Services
Counselling and Psychotherapy Services
Friends and family are an amazing support when we feel down or confused; when we need to make an important decision, or when we just need to talk. However, sometimes we need a neutral third person who can bring a different perspective, explore different options and scenarios, and come up with specific strategies to achieve our goals (whatever they may be), at our own pace.
Counselling/Psychotherapy offers a safe, non-judgmental space when going through transitions or experiencing difficulties in our lives. We offer in-person sessions in Brampton and online sessions for Ontario residents. Services are delivered by Registered Social Workers.
Counselling or Psychotherapy: What is the Difference?
Counselling services empower you to find solutions and make choices by exploring options, locating resources and developing coping strategies. Psychotherapy helps address difficulties assumed to be of an emotional nature in order to promote positive personal growth and development.
According to the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), counselling services help individuals “find solutions and make choices through exploration of options, identification of strengths and needs, locating information and providing resources, and promoting a variety of coping strategies[…].” While Psychotherapy services are defined as “any form of treatment for psycho-social or emotional difficulties, behavioural maladaptations and/or other problems that are assumed to be of an emotional nature, in which a College member establishes a professional relationship with a client for the purposes of promoting positive personal growth and development” (Practice Guidelines for Performing the Controlled Act of Psychotherapy, OCSWSSW, 2017, p. 5).
Both modalities offer an empowering experience that can help you achieve your goals and gain more clarity and emotional wellbeing by re-framing our narratives of painful experiences into stories of strength and resilience as we approach them from a new perspective.
OUR TEAM
Meet our Counsellors/ Psychotherapists
Marialuisa Elias
Registered Social Worker/ Psychotherapist
Marialuisa is an experienced Registered Social Worker with a master’s degree from the University of Toronto. She has extensive experience providing individual, family, group and couples counselling and psychotherapy. She specializes in the following areas:
She offers empathetic, gentle, yet empowering support, encouraging all individuals to go within to find their own answers, follow their own dreams and become their own agents of change. She uses evidence-based and scientific approaches with proven high efficacy in facilitating positive change such as: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Attachment Theory, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness.
Marialuisa offers services to individuals 16 years and older.
Kamlesh is an experienced Registered Social Worker who provides services to youth, adults, couples and families. His areas of expertise are:
He provides consultation, mobilizes resources, offers referrals and recommends interventions. He uses modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy.
His practice is holistic, integrative and humanistic. His approach is transparent and collaborative in order to ensure clients become conscious creators of their own lives.
Kamlesh Patel
Registered Social Worker/ Psychotherapist
APPOINTMENT
Schedule a 15-minute Phone Consult
Call us to schedule a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation to answer any questions you may have. Please note that this is a brief consultation to help you assess whether our services are the right fit for you, and not a therapy session.
Once you decide this is the right fit for you, we will schedule a 90-minute assessment session in which we collect and discuss relevant information that will allow us to know you better and design a tailored treatment plan. Subsequent individual sessions are 60 minutes, while couples and family sessions are 90 minutes.
Fees and Insurance Coverage
Assessment sessions (90 minutes) –$218/ session
Individual sessions (60 minutes) –$145/ session
Couples and family sessions (90 minutes) –$218/ session
Most insurance companies cover Counselling/Psychotherapy by Registered Social Workers. Please contact your insurance company to find more information. Sessions are paid in full by cash, e-transfer or credit card. At the end of your session, an official receipt will be issued for reimbursement.
Book an Appointment
If I Need Immediate Support
Please be aware that as much as we try to accommodate your needs and respond in a timely manner, we do not offer crisis counselling. If you are going through a crisis that requires immediate attention please call 911, contact your family doctor, go to your nearest hospital, or to your nearest police station. Examples of a crisis include if your safety or life is at risk, if you are concerned about hurting yourself or others, or if a child is at risk.
Helpful Contact Information
The Assaulted Women’s Helpline Crisis Line
GTA: 416-863-0511
www.awhl.org
Distress Centres of Greater Toronto
416-408-4357
www.dcogt.com
ConnexOntario
1-866-531-2600
www.connexontario.ca
Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH)
Emergency Department
416-979-6885
www.camh.ca
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
416-924-4640
www.torontocas.ca
Peel Children’s Aid
905-363-6131
www.peelcas.org
You can also call 211
Or visit 211ontario.ca to find other resources
Services we do not provide
Please note that we do not provide counselling/psychotherapy for substance addictions (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.); anger management or PAR (Partner Assault Response); severe medically untreated mental health conditions and learning disabilities.
We are not able to provide psychological assessments; access visitation and/or custody assessments, reports or recommendations; assessments, reports or recommendations to present or to include as part of hearings, trials or any other legal-related process.
From time to time we receive calls from very caring and loving family members or friends who are worried about a loved one, but this loved one does not want to seek help. Counselling/Psychotherapy works best when the individual identifies a need and fully consents to participate.
If you find yourself in a situation in which you identify a need for services for a loved one, but this person doesn’t seem aware of such need, minimizes your concerns or denies any problem, you can take this as an opportunity to seek help for yourself. Sometimes we focus all our attention on trying to help others, but we forget about ourselves.