call 263-5543 to book yourself an appointment
e-mail your questions to richard@antonpsych.ca
Anton Counseling & Health Psychology

I have never been to see a psychologist before and I am a
little anxious about it. What can I expect?

It is normal to be anxious when faced with a new situation.
Therapy requires time and monetary commitment and it is
important for you to be comfortable with your psychologist and
your decision. During our meetings together, we will continuously
gather information about your situation and provide you with
feedback based upon our professional experience and education.
How often do I need to schedule appointments?

The frequency of appointments vary depending on your
circumstances. You are encouraged to set up several weekly
appointments at first.  After the first three to six sessions, people
often change their frequency to every other week or so depending
upon the degree of change they are experiencing.  At this point,
change is occurring and how you feel about the change can be
discussed and further actions can be planned. Also, there may be
times that we email an article or homework to you that we can
then talk about.  Affecting your progress and making adjustments
to what you are doing between appointments in order to keep
progressing is the direction you want to go.

If I have an emergency, what should I do?

If you have a life-threatening emergency or think it might be life-
threatening, call 911. Our office is not equipped to handle such
emergencies. However, things may come up between sessions that
are of an urgent nature. You may call 403-263-5543 and speak to
your psychologist if available or leave a message 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. We recommend that you call the Crisis Centre in
extreme situations at 403-266-1605.

Are sessions confidential?

In order for our time together to be effective, you need to be
comfortable knowing that what you share is between you and your
psychologist and not