Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches. As EMDR is a mental health intervention, it should only be offered by properly trained and licensed mental health clinicians.

All of our associates are approved EMDR therapists with EMDRIA, the governing body for EMDR training and practice.

Click here to visit the EMDRIA website for more information on EMDR therapy.

Please click here for a helpful explanation of EMDR with children.

We encourage parents to attend the initial appointment without their child present to allow a candid discussion about their concerns for their child and about other sensitive topics.

Sometimes teens want to attend the initial appointment as they have a strong need to know what is shared with the therapist. In these situations we meet with the teen and the parent together and then contract with the teen how we can receive additional information from the parent, when needed.

The length of time in therapy varies with each child. Usually children require a minimum of eight sessions for an initial assessment and for the child to learn a few strategies to manage feelings.

We encourage parents to discuss with their therapist during the initial intake appointment the number of sessions that they recommend the child attend. Parents ultimately decide how long their child will attend therapy, as they understand their child best and their financial constraints.

Parents are asked to advise their child’s therapist as soon as possible about their intention to discontinue therapy so that an ending session to celebrate the child’s progress can be scheduled.

Our services are not covered by OHIP. Some parents have extended health benefits through their employer that may cover our services. It is important for parents to check if their benefits program cover the services of MSW, RSWs. Please note that Dr. Bell’s doctorate is in social work, not psychology, and thus her work is not covered by plans limiting coverage to PhDs in clinical psychology. Her services fall under coverage for MSWs, RSWs.

We are not able to offer a sliding scale for therapy services given that Dr. Bell volunteers her time to develop community capacity in the area of child sexual abuse.

Parents are encouraged to discuss any concerns related to the cost of therapy during the initial telephone call. We can contract a limited number of sessions to address the child’s most pressing concern or we can direct parents to community, government funded, programs.

Parents are encouraged to discuss any concerns related to the cost of therapy during the initial email communication or intake telephone call. We can contract a limited number of sessions to address the child’s most pressing concern or we can direct parents to community, government funded, programs.

Young children often request that their parent attend some or all of their sessions. We support parents to be active allies in their child’s treatment and contract with the child how their parents will receive progress reports.

While we recognize that teens often have strong privacy needs, we also believe that it is important to negotiate what information can be shared so that parents can support their progress. Please note – we advise parents immediately if we have any concerns about their child’s safety.

If the child’s other parent has custodial decision-making rights, we believe we are obligated to ensure that both parents consent to therapy.

While children usually benefit from both their parents being involved in their therapy, there are some situations that preclude parental involvement. Parents are asked to  discuss concerns related to parental consent during the initial phone call with Dr. Bell.