Welcome to SoulScape Services Psychotherapy and Wellness Hub

 

SoulScape Services is a community of practitioners who provide mental health and wellness services. We offer a collaborative approach to treatment and are able (with your consent) to consult among the practitioners within this network in order to offer integrative care for the mind, body and spirit.  

 

What to Expect

 

Engaging in treatment will involve you discussing personal information with a therapist or practitioner. The SoulScape practitioners aim to provide you with a supportive and therapeutic environment by listening to your concerns and asking questions about specific feelings, thoughts, and ways of engaging with the world. They may highlight specific areas that appear to be causing you difficulty and ask you to share your experiences in these areas. As mental health and wellness practitioners, we cannot claim to have specific absolute answers to your individual dilemmas. Instead, we are dedicated to empowering you to find solutions to your difficulties through discussion and self inquiry. While this is likely to be helpful, we cannot guarantee any particular outcomes for your individual case. 

 

The therapists at SoulScape Services tend to practice psychotherapy in an integrative and client-centered manner. This means you can expect different therapeutic approaches that are tailored to meet your individual needs. The therapeutic approaches may be: Narrative therapy, experiential therapy, DBT, hypnotherapy, CBT, and a range of other dialogic and collaborative methods. You are welcome to speak to your therapist throughout your treatment at any time about what approaches and/or theoretical orientations they are using and why. 

 

Although treatment usually results in relief from discomforts either quickly or over time, for some people, talking about their difficulties may cause distress (particularly at the start of working through painful emotions). Sometimes, treatment may not be effective depending on individual needs. In cases like this, we will be happy to support you in choosing another treatment option or to refer you to another professional. Your treatment is always voluntary, and you are under no obligation to continue treatment once you have begun a treatment plan. 

 

Please feel welcome to approach your therapist or the clinical director of SoulScape Services (Amanda Bolger) if any concerns arise for you about the effectiveness or course of therapy. We welcome all feedback and encourage you to communicate your thoughts and concerns in a collaborative process with your practitioner to ensure your needs are being heard and addressed throughout the process of your treatment.

 

Couples Therapy

 

If you and your partner are receiving couples therapy, your therapist may occasionally meet individually with either yourself or your partner to conduct an attachment assessment or to do deeper work. Although records of these sessions will be kept in individual files for both yourself and your partner, your therapist will encourage a no secrets policy. If you reveal a secret impacting your relationship to your therapist in an individual session, your therapist will encourage you to share this information with your partner. It may unfold, in the individual assessment sessions that there is a reason that the couples therapy is contraindicated, and your therapist will then let you know that it is not safe to proceed with couples therapy and suggest alternative mental health care/resources. If you are attending individual therapy alongside the couples therapy with your partner, your therapist may request your consent to collaborate with your individual therapist to provide the best quality of care to your relationship. As always, please ask for clarification about any of these details as needed with your therapist. 

 

Length of Sessions 

 

Standard intake sessions are 90 minutes in length. Subsequent sessions are typically 50 minutes. This allows a ten-minute window for your practitioner to complete documentation and any necessary administration items related to your case before their next appointment. Extended sessions and brief (check-in) sessions may also be an option to meet your individual needs and should be discussed with your practitioner.

 

How to Reach Your Practitioner 

 

There may be times that you are looking to connect with your practitioner between sessions. SoulScape’s clinic administrators can be reached at admin@soulscapeservices.com. If your concern is not related to administrative issues such as scheduling or payments, your therapist can be reached directly at their FIRST name and @soulscapeservices.com (for example: Amanda Bolger can be reached at amanda@soulscapeservices.com). Your practitioner will make every effort to reply to your message by the end of the next business day. Please note that SoulScape Services is not set up for emergency, or crisis mental health support as response times are not immediate.  If you or someone you know is in danger please contact your local hospital, or emergency mental health service line. 

 

Missed or Late Attendance

 

If your therapist needs to cancel or reschedule an appointment, they will inform you as soon as they are aware of the need for this change. If you are unable to make it to a scheduled session on time, please contact admin@soulscaperservices.com with as much notice as possible. If you do not cancel or reschedule your appointment with at least 24 hours of notice, you will be charged the full fee for that session. If you are late to an appointment, this may impact the length of your session. Please feel free to communicate with us (and your practitioner in particular) if you feel that your circumstances were extenuating with respect to late or missed appointments, as exceptions can be made on a case by case basis. We ask that sessions are typically booked the day prior to the session, at the latest, and in many cases are several days out from when you request an appointment. If you are looking for a same day appointment please contact both administration as well as your therapist to make this request and please know that we cannot guarantee appointments immediately. 

