Therapy for dads and dads-to-be

Gone are the days when virtual therapy was seen as inferior to in-person therapy – extensive research conducted on virtual therapy throughout the pandemic showed us how valid an approach this is. Over the past several years, virtual therapy clients have also shared their positive experiences with us; particularly the impact of having therapy be so much more flexible and accessible when our time is so valuable and hard to come by.

Benefits of virtual therapy:

• Allows you to be in your environment, where you are most comfortable.
• Removes the need for child care – babies and young children can be cared for or sleeping at home while a parent receives the support they need.
• Removes the travel time, making appointments easier to schedule for busy parents.
  Allows couples/family members to join a session from multiple locations.

If you feel deeply drawn to in-person therapy, we see you – and we do offer limited in person services in Waterloo and Markham Ontario for those who aren’t open to trying virtual – but we always encourage folks to at least TRY working virtually – you might be surprised at how much you enjoy it!

Specific training in parental mental health is not covered in most Master’s level therapy and social work programs! And there are some really nuanced parts to providing care in this unique and challenging stage of life. Our therapists are required to complete 48 hours of advanced certification training in this area – we know you don’t have time to waste, and we want to make sure we get it right the first time.

Our team of therapists are also parents themselves, because we have found it really matters to a lot of our clients that we can deeply, and personally understand their struggles. You can be sure we are a safe place to come where you’ll be free from judgment and receive loads of compassion.

Even if nothing were to change, when a parent can feel free to openly talk about their struggles and have them validated and normalized, it makes an enormous difference to their overall wellbeing. Not only that, while we can’t control all of your circumstances, we can help you build skills to manage stress and deal with that difficulty differently. Therapy is an investment of your time, resources and energy, and we take that seriously – we CAN help.

Our session fee ranges from $165-$185 per hour based on the experience of the therapist you are seeing. All of our therapists have Master’s level education in either Social Work, Psychotherapy or Counselling. The session fee will be discussed with you during your free consult, and you can also see each therapist’s session fee outlined in our online booking portal under “our team”.

We sometimes have reduced-rate counselling available with an MSW intern. The reduced rate is $100/hr and is subject to availability.

We require you to add a valid credit card to your client profile prior to your first paid session, so we don’t eat up your time with this during your initial session. Upon completion of each session, we will charge the card on file and email you a receipt.

Yes, research shows that up to 1 in 10 fathers experience paternal depression, especially in the first year of their child’s life. Paternal anxiety is even more common. These mental health challenges in fathers often go unrecognized because men are less likely to seek help and the symptoms can look different than they do in women. Irritability, withdrawal, and working more, can all be signs of paternal mental health struggles. Our therapy for dads acknowledges these differences and provides tailored support.

The range for treatment duration really varies based on each person’s unique set of circumstances and challenges. Research suggests that the majority of individuals will remain in therapy for approximately 12-20 sessions to achieve their goals, but this can really vary from person to person. Some may need fewer sessions, especially if the therapy is for a specific shorter-term problem, while others may need more sessions if they have complex and ongoing challenges or are looking for an ongoing supportive relationship with their therapist where they can regularly talk about the stressors in their life.

Your therapist will make a recommendation around the frequency of sessions based on the specific circumstances and challenges you are facing. Of course ultimately it is up to you and we always take into consideration your access to resources, benefits and time constraints to make therapy work for you. Generally, to build momentum and support you in starting to feel better sooner, therapists will typically recommend weekly or bi-weekly sessions, and as you see improvement, you can stretch out the time between sessions. Monthly sessions are more “maintenance” oriented, and then from there can taper off as you maintain a sense of stability and wellbeing between sessions.

Whole Family Psychotherapy requires 24 business hours notice for appointment cancellations or changes. (The clinic admin business hours are Monday 8am through Saturday 4pm). This cancellation policy is out of respect for your therapist’s time, and out of consideration for other clients waiting to be booked. If you cancel with less than 24 business hours notice, the full session fee will be charged to the credit card on file.