Services and Fees

Treatment is offered primarily through virtual appointments; however we also support a hybrid approach including some office appointments in Vancouver.

Areas of Practice

At Willow Grove Counselling, Inc., we practice Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and can help with the following issues and disorders:

Adults:

• Depression
• Generalized Anxiety
• Panic Disorder
• Social Phobia/Social Anxiety
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Agoraphobia
• Post-Traumatic Stress

Assessments:

• Assessment for Work Readiness/Return to Work

“Begin challenging your assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off once in awhile, or the light won’t come in.”

– Alan Alda

Counselling Fees

Arthur Rathgeber, Ed.D., as a Registered Psychologist, determines counselling fees, which are guided by the BC Psychological Association, at $225 per 50-minute clinical hour.

Unless otherwise arranged, fees are payable at each session (cash, cheque, or e-transfer). A receipt will be issued with all of the necessary reimbursement information. Many extended health plans may cover all or a percentage of this cost. In addition, fees paid to a psychologist are income tax deductible under ‘Medical Expenses’.

Assessment for Work Readiness/Return to Work

Achieving ‘work readiness’ in optimal health begins with finding answers…knowing what factors resulted in you leaving your place of work. An assessment will provide information that will assist in finding these important answers.

Answers to the following questions are the essence of the assessment:

• What stress factors contributed to your depressive or unremitting anxiety being so prominent in your current presentation?
• What symptoms of the depression or anxiety prevent your best efforts at work…and perhaps in your home and social life?
• What interpersonal challenges of the workplace are difficult to deal with…and perhaps are also represented in your home and social life?
• What skills or thoughts associated with conflict make the work setting difficult…and perhaps are also represented in your home and social life?
• What beliefs or expectations are ‘out of touch’ with your current reality (and maybe you don’t know it)…are these learned beliefs and expectations making your home and social life a challenge as well?

Through the process of assessment, we find answers and set goals to achieve ‘work readiness’ so you have the ability to concentrate, manage your emotions, behaviours, and thoughts. It is important that you become an effective decision-maker, i.e. you are able to make the decision to return to your current work situation, or to change jobs, or to enrol in job training to begin a new career.

These assessments are usually requested by an insurance company or by a rehabilitation counsellor. Based on the results of the assessment, counselling may be recommended to assist the client in the process of a healthy return-to-work. Our approach to counselling would be Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which is an evidence-based intervention (see Approach page).

Assessment for Work Readiness/Return to Work includes the following process:

1. An initial interview to gather information that has contributed to the psychological difficulty associated with reduced work-effectiveness. The information gathered is on Personal/Family Information; Education; Work History; Social History; Medical/Mental Health History.
2. A description of the event(s) leading to the current work breakdown, and what background event(s) may have contributed.
3. Establishing a baseline of the daily functioning at home and in the work setting prior to the work breakdown.
4. A statement of the current daily functioning with respect to self-care, sleep hygiene, energy level, attention, concentration, memory/learning, organization and social functioning.
5. Behavioral Observation (Current Mental Status)
6. Objective measures: a) Formal personality assessment, b) Identification of specific symptoms that are related to psychological disorders, c) specific measures of depression/anxiety, d) in-depth assessment if substance abuse and/or PTSD are identified.
7. A DSM-5 diagnosis is specified.
8. Identification of specific work barriers that prevent a healthy work response.
9. If treatment is recommended, treatment goals are outlined, as well as the time frame to achieve the goals.
10. A Case Conceptualization is developed in order to guide treatment. Our treatment expertise is in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) – see Approach page.

Fees for Assessment:

Assessment for Work Readiness/Return to Work takes approximately five to six hours at a cost of $200.00 per hour. The primary purpose of this assessment is to arrive at a diagnosis and to provide treatment goals in order to overcome barriers that prevent a healthy return-to-work.