FAQs
At the North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic, we offer high quality evidence-based assessment, consultation, and treatment.
Our professionals work with individuals across the lifespan from very young children (and their parents) to older adults. We have expertise in providing assistance for a wide variety of difficulties, including problems with stress, anxiety, low mood or depression, unhelpful behaviour patterns, and learning challenges.
Some of our clients are dealing with fairly short-term life struggles and transitions while others are coping with more serious difficulties or diagnosable disorders. We also offer specialized assessments, such as psychoeducational assessments to help identify learning challenges or giftedness, or identify/diagnose symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These assessments can help you learn more about coping strategies and adjustments to the school, work or home environment that can help you (or your child) to thrive. For more information, see our Specialized Assessments Section under Services.
At NSSAC we offer a variety of approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT. CBT is widely considered to be the most effective psychological treatment for a wide range of problems.
This approach helps you make positive and lasting changes in your life. You will learn skills to reduce distress, improve your coping, and enhance your overall quality of life.
CBT is a practical skills-based treatment in which you learn how to change your behaviours and thoughts to feel better and move towards your goals and a more fulfilling life. You also learn new tools and techniques for managing difficult situations or troubling emotions. CBT is a collaborative process in which you work as a team with your psychologist to set and achieve goals.
Call our office at 604.985.3939 or email nssac.reception@gmail.com. A referral from your family physician or nurse practitioner is not necessary to make an appointment with one of our psychologists. However, some extended health benefits programs require a referral before they will help cover the costs of your visits.
Please contact your extended health provider before your first appointment to find out if they require a physician referral to access your insurance benefits. Please note that with few exceptions, clinicians do not bill insurance providers directly. Your clinician will provide you with a receipt for payment received, and this receipt can be submitted by you to your insurance provider for any available reimbursement.
Parents and guardians are welcome to place their child or teen on our waitlist. If the potential client is an adult, we do require that the adult who will receive services contact our receptionist to provide some background information and to confirm that they wish to be placed on our wait list.
At NSSAC, we strive to match potential clients with clinicians who have the right knowledge and experience. While we try to arrange your first appointment as soon as possible please be aware that there are waitlists for all of our services. In general, our waitlist for adults is a few weeks. Our waitlist for children and youth may be significantly longer, often several months or more. Please contact our receptionist for an estimate about waiting time.
The “fit” between you as a client and your clinician is extremely important. As clients who are already being seen complete their course of treatment, new regular appointment times become available and clinicians are matched to new clients from the waitlist. For this reason, it can be difficult to predict exactly when you will be seen. However, if you call or email the Clinic, we can generally provide an estimate of minimum wait time to be seen.
Please keep in mind that there is considerable demand for certain appointment times. If you need to schedule your appointments at the very beginning or end of the workday, or you are only available on specific days, this may result in a longer wait to be seen by our clinicians. Similarly, after-school appointment times for children and teens are in high demand and may lead to a longer wait. If you are available for virtual appointments, or have flexibility in your schedule, this may increase your chances of being seen sooner.
As a private outpatient clinic, we are unable to provide crisis or emergency services. If you or your child require urgent care, please contact your family physician or nurse practitioner, go to the nearest emergency room, call 911 or contact the Canada Wide Suicide Crisis Helpline by calling or texting 9-8-8.
We accept referrals for individuals across the lifespan from very young children (and their parents) to older adults. We have expertise in providing assistance for a wide variety of difficulties, including problems with stress, anxiety, low mood or depression, unhelpful behaviour patterns, and learning challenges.
Some of our clients are dealing with fairly short-term life struggles and transitions while others are coping with more significant difficulties or diagnosable disorders. Please see our Services pages for more specific information.
We do not currently accept referrals for clients who require treatment for psychotic disorders, personality disorders, primary substance problems, primary eating disorders, and bipolar disorder.
The provincial MSP does not cover psychologists' services. However, individuals with extended health benefit plans (e.g., Pacific Blue Cross,Canada Life, Medavie Blue Cross) may have a portion of, or all of their sessions with psychologists covered. Clients are encouraged to contact their extended health provider for more information about their coverage.
Please note that our clinic generally does not do direct billing to third party insurance, with few exceptions. Also, in some cases insurance companies require a physician referral to access insurance benefits.
MSP generally covers psychiatrists' services with a physician referral. For more information, please see our Psychiatric Consultation section under Services.
Fees are $235 per 50-minute session for visits with licensed psychologists. Most payments are made through the Jane payment system using your credit card (Visa, Mastercard, or AMEX) or by e-transfer. A few clinicians also accept payment by cash.
Please note that with a few exceptions, clinicians do not bill insurance providers directly. Your clinician will provide you with a receipt for payment received, and this receipt can be submitted by you to your insurance provider for any available reimbursement.
Most appointments are booked between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but some psychologists book earlier morning appointments and some book early evening appointments. The clinic receptionist is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except for 12-1 p.m.) Monday through Friday.
Please keep in mind that there is considerable demand for certain appointment times.
If you need to schedule your appointments at the very beginning or end of the workday, or you are only available on specific days, this may result in a longer wait to be seen by our clinicians. Similarly, after-school appointment times are in high demand and may lead to a longer wait.
Currently, we do not offer services on weekends.
NSSAC is pleased to be able to offer virtual treatment services over secure videoconferencing or telephone to people living anywhere in B.C., meaning that you can get help from the comfort of your home or office without needing to travel to our North Vancouver location. Some clients choose to have all services virtually, while others choose a blend of in-person and virtual services. While not all challenges can be treated virtually, for many people this is an accessible and effective choice.
Contact us at nssac.reception@gmail.com or 604-985-3939 to find out if this option is a match for you.
Yes. NSSAC is pleased to be able to offer virtual treatment services over secure videoconferencing or telephone to people living anywhere in B.C., meaning that you can get help from the comfort of your home or office without needing to travel to our North Vancouver location. Some clients choose to have all services virtually, while others choose a blend of in-person and virtual services. While not all challenges can be treated virtually, for many people this is an accessible and effective choice.
Contact us at nssac.reception@gmail.com or 604-985-3939 to find out if this option is a match for you.
If you are seeking specialized assessment services only, it may be possible to book assessment sessions on consecutive days to allow you to complete your necessary in-person assessment time in a single visit to the Lower Mainland. Contact us at nssac.reception@gmail.com or 604-985-3939 to find out if this option is right for you.
We are happy to reschedule your appointment to a more convenient time. Please call 604-985-3939, email nssac.reception@gmail.com, or contact your clinician directly to cancel or change your appointment time.
Please be aware that a minimum of 48 hours notice is required for cancelling or moving an appointment. Late cancellations and/or missed appointments may be charged at the regular rate.
Information discussed with your psychologist is strictly confidential. However, there are limits to confidentiality in some specific cases (e.g., safety issues, mistreatment of a minor), which will be discussed at the beginning of your first session so that you can make an informed decision about whether you would like to move forward with assessment and treatment.
With your consent or at your request, we may contact your extended health provider or family physician as appropriate.
Treatment sessions are typically 50 minutes long, and many people can obtain significant benefits within 8 to 20 sessions. However, the frequency and length of your treatment will be tailored to your specific needs. Some clients require more long-term intervention while others only attend a handful of sessions to get more information and learn key coping skills. Most clients come every one to two weeks.
Clients travelling a great distance may have longer appointments (e.g. two hours at a time or two appointment days in a row before returning home until the next set of appointments).
Specialized assessments follow a different format and typically involve longer appointments.
Please get in touch with the clinic for more information.
