Getting started
Virtual sessions can feel a little unfamiliar at first, especially if you've only done therapy in person — or never at all. Here's what to expect, what you'll need, and how to tell whether the format is right for you.
The setup
The first session
The first session is a getting-to-know-you. We don't have a checklist to get through. The shape of it usually goes something like this.
FIRST FEW MINUTES
A brief check on the practical side — confirming you're in Ontario, that your space is private, that the audio is working. A short review of confidentiality and how I keep notes.
THE MIDDLE
What brought you in. You can share as much or as little as feels workable — there's no requirement to tell the whole story, have it organized, or present a tidy version of yourself. I'll ask questions, listen, and follow your lead.
TOWARD THE END
A short look at what I noticed, what might be useful to keep working with, and any questions you have. We'll talk about whether and when to meet again, and what that might look like.
What doesn't have to happen: a clean narrative, a diagnosis, tears (or no tears), homework, or knowing what you want from therapy yet. We can figure that out together over time.
A good fit
None of these are requirements — they're patterns. People come to virtual therapy for all kinds of reasons.
When in-person might be better
A few situations where in-person care, a different kind of support, or a different timing might serve you better. If any of these apply, it's worth saying so during the consult — we can talk through where to look.
If you're in immediate danger or need same-day stabilization, scheduled weekly therapy of any kind — virtual or in-person — isn't the right fit on its own. Crisis lines (9-8-8) and emergency rooms are built for that moment.
Some trauma processing benefits from in-person co-regulation — the felt sense of another nervous system in the room. If that's likely to be central to your work, in-person therapy may serve you better.
Virtual therapy depends on you being able to speak openly. If your living situation doesn't allow that reliably, finding a different setting is usually a kinder solution than working around it.
If your connection drops frequently, the work gets choppy in a way that's hard to recover from week to week.
Some people simply do better in a shared room. That's a legitimate reason to look for in-person care.
If you're not sure where you fall, the free 15-minute consult is a good place to figure it out. I'd rather point you toward the right kind of support than start something that isn't going to serve you.
Privacy & security
Sessions and clinical records live inside Jane App, a Canadian healthcare-practice platform. Jane is hosted in Canada, complies with PHIPA (Ontario's health-privacy law), and uses encrypted video.
What we discuss in session stays confidential, with a few specific exceptions required by Ontario law and professional regulation.
If something goes wrong
Connections drop, browsers freeze, batteries die. None of it ends a session permanently — here's the simple backup plan.
Geography
Sessions happen only with clients who are physically located in Ontario at the time of the session. That includes the free consult.
The reason is regulatory, not preferential. Psychotherapy is regulated province by province in Canada. As a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) registered with CRPO, my scope of practice is Ontario — providing care to someone physically located elsewhere would mean practicing in a jurisdiction where I'm not registered.
This applies even if you normally live in Ontario but are temporarily in another province or country. If travel is planned, we'll work around it.
The free 15-minute consult is the easiest way to test the platform and figure out whether virtual sessions are a fit before committing to anything.