CLINIC POLICIES

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Referrals are not required and appointments can be made by telephone by calling (905) 527-2507 or through our online form on our website.   

Appointments for assessment and treatment can also be arranged by professional referral (i.e., from a family doctor, a psychiatrist, a rehabilitation consultant, etc.).   

Questions or inquiries may be sent via email to info@hccbt.ca 

You may have extended health care benefits that cover psychological services in full or in part. It remains the responsibility of the client to confirm their eligibility and to ensure they know their individual benefit coverage for the service they are receiving. Although some insurance programs offer full coverage for services obtained, others may offer partial coverage (e.g., a maximum amount per session, or a maximum amount per year).

To take advantage of your extended health care benefits, you may require a referral from a physician.  Check this in advance if you are unsure.

Payment for services received will be due at the time of appointment. You will be provided with a receipt after each session in order for you to submit to your insurance company, if you wish.

At the HCCBT, specific time slots are reserved when appointments are made. Therefore, if patients must cancel or change an appointment, it is important for the client to contact their therapist directly either by email or phone  (at least 24 hours in advance so that alternate arrangements can be made).  

The HCCBT reserves the right to:

• Charge the full amount for any sessions that are missed with less than 24 hours notice.
• Any session for which the patient is more than 20 minutes late, it will be considered a missed session.

Please note, fees for missed sessions will be waived under certain conditions:

1. significant medical illness, documented by a doctor’s note;
2. an emergency in the immediate family; and,
3. certain other extenuating circumstances (ask for additional clarification).

Every effort will be made to keep all information that you provide confidential.  That means that nobody other than you and Centre staff will have access to the information. In fact, the Centre will not even disclose information about you to your doctor or your closest friends and relatives without your permission in writing.

In the event that your therapist sees you in a public place, he or she will not approach you.  Out of respect for your confidentiality, your therapist will not even say “hello” unless you approach them first and say hello.

There are four conditions under which the law requires breaking confidentiality:

1. If your therapist discovers that a child is at risk of or is being sexually abused, physically abused, or neglected, they are required to immediately report what they know to the Children’s Aid Society. 
   
2. If your therapist discovers that another registered health care professional (e.g., psychologist, physician, dentist, etc.) has sexually abused a patient or made sexually inappropriate remarks in front of a patient, the therapist is  mandated to report that individual to his or her governing College.  However, your name would not be provided unless you were to give written permission.
   
3. If your therapist judges you to be at risk of harming yourself or another person (e.g., if you report to your therapist that you are acutely suicidal or that you are going to take another person’s life), the therapist is required to take action to protect you or the other person (e.g., by warning the police, your family, or the other individual).
   
4. If a judge subpoenas your records, the Centre may be required to turn them over.