FAQs

Do I need a referral?

You can make an appointment with a clinician from Solasta on your own—you don't need a doctor's referral. Mental health fees are not covered under all provincial or territorial health plans. Ask your private insurance company or workplace benefits provider if they cover services provided by a mental health practitioner.

Will my insurance provider cover the cost of mental health services?

Most private insurance companies offer some coverage for mental health services. However, there is a lot of variability between the benefits health insurers provide and the out-of-pocket costs you might be required to pay. Check your extended health coverage first to ensure you feel confident about what is covered by your plan and what is not. Solasta Psychological Services has direct billing and your insurance company may be on our list of providers. Please feel free to ask us if your provider is represented.

What’s the difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist?

A clinical psychologist (or c. psych associate) is a regulated mental health professional with highly specialized training in the diagnosis and psychological treatment of mental health disorders. A psychotherapist is trained primarily in talk-based therapy and assists people with improving and maintaining their mental health and well-being. Both Clinical Psychologists and Registered Psychotherapists can work with individuals, couples, and families in individual and group settings, depending on their areas of competence.

FAQs

What is Interpersonal Neurobiology?

IPNB is a way of understanding the nature of being human. IPNB offers a way of exploring our thoughts, feelings and behaviours from a whole body perspective. Understanding the link between differentiated parts of a whole body system appears to be the common root of well-being.  As we learn more about neural networks in the brain, we understand that mental health emerges from the integration of systems (mind & body), and barriers to well-being arise from blockages to that integration. IPNB provides us with insight into the importance of the brain, our whole body, our relationships with other people and with ourselves, and our interconnections with nature.

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, otherwise known as EMDR is a therapy modality most recognized for its empirical support as a trauma treatment, however, research continues to identify EMDR’s effectiveness with a wide range of disorders including depression, phobias, addiction, OCD, and chronic pain.

EMDR is informed by the Adaptive Information Processing Model which considers symptoms to be the result of past experiences that continue to cause distress in the present due to inadequate processing of memories. These memories are said to encompass emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations that occurred alongside the original experience. When the memory is triggered, all accompanying elements are also activated, causing the symptoms of disorders, such as flashbacks in the case of PTSD.

Whereas modalities such as CBT focus on altering the thoughts and responses resulting from traumatic experiences, EMDR targets the memories of a traumatic experience and works to change the way these memories are stored, resulting in the reduction and elimination of problematic symptoms.

The reprocessing of memories incorporates the use of bilateral stimulation, which can include eye movements, tapping, or tones. Clients are asked to focus on a target memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulations, in brief repetitive sets, which reduces the vividness and emotional intensity associated with the memory.