 |
Waterman & Associates
Psychological and Counselling Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions:
- Do I need a referral to see a therapist
at Waterman & Associates?
- Are your services covered by the BC
Medical Services Plan (MSP)?
- What is the difference between a
Psychologist and a Psychiatrist?
- How long does treatment take?
- I am nervous about anybody finding out
why I am coming for help; how confidential are your
services?
- What does the term "Registered
Psychologist" mean?
- How much does psychotherapy/counselling
cost?
- What is a psychological assessment?
- Can clients be seen after 5:00 p.m.
or on weekends?
- Can I bring someone in with me?
- Do I have to pay at the time of each
session?
Answers:
-
A referral is not necessary to see
the psychologist or social workers at Waterman & Associates. However, some
insurance or extended benefit plans do require a
referral from your physician. Some insurance plans also
require an initial assessment followed by a brief report
before psychotherapy/counselling sessions will be
approved. You may want to check with your particular
insurance or extended benefit plan to find out what the
requirements are. If you have other questions, you can
call our office. We are familiar with most of the plans
available to residents of British Columbia.
The psychologist and social workers at Waterman & Associates are independent
practitioners who function within the Practice of
Waterman & Associates. To make an appointment with any
of the therapists, you may contact our office to make an
appointment.
Return to Questions:
-
Some people have extended medical
plans which do cover the services of Registered
Psychologists and in some cases, other counselling
services. However, we are not covered under the general
MSP plan. We have found that many people have benefit
plans through their Employee Assistance Plans that cover
our services either in whole or part. Other clearly
defined groups such as Veterans', First Nation's people,
Victims of Crime, and other such groups have benefits
available to them. If you are unsure, please contact our
office and we will try to be of assistance to you. Most
insurance plans we have found want their clients to pay
for therapy services directly and then submit their
receipts for reimbursement.
Return to Questions:
-
A Psychologist completes
undergraduate and graduate work in psychology, usually
in one or more certain areas of interest (i.e. clinical,
developmental, neuropsychology, etc). In BC, the usual
criteria for registration as a Psychologist is the Ph.D.
degree. However, with the Free Trade Agreement and the
Mutual Recognition Agreement, some psychologists may be
registered with an MA degree. Such individuals may have
full registration or limited registration, depending on
their training and experience. Psychologists do not have
the ability to write prescriptions for medications and
do not have admitting privileges at hospitals.
Psychologists are regulated by the College of
Psychologists of BC and their fraternal organization is
the BC Psychological Association.
A Psychiatrist is a physician who completes medical
training and then goes on for further training in a
particular area of interest (ie, gerontology, child,
adolescent, etc). Psychiatrists in BC usually have
admitting privileges at hospitals and are able to write
prescriptions for medications.
Return to Questions:
-
The length of treatment required for
a particular problem varies depending on a number of
characteristics. The seriousness of the situation, your
ability to respond to treatment interventions, the kind
of situation you are trying to resolve, whether there is
one or more area of difficulty to be treated, and other
such aspects can all influence the duration of
treatment. In some situations, there are a variety of
ways in which a problem can be approached. Your
therapist will discuss the options with you after they
have finished assessing your specific situation.
It is important that you are comfortable in discussing
your situation with your therapist and asking any
questions that you might have. If for whatever reason
you are not comfortable after the first or second
session, we encourage you to ask your therapist to refer
you to someone else in our Practice. Our primary concern
is that you receive the best treatment available that
will allow you to resolve your particular difficulty as
quickly and effectively as possible. The therapists and
staff at Waterman & Associates are committed to ensuring
that you receive the best treatment available for your
particular situation.
Return to Questions:
-
Confidentiality is extremely
important within our Practice. Any staff member found
breaching confidentiality is subject to immediate
disciplinary action including dismissal. Any therapist
who breaches confidentiality is subject to disciplinary
procedures through their respective Colleges and
governing bodies. Under law, we are required to report
any child abuse that we learn about, any threat of harm
to another person, and must act to protect someone who
is at imminent risk for harming themselves. Otherwise,
we do not release any information about you without your
permission. In some cases when you are being sent for
assessment or treatment by a third party who is paying
for you (ie WCB, ICBC, certain insurance carriers, or
other such situations), information is required to be
sent to the third party. However, this is clarified with
you in your initial session. Periodically, we may
consult with each other in order to determine the best
course of treatment. When this is needed, you will be
consulted prior to it happening and your identity will
be protected. Only the necessary information will be
disclosed in order to get feedback and other opinions
about how best to proceed. In all cases, our primary
concern is that you receive the treatment that you
require in a safe, comfortable and confidential
environment.
Click here to
see our Office Policy regarding Confidentiality
Return to Questions:
-
The majority of Psychologists
practicing in the province of BC have to be registered
with the College of Psychologists of BC, the
organization responsible for the licensing and
regulating of psychology within this province. At the
present time, there are several exceptions. These
include individuals practicing in Mental Health Centers
who may or may not have their Ph.D. or be registered
with the College of Psychologists. Similarly,
individuals practicing in Corrections facilities and
School Boards in the province do not have to be
registered with the College of Psychologists. These
latter individuals typically refer to themselves as
School Psychologists and limit their practice to matters
pertaining to the academic setting. (These exemptions
may change as the Government has indicated that they
would looking at having all psychologists practicing in
the province to be regulated by the College of
Psychologists). At the present time, University-College
professors also do not need to be registered with the
College of Psychologists in order to refer to themselves
as a psychologist. All other individuals practicing in
the province must be registered. Therefore, if someone
refers to themselves as a "Psychologist", it usually
means they are registered with the College of
Psychologists. To check on this, you can ask them for
their College registration number, check on the College
website to see if they are listed (www.collegeofpsychologists.bc.ca)
or telephone: (1-800-665-0979) or check in the yellow
pages. All psychologists are now required to put their
registration number in their yellow page ad.
Return to Questions:
-
The recommended rates for
Psychologists practicing in BC are set by the BC
Psychological Association. Psychologists are not
required to comply with those recommendations and may
charge less or more depending on the services required.
Specialty services such as certain kinds of assessments
or other specialty areas may cost more than
psychotherapy. The Social Workers in our Practice set their own rates
usually in comparison to what the Psychology rates are.
When considering the cost for psychotherapy/counselling,
it's important to consider what you are getting for your
money. All of the therapists including the individuals
who provide assessment services have at least a Masters
level degree or a Ph.D. in Psychology. The Masters
degrees include specialties in Psychology or Social Work. The educational level of your therapist
provides you with reassurance of a certain degree of
knowledge and confidence in their ability to provide the
services that you require. Typically, the higher the
degree, the more knowledge and expertise is indicated.
In some cases, individuals at a Masters level may
specialize in certain areas and develop specialty areas
of practice on that basis.
It is also important to note that generally speaking,
the higher the educational level of the practitioner,
the more quickly and effectively they can help you
resolve your difficulties. While talking to someone with
lesser qualifications may feel good at the time, if you
have to continue in counselling for years with that
individual, the cost of such counselling will far
outweigh the costs associated with a more competent
practitioner. At Waterman & Associates we recommend that
you set specific goals with your therapist at the
beginning of your psychotherapy/counselling and
periodically check to see whether or not you are
achieving what you need.
Finally, it is important that you ask any questions that
you may have of your therapist in your first interview.
Don't be afraid to ask how long they have been
practicing, whether or not they have treated
difficulties such as the one you are experiencing, what
kind of psychotherapy/counselling they provide, how long
it typically takes to resolve difficulties in that area,
and any other questions that you need to ask to feel
secure and comfortable. If a therapist is unwilling to
provide that information or seems annoyed at you asking,
you may want to consider finding someone else. Certainly
the therapists at Waterman & Associates are comfortable
providing such information and recognize that its an
important aspect of developing trust and rapport.
Return to Questions:
-
There are many kinds of
psychological assessments. Typically, an assessment will
involve at least one interview in which the therapist
gathers information from you relevant to the assessment
that is needed. The assessment may also involve
psychological testing. The kind of tests administered
will depend on the assessment being conducted. For
example, if someone is having difficulty coping in
various areas of their life, it may be worthwhile
conducting an assessment involving psychosocial
information, personality testing, and other tests that
gather specific information about certain areas of
functioning. If a student is having difficulty at
school, a psychoeducational assessment may be indicated
to determine whether the individual has a learning
disability or some other kind of limitation that is
impacting on their ability to be successful at school.
The kinds of tests will also vary depending on the age
of the person being assessed.
Some assessments such as those in the area of forensic
psychology are quite involved and complex. For example,
an assessment to help determine custody and access for a
child may involve thirty-five or more hours of
assessment. Similarly, a neuropsychological assessment
to determine whether an individual has brain damage that
is impacting on their ability to perform is also very
involved and complex. Typically, the more difficult the
questions that need to be addressed, the longer the
assessment process will be.
At Waterman & Associates, we are pleased to outline for
you what we think will be involved in a particular kind
of assessment. Sometimes, assessments are conducted in
stages. The initial stage is done to gather information
about what other specific areas need to be addressed.
Such an assessment process allows us to keep the costs
lower for you while ensuring that you get the
information you need in order to address the
difficulties that you or your child is having.
Generally, the benefit of a psychological assessment is
that it allows a great deal of information to be
gathered in a relatively short and efficient period of
time. This allows you to get the information you need in
a timely fashion while keeping the cost of the
assessment at a reasonable level.
Return to Questions:
-
Our usual hours are from 8:30 a.m.
until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. However,
sometimes special arrangements can be made for your
therapist to see you later in the afternoon or on a
weekend. That is something you would need to ask when
you come in for your initial assessment or even when you
are phoning to make a first appointment.
Return to Questions:
-
Usually there is no problem
bringing someone in with you. Sometimes people like to
bring a friend or family member with them for their
first appointment until they get to know the therapist.
When doing psychological testing, it is not possible to
have someone with you since you need to be able to focus
on what is being asked and to respond in a timely
matter. Having someone else in the room can often be
distracting under such circumstances. However, the
person doing the assessment can certainly take time to
meet and get to know you before beginning the testing if
you wish. During that initial time, if you wanted to
have someone in the room, that would be up to you. You
should also be aware that by having someone else come in
with you, you are limiting the confidentiality of the
information that you are going to be sharing with your
therapist. However, if it's going to make you more
comfortable in the first session, by all means bring
someone with you.
Return to Questions:
-
Unless your psychotherapy or
assessment is being paid for by a third party or someone
else or you have made special arrangements with our
office, our expectation is that you will pay for each
session as it occurs. We usually recommend that you pay
for the session prior to going in for the session. That
makes it easier for you if upsetting material is
discussed during your session and you want to leave
without having to worry about making your payment. If
for any reason you don't use your complete hour, we will
gladly refund whatever portion was not used or apply it
to the next session for you. Generally, it's a good idea
to get any funding questions out of the way prior to
your first session.
Return to Questions:
|
 |
