conditions we typically treat.

Counselling is takes time and effort. It’s entirely normal, and expected, that you will have bad days or even weeks while you are being counselled. These dips or plateaus do not mean your progress has stalled or counselling is not working. Pay attention to the greater trends of your gradual improvement and don’t get too concerned over the details of day-to-day changes.

Is my information private?

We take the protection of your personal information seriously and are regulated by the counselling industry to maintain these standards and we follow all legal requirement for privacy protection. When you first meet your therapist, they will clarify how your information is held private and if there are any circumstances that might warrant releasing this information with your permission (e.g. to your doctor). Read our privacy policy.

Unfortunately, our mood and anxiety therapy programs are not covered by MSP. If you have coverage through a company or union's extended health plan, you may be able to claim some of the program fees under your plan. See our Fees & Financing page for more details.

Yes, please contact our team to discuss our virtual therapy options, or for assistance with exploring local accommodations for the duration of a treatment program.

Yes, if you decide to stop attending the program within the first four (4) clinical days, we will refund any fees, prorated for the number of uncompleted days of the program. See our Fees & Financing page for more details.

We encourage clients to use public transportation - the Yaletown/Roundhouse Sky Train station is one half block south of our offices and there are several bus stops close by. If driving is the best option, please contact our staff for information on reasonably priced parking options. Tour our clinic and meet our team.

The group therapy curriculums are developed with a certain number of sessions in mind, and the groups are "closed" which means a client cannot merely jump into another group to cover any material that was missed. However, if you miss a day(s), our clinical team will discuss with you how to cover the material and exercises that were missed. See our Fees & Financing page for more details.