What to Expect
Trauma Informed Counselling

For those who have never attended counselling, picking up the phone to begin the process can be unnerving. It is hard to know what to expect and that in itself, is daunting.

At Shoreline Counselling your call will be answered by one of our knowledgeable and experienced reception team members who will work with you to gain a clear understanding of what you are looking for and then use that knowledge to match you with one of our clinical counsellors. They will ask you for some contact information, ask your consent for it to be used to book an appointment in Jane, our calendar program, and then they will find an appointment time that works with your schedule. They will inform you about the costs and answer any questions you may have regarding insurance coverage, our cancellation policy and will explain what comes next in the process. Before you hang up, they will make sure you know where our office is, how to find us in the building and where the best places are to park.

Once the appointment is booked you will be getting a welcome email from us asking you to finish completing your profile online with all the required information that you are comfortable sharing with us. Additionally, you will receive a link to an intake form that only your counsellor will be able to access prior to your first session.

We ask that you arrive to your first session 5-10 minutes early to ensure lots of time to find parking and our office. Once inside, we invite you to have a seat in the waiting room and your counsellor will come out to take your payment just prior to your session. Sometimes our counsellors run a little behind schedule as we try our best to ensure that all our clients feel ready to leave when the session comes to an end. Please just wait and your counsellor will be out as soon as they can.

Once inside with your counsellor, they will review a treatment contract with you, ensuring that you are aware of the boundaries and limitations of the relationship that exists between client and counsellor. They will talk about confidentiality and what that means and the limitations of that, as well as their approach to therapy and some of the structures that exist to ensure that both client and counsellor are on the same page about how the process will move forward. At any point in this process, your counsellor will welcome questions or concerns and respect any boundaries that you may have to ensure you are comfortable.

At the end of the session, you are welcome to re-book with your counsellor or give our office a call anytime to set up a follow up session.

We look forward to meeting you on the Shoreline.