How does one find a counsellor? Although many people just look in the telephone directory, it is probably not the best way and in fact this method of finding a counsellor is becoming less popular because people realize that there is no guarantee that you'll end up with the right person. One of the most common ways to find a counsellor is by word of mouth. Ask around to see if one of your friends or acquaintances has experience with one of the local counsellors. If they have had a good experience with a counsellor, perhaps they will be someone who can help with your problem.

However, you might want to check to see if the problem your friend had is the same one you want to have dealt with. If not, you don't really know if that counsellor has any skill in the area you want addressed. Listen to what people say about the counsellor, too. In some cases, you might want someone who is very friendly and warm, but in other cases, you want someone who is going to be more objective. Keep in mind that the counsellor is not there to be your friend, but rather is there to assist you to change yourself and your choices. Sometimes, you want someone who can tell you "the way it is", rather than someone who is going to be unconditionally supportive of you. If you hear from one of their clients that the counsellor is very warm and caring and alway took their side in any disagreement, you might ask "what didn't they like about what how you were handling things?".

How do you know that the person you are dealing with is qualified? Many provinces within Canada are in the process of setting up a College of Counsellors whose job it will be to regulate the counsellors in the province. Most provinces have not yet completed the work of setting these Colleges up, but in British Columbia in particular the preparations are nearing completion. The colleges will be set up to protect the public from unqualified counsellors or counsellors who have committed ethical violations. Currently, you can check for membership in the provincial association, but as these organizations are not specifically designed to protect the public, this only means that the counsellors are members of an association.

If you can find out whether people who have more experience with a variety of counsellors refer to this person, that is likely your best measure of effectiveness. Some family physicians have experience with more than one counsellor, and they can be a good source of information. If insurance case managers refer to a particular person, this can be a very good indication that the person has been effective over time with a variety of people. You can obtain this information for free on the zappointments.com website. When you look for a listing of local counsellors, click on the "number booked" link. This will tell you how many and what types of referrals a counsellor has had in the past. The counsellor might have a website, and you should look at the website to see what the counsellor has treated in the past.

Finding a counsellor is easy, but finding the right one for you is more difficult. You can find a local counsellor quickly by looking under your province and city on zappointments.com, but be sure to look at the "info about" link to see what the person says about her- or himself on their website, as well as looking at the "number booked" link to see what types of referrals they have had in the past. counsellors who have had a large number of referrals through lawyers, insurance, police, military, or government agencies are probably doing a good job for these referring agencies. Finally, you can contact the counsellor by telephone or secure messaging system on zappointments.com. You can register for free on the website and them use the secure messaging system. If you do not register, the counsellor will not be able to reply using the system. Do not use email, as it is not secure and the counsellor is not likely able to reply using email without violating confidentiality rules.

Information pages

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Panic Disorder
• chronic pain (Chronic Pain Syndrome)

Questions? Our email address is admin@zappointments.com

---

Please note that you must have cookies enabled to use this service...

---

To log in as a third party payor click here.
To log in as a client click here.
To log in as a service provider click here.

---

To register as a third party payor click here (free, no obligation). Third party payors can include lawyers, insurance companies, and rehab consultants. Instructions available here.
To register as a client click here (free, no obligation). The client is the person who is treated or assessed by the professional. Instructions available here.
To register as a service provider click here (annual fee). Instructions available here.

---

This web site © psycorps.com 2003

Terms of UseCurrent Rates

Zappointments.com is a division of psycorps.com Inc