 

Fees 

 

Fees for services vary based on the level of qualification of your therapist and are subject to 13% HST additional to the base fee. Fees are set at $147.50 for Registered Psychotherapists (Qualifying) and $157.50 for Registered Psychotherapists. Student intern therapists provide service at a reduced rate of $80 per hour with sliding fee scale available to those who qualify.  Couples therapy as well as individual therapy with Amanda (the clinic owner) are $167.50 +HST per 50 minute session. Couples therapy sessions with a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) are $157.50. Please ask your therapist directly any questions that you may have about their registration and fees.  The costs of therapy cover your therapist’s services as well as liability insurance, continuing education, and professional dues (if applicable), as well as other business-related expenses for operating systems and administrative support. If money is a barrier to your continuing services, please feel free to speak with your practitioner about this concern. Please note that prices are subject to change with inflation and that you will be provided a notice when fees increase before you are charged an increased rate. 

 

Automatic Payments

 

Payment is due within 24 hours after service completion. Payment can be sent via e-transfer to admin@soulscapeservices.com. As a courtesy to you, in order to facilitate easy processing of payments in a virtual practice setting, we ask that you keep a credit card on file. The card will be processed within about 24 hours after your session, if an e-transfer payment is not received. If you have concerns about supplying a credit card please inform us so that we can discuss alternative arrangements that meet your individual needs. We do not wish to have this be a barrier for you in receiving care. 

 

Peer Consultation 

 

As mental health and wellness professionals, your practitioner will be consulting regularly with other psychotherapists and professionals in the field for the sake of ensuring the best possible service. No identifying information will be shared during these discussions, leaving your confidentiality protected (with the exception of when we have your written consent to share personal information or when we are legally required to break confidentiality - see section on confidentiality below). If you have questions about this process please ask at any time.

 

Recording of sessions

 

The process of supervision, particularly for couples therapy, as well as during the internship period of a student intern, may involve the recording of client sessions. These video tapes are strictly used for supervision and educational purposes and are not kept as part of the client’s record. Your therapist’s supervisor may view excerpts of these videos as part of the process of the therapist’s qualification for certification or Master’s degree acquisition. Your therapist may occasionally present these excerpts to a group of a select few therapists or supervisors in group supervision. 

The purpose of group supervision video showings is for your therapist to receive guidance to best serve you and every effort is made to conceal identifying descriptors of clients, providing only information to supervisors and peers which is necessary and sufficient to provide a professional case conceptualization. Your therapist, supervisors and peer therapists treat your confidentiality with utmost respect and seriousness and make every effort to preserve it. Any individual present in group supervision who is able to identify you, will be asked to leave before the video showing.

Before recording any of your sessions, your therapist will discuss the implications of consenting to the recording of your therapy sessions and will request that you provide your written informed consent for recording videos of your sessions. Your consent or otherwise declining the recording of the sessions will in no way impact your therapy experience. Additionally, you may withdraw your consent to record, after you have provided consent, at any time during your treatment. Videos recorded during the course of the treatment are immediately deleted, on a regular basis, once they have satisfied their educational and supervision purposes.

 

Terms Of Service

 

Electronic Practice: Your practitioner may amend these Terms of Service from time to time without notice. In the event of a discrepancy between a print version (downloaded) and the Web version, the Web version will apply. 

 

Treatment at SoulScape Services Does Not Include

 

a. Assessments required for court proceedings (e.g. child custody and access; parental competence; child abuse; pre-trial disposition reports; probation assessments, etc.) or; 

b. Crisis support or after-hours contact; 

c. Intervention services to individuals experiencing active and/or acute episodes of a psychiatric illness, or to clients in acute crisis situations

 

Electronic Practice

 

1. Electronic Practice refers to the use of telecommunication technologies specifically videoconferencing and telephone in order to provide treatment. 

2. Your practitioner will offer ongoing Electronic Practice to enable you to access services from your home or location of your choice. 

3. All practitioners at SoulScape have taken steps to ensure your privacy and confidentiality to the best of their ability. They use a secure platform (Owl Practice/DoxyMe/Psychology Today) and follow recommended procedures outlined by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, which are consistent with Ontario privacy legislation and guidelines for secure health information. 

4. Your practitioner may be working from a home environment and will take all reasonable steps to ensure the conversation remains confidential. 

5. Your practitioner will take reasonable steps to ensure that the electronic communication technology (e.g. video conferencing portal) is secure, confidential, and appropriate for use.

