Online Counselling

Yes.  In order to practice social work in Ontario online you must be registered in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) as you would if providing mental health services as a social worker in person.  

There are a number of considerations to consider when conducting online therapy and social workers in Ontario are also held to uphold a code of ethics to ensure client needs remain paramount. 

There has been a very large shift to online therapy (https://www.trilliumcounselling.ca/online-therapy-in-ontario-is-here-to-stay) in recent years due to the pandemic and it is essential that we are able to continue to provide mental health support to clients.

Multiple research studies have been completed around online therapy vs in-person therapy and have found online therapy to be as effective as in-person counselling (APA).

With the significant changes that have occurred during the past few years, there has been a very large shift to online therapy to ensure clients are able to continue to have mental health support. Additional research has found that online therapy is a useful tool particularly where in-person counselling is not possible.

Prior to the pandemic in early 2020, online therapy was only being used by approx. 2.1% of therapists. Recent studies have shown that >84% of clients are using online sessions with their clients. 

This significant shift to online therapy was made of necessity and not necessarily by choice.

Online therapy may not be for everyone, however.  This article explains further about some of the limitations of online therapy things and some things to consider when exploring online counselling as an option. Of particular note is when you are feeling in crisis.  In-person counselling and crisis support lines are the best equipped to help you manage these situations. 

If you feel you are in crisis, please contact HERE 24/7 – 1-844-437-3247

A number of recent studies [1],[2],[3],[4],[5] have found the effectiveness of online therapy to be at least as effective as in-person therapy.  These studies have compared mental heath conditions prior to and after completing online therapy, and found particular improvements with conditions such as depression and anxiety etc.  Some studies have at a minimum found online therapy to be providing benefit to society particularly where access to in-person counselling may be limited. 

However, it is important to note that online therapy may not be for everyone and that there are limitations to online therapy depending on your situation and mental health challenge.  Also due to the recency of online counselling it may be important to consider the research conducted to date is not based on long terms trends, and there may be limitations yet to be discovered.

[1] NIMH – The Effectiveness of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.

[2] EClinicalMedicine – A comparison of electronically-delivered and face to face cognitive behavioural therapies in depressive disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 

[3] Journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research – Treatment engagement and effectiveness of an internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy program at a university counseling center 

[4] The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health – Universal and targeted computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (Think, Feel, Do) for emotional health in schools: results from two exploratory studies 

[5] Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology – American Psychological Association – The YouthMood Project: A cluster randomized controlled trial of an online cognitive behavioral program with adolescents. 

Multiple studies have found online therapy to be as effective as in-person counselling.  See answer above for ‘How effective is online therapy’ for more information and references. 

Yes, if you have coverage for in-person counselling or therapy the vast majority of insurance providers will provide coverage for online therapy. 

It is important to check with your insurance provider for your specific coverage. However, services provided for mental health counselling and therapy should be no different from an in-person session or online therapy session. 

The therapists on our team are either Registered Social Workers or Psychotherapists.  If you are working with someone with a social work designation check if your coverage covers ‘Social Worker’, ‘Registered Social Worker’, or ‘MSW, RSW’.  Psychotherapy is sometimes a different category. 

If you have any questions regarding our therapists qualifications please contact us for more information.

Depending on the therapists qualifications and experience,  online counselling can cost anywhere from $125-$250/hr.  Lower cost providers are typically seen with therapy students doing internships or new graduates.

Trillium Counselling provides online therapy in Ontario and our rates range from $140-$165 per 50 minute session depending on therapist’s qualifications and experience

We have another great resource for how to prepare for an online counselling session, check it out here –> 5 IMPORTANT WAYS TO PREPARE FOR ONLINE THERAPY

In general, 

1. Setting up your technology before hand. – this reduces the changes of frustration or time-wasting fumbling with technical issues and streamlines the important work with you and your therapist.
2. Prepare your environment.  Ensure you have a quiet and private place.  the last thing you want is to have someone barging in in the middle of a session or being disturbed.  a number of clients have actually found that their car has been an effective place for privacy if options are limited.  Another part of preparing your environment can be to establish a calm or relaxing environment, lighting a candle or grabbing a confortable blanket. 
3. Prepare yourself.  Sometimes it can be difficult to remember all the things you want to discuss with a therapist, preparing a list before hand can be helpful.  Preparing yourself for an online therapy session can also include doing breathing exercises or meditating beforehand to collect your thoughts.
4. Talk to your therapist about the unexpected.  Its important to have a backup plan in case of internet issues or if you get disconnected.  Are you going to continue by phone or restart the meeting? Can you text your therapist? its important to understand a backup plan before hand. 
5. Give it Time.  After completing a session it can be important to give yourself some time to collect your thoughts afterwards.  an in-person session naturally has some buffer time (driving home from appointment etc).  But an online session doesnt have that so it can be important to build that in yourself.  

Yes! We have had many clients using online counselling to work on their relationship over the past few years.

If you are interested in more information about what to expect from online counselling for couples check out this great resource –> Couples Counselling Online: What you need to know.

Individual sessions are typically 50 minutes (clinical hour), while couples sessions are typically booked as 75 or 80 minute sessions depending on your therapist.

The process is relatively simple and starts with filling out an appointment request form.  This is where you provide some brief details about what you are looking to work on with your therapist, what your availability is like for appointments, and your contact information.  We also offer the option of having a free 20 minute phone consultation with the therapist you have been matched with to see if you feel they would be a good fit for you.  Finding the right therapist or ‘fit’ for you is a very important part of the therapeutic process.  Although all of our therapists are certified and experienced, sometimes it is beneficial to have a short conversation with a therapist prior to setting up the first session. 

Once a therapist has been selected and an appointment time that works for you has been set up, a video link will be sent to your email.  At the time of your appointment all you have to do is click the link and you will instantly be connected with your therapist. 

If you have any questions about the set-up process feel free to contact us for more details.  

Yes. See our detailed resource guide about EMDR therapy online. 

EMDR Therapy Online: What you Need to Know