New Client Information

What to expect:

Your child’s psycho-educational assessment will consist of a set of assessment procedures to obtain information about their learning, behaviour, and well-being. Typically assessments are 3-4 hours in length. If your child has difficulties with attention or behaviour, we may complete the assessment over two sessions. These sessions will be sensitive to your child’s work pace and their need for breaks. Please try to ensure that your child has had a good night’s rest, a good breakfast, and that they bring their glasses!

Once the assessment day is complete, we will meet again within 2-3 weeks to debrief the results. During this meeting, we will also discuss recommendations to best support your child moving forward, across home and school settings.

If your child is attending their first therapy session

How to prepare them:

What you say to your child will depend on their age and how many questions they may have about therapy. Before your child’s first session, here are some things you can tell your child to best prepare them. I often tell children that I am a helper and that my job is to help kids with their feelings. We do this through talking, playing, and drawing. It may be helpful to tell your child that they are not coming because they are in trouble, but that coming to sessions will help to make things feel better for them. Let your child know that they will not be made to do or say anything they don’t want to. Support your child by telling them you would like them to feel better or happier.

How many therapy sessions will my child need?

Children are unique in how fast they progress in therapy. Length of time depends on the presenting concern and level of family support. Longer-term therapy is often necessary for children who have experienced trauma related to death, divorce, and abuse, while other children may only require a few sessions to work through a stressful life event or to learn some tools for coping. This can be discussed in more detail at your first appointment.

NOTE: All legal guardians must consent prior to the start of assessment and therapy services. In cases of parent separation, please note that we work from a collaborative co-parenting perspective and do not complete custody and access assessments, or therapy services for the purpose of resolving guardianship, custody, or parenting time disputes.