"One invitation to such aliveness is an attitude of curiosity. Curiosity causes us to wonder. Wonder causes us to gape. We can no longer keep such a tight hold on life...The more I have come to realize how little I know of this life, the more curious I have grown. If we are curious, we at least know that our heart is still beating." "Curiosity opens doors and connects us to the larger life of the world. It is a key as much to this moment as to some grand project that can last a lifetime. It allows us to follow our nose, and there's pleasure in that. We wonder what lies around the corner or over the hill; we wonder what the empty canvas, the un-hewn block of stone, conceal that our imagination may reveal." from "Seven Sins For a Life Worth Living" by Roger Housden
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Therapy helps define the course of a life in times when personal problems are persistent and difficult to resolve. Therapy is about resolving issues in the context of one’s relationships; it can be about healing from issues that arise from the past; or it might be about strengthening one’s personal capacity to handle defining moments or to forge new directions in one’s life. Of course, there are a number of things that therapy is not: It is not about losing face, and it is not about feeling diminished or defeated. It is certainly not about making matters worse. Rather, it’s about overcoming impasses and creating possibilities in crucial areas of one’s life.

CHOOSING A THERAPIST: How does one go about it?

Choosing a therapist or counsellor best suited to working with you and those you care about is an important decision. You are the best judge of who it is you have a good fit with. In the process of selecting who this will be, there are several important things to consider. First, is knowing something about an individual’s educational background and/or clinical experience. Second, ensure that they are professionally registered, clinically trained and also fully insured. Lastly, be sure to inquire about their area of expertise and their level of clinical experience ~ especially in terms of what it is you want help with. Above all, make sure you are confident with their approach to counselling and that you feel comfortable with them as a person. You are the client: You determine what constitutes a worthy investment of your time and energy.

EXPLAINING CONFIDENTIALITY: What about personal privacy?

The cornerstone of counselling is the assurance of confidentiality when it comes to the level of trust in discussing highly personal information about one’s history and one’s life. It is of utmost importance that a client be able to trust that everything that is shared in a therapeutic context is held in strictest confidence and only to be shared with a 3^rd party at the request of, or with the express permission of, the client/family. The only exception to this rule is in the event that a child is deemed to be at risk or another person is being threatened with harm. In either case, therapists have a legal duty to report such incidents to the appropriate authority. Otherwise everything that goes on and is shared in a therapist’s office is entirely confidential.

THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS: What does it involve?

Therapy is basically about talking with someone professionally who is able to help in sorting out one’s personal difficulties and eventually work to discover solutions to critical life issues. It involves elements of trust on the part of the client and respect on the part of the therapist. It is often about letting go or breaking with old patterns of behaviour while at the same time learning to develop new capacities for creative action especially in response to key life issues. Therapy entails an openness to new possibilities and a personal desire for change; it requires one to be committed to the therapeutic process -- ultimately willing to set forth on a journey.

CLIENT SERVICE FEES: Does third party coverage apply?

It is helpful to inquire about fee for service and method of payment early in the process. Chiefly so that you can determine if there is any third-party payment eligibility, perhaps through employee assistance or extended health plans. Client fees are applied individually but generally begin at $100 per hour. Note that a cancellation fee will normally be charged where an appointment is either not kept or else cancelled without sufficient notice. Both therapist and client must be committed to the importance of the scheduled therapeutic hour if the work is ultimately to prove helpful.

WHERE TO START: How does one then begin the process?