 6. Clients recognize that electronic communication technology is not a secure mode of communication and confidentiality cannot be entirely guaranteed. 

7. Clients must physically be in the province of Ontario to receive electronic treatment.  

8. Clients will ensure the therapist has updated contact information (address and telephone numbers) on file. 

9. In the event that the internet connection is disrupted and cannot reasonably be maintained the practitioner will telephone at an agreed-upon number for the client to complete the session. 

10. Clients will report their geographic location (e.g. at home; at the office) to the practitioner at the beginning of each call. 

11. Clients are responsible for ensuring that they are in as secure an environment as is necessary to protect their own privacy from where they are receiving the video call. This may mean calling from your car, or private space in your home or work. 

 

Electronic Records

 

Clients are not permitted to record (audio or video) the session. Practitioners will keep written records of your sessions and treatment outcomes according to regulations laid out by your practitioner’s applicable licensing body. SoulScape Services maintains responsibility for storage of client records and will do so according to the guidelines for the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. As a client of SoulScape Services, the clinic owner will have access to your clinical records and information even in the event that my practitioner may leave the clinic. The clinic administrator will have access to my demographic and financial records relevant to setting up my client profile, booking appointments, and paying fees.

 

Confidentiality

 

Disclosure of personal health information is considered in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act and includes but is not limited to the following circumstances:

 

1. If there is suspicion that a child (someone PRESENTLY under age 18 years) is at risk of or has been abused or neglected. 

2. If there is reason to believe that you or someone else is at imminent risk of harm. 

3. If you disclose that you have been sexually abused by a health care provider under the Regulated Health Professions Act (e.g. doctor, dentist, or another psychotherapist). 

4. If your therapist’s records are subpoenaed by court order. 

5. If you are injured or incapacitated in session, or otherwise incapable of giving consent.

6. If, for quality assurance purposes, your therapist’s regulatory body requests access to your records for audit purposes. 

7. If you report that a person over the age of 65 is being abused and/or neglected in a long-term residential care facility. 

Please note that in an in person clinic setting, you can expect to meet other clients in the waiting area. Your name will not be publicly called out, to preserve your confidentiality.

 

Closing of Therapeutic Relationship

 

At some point, you will complete treatment and your practitioner is here to support you in this process. If you wish, and the situation allows, your practitioner will help you generate a transition plan to ensure that you are continuing to have your needs met after the closure of your relationship. This may include speaking to a future therapist or practitioner in order to facilitate a warm transfer of care. Again, your explicit consent would be required for this to occur.

 

Consent Requirements

 

The capacity to consent means an individual understands the information relevant to making a decision about participating in services and appreciates the reasonably foreseeable consequences of participating in treatment. Clients who are 12 years and older can consent to therapy services unless it is the opinion of the practitioner that the client lacks capacity.

Prior to commencing services, a discussion regarding the desirability of parent(s)/guardian involvement will be discussed.

Children and Consent to Therapy

The capacity of a child to consent to psychotherapy is determined on a case by-case basis. 

Many older children (e.g., 12 to 17 year olds) are capable of consenting to their own psychotherapy and therefore do not require a substitute decision-maker. 

Even if the child has the capacity to consent to treatment, the therapist will consider with the child whether the psychotherapy is in their best interest in their particular context, and whether some parental involvement in the therapy process is desirable. Many young children will require a substitute decision-maker, usually a parent. Unless a parenting agreement or order states otherwise, the presenting parent can make decisions about the child receiving therapy. In situations of two parent families, the therapist will obtain the other parent’s consent if applicable, and review any relevant parenting agreements or orders. 

The therapist  will perform due diligence in involving both custodial parents in the child’s treatment to maximize successful treatment outcomes for the child. In situations where the therapist  is unable to reach the other parent to obtain consent,  the best interest of the child  will be considered in making all decisions about proceeding with psychotherapy. 

The therapist cannot provide treatment to the child if joint substitute decision-makers (e.g., two parents with custody) do not agree with each other about whether to consent. In such a situation, the Public Guardian and Trustee, the Consent and Capacity Board, or a court, may become involved. 

 

Clinic Updates & Emails

 

As a way of keeping you connected to services at SoulScape Services and fostering a sense of community, SoulScape will send out email correspondence to inform you of workshops and other services offered at our clinic. These emails and services are entirely optional. Should you wish to opt out of receiving any promotional emails from our clinic, you are able to click the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email and you will be unsubscribed immediately.