A. The fee is $80.00 per regular session (including applicable GST) for clients seen in our Winnipeg offices for all therapists, with the exception of Carolyn Bergen.  Due to the demand for her time, sessions with Carolyn Bergen are $100.00 per 60 minute session (including applicable GST).  Payment is accepted at the end of each session via cash, cheque, debit, MasterCard or Visa.

Because of the technology required, payment for video therapy sessions is $90.00 per session.  Payment prior to the session is required for the appointment to occur.

The anger management program for individuals is $325.00 for the individual program.  TDC, our group anger management program is $200.00 ($175.00 for the early bird fee)

Our premarital and remarital package is $375.00.

There is a $20.00 administrative fee for NSF (not sufficient funds) cheques.

We recognize that therapy is a significant financial investment, and we don't take the substantial expense lightly.  We honor that you are investing your valuable resources in improving your relationships.  Therapy is a valuable investment.

A. Yes, you can print off the intake form (in PDF format) and complete it.  Please bring it with you to the first appointment. If a couple or family is coming, please have each person complete a form.

A. Either is fine.  The process of booking via email can take a little more time as we endeavor to find a time that is mutually suitable.  Melanie is our receptionist, and she is available during business hours who is immediately available to discuss any questions you might have, and provide you with information regarding openings.

A. Yes, we do.  In addition to daytime appointments during regular business hours, we have therapists working in the evenings on Monday through Thursday.  We have several therapists available to work with you on Saturday.

A. You will need to check your insurance plan with your employer or the insurance company itself.  Many plans cover only "licensed psychology" and we are NOT licensed psychologists.  Plans that cover "counselling" in more general terms may cover our services.  We encourage you to check your specific plan if you are hoping to have the services covered by insurance prior to making an appointment. In short, it is quite likely that you will not be able to use a supplemental health plan to cover our services. We have a letter of request for permission/appeal that we can provide to you on request that explains our services in a manner that may help the insurance company understand the quality of our services.

A. Our therapy appointments are a full 60 minutes in duration. We believe an hour session should last an hour. On occasion, when a client drives several hours to come see a therapist, or if a certain point in therapy indicates it as appropriate, we will provide sessions of 90-120 minutes.

A. Yes, we do a "reduced fee" option. Linda Churchill is a therapist that has completed all the components except for one final clinical placement for her Masters of Family Therapy.  She has openings available Monday morning and Tuesday evening for $50.00 per session.  Linda is an advanced intern that receives regular supervision to assist in ensuring that your counselling is of the highest quality.  Please call our receptionist, Melanie to book an appointment with Linda.

A. We do not have childcare available or a separate area where children can play.  When family therapy is involved, the therapist will want you to bring the children.  When the focus is on the marriage or the adult individual, we ask that you not bring your children.  Please make arrangements for them so that you are able to focus on the important issues, and do not expose your children to a situation where they are able to hear to conversation that is not intended for them, and may be discussion that as children, it is inappropriate that they be exposed.

A. Yes, it is.  Occasionally, a client may be in a situation where they do not have the financial resources to pay for therapy, and a relative or a friend is willing to help pay for some sessions.  While we encourage clients to take responsibility for their own lives by paying for therapy, there are circumstances where it makes sense for someone else to assist with funding therapy.  When others pay for sessions, the therapist will generally have a conversation with the client about the potential implications of having counselling covered by a third party.  It is important that the client be able to use the sessions in the way most productive for him/herself, without a presupposed agenda. 

There may be other occasions where a client prefers to pay online, or pay for a missed session prior to the next session. 

To pay online for one or more sessions in our Winnipeg office, click here.

Please note that there is a 20% processing fee for funds that need to be returned to the purchaser. For payment of video sessions, please go to the video therapy page.

A. Your therapist has set the appointment time aside to see you.  That appointment time is not available for other clients or purposes when it is booked for a client and we ask that you attend appointments as scheduled. 

There are times when illness occurs or an urgent matter arises. In those cases, we ask that you cancel with greater than one full business day's notice.  In most cases, this means that we require 24 hours notice, though for appointments on Mondays (or Tuesday of a long weekend), cancelling the appointment must be done on Friday prior to the time of your appointment.  Please note that we adhere closely to the 24 hour cancellation policy--with less than one full business day's notice, 50% of the fee is charged. 

If you do not call to cancel the appointment, and the therapist is waiting for the hour for you to arrive, the full fee is charged. The receptionist asks for a credit card number to confirm your appointment.

Please know that it is common to have some misgivings about the initial therapy appointment and many wonder about canceling shortly before an appointment.  Our therapists are highly trained, qualified individuals whose time is important and in high demand...our policies reflect the balance between respecting a client's need to change/cancel appointments on occasion with ensuring that our therapists' time is respected.

Fair is fair. Please note that if we cancel an appointment with you with less than one business day's notice, the next session is charged at 50% of the usual fee.  If for some reason, you come for an appointment as scheduled and the therapist is not there, the next appointment is at no charge as an expression of our regret. This occurs extremely rarely, and only in the case of sudden illness by the therapist.

A. Please email or call if you have any questions about the services offered at Bergen & Associates Counselling & Consulting.  All email is received in a confidential email that is seen only by Carolyn Bergen.  You will usually get a response within two to three business days. When calling, Melanie is generally able to answer most questions.  If you would like to speak with a therapist, Carolyn Bergen is willing to speak briefly with you to answer any questions you might have about our services.

A. Feedback Enhanced Therapy is a program we use that allows us to provide better therapy for you.  The most significant feature is that you will complete a very short inventory at the beginning of each session and another at the end of the session.  In each case, it will take less than a minute to complete, though the discussion around the results may vary in length.  This will allow the therapist to develop and adjust the counselling session to uniquely fit your style and needs.  The system we use will also allow you access to Mental Health Pros, the largest mental health portal on the internet which has lots of information that is helpful for people for people in counselling, including written information, inventories, and audio and video seminars which are updated frequently.  It also allows you to journal electronically on a secure site, should this be helpful to you.  Your therapist can see it, but only if you feel it would be helpful and select that they be allowed to do so.

A. It is helpful to know a few things about the appointment.  When booking an appointment by phone, the receptionist will ask you a few basic questions about contact information, and the reason for why your are coming. The receptionist is likely to review the following with you:

• You will be asked to complete an "intake sheet".  You will be asked to come about 10 minutes early to your first appointment to fill it in. Alternatively, you can print it off...it is available on this page in pdf form.
  
• The receptionist will also review the location and other details about the first appointment, as well as answer any questions you might have.  
• The receptionist will let you know about our cancellation and attendance policy, and ask for a credit card number to reserve your appointment. This credit card is not used for regular payment, but will be used, if, at some point there is money owing on the account and other arrangements for payment aren't made by the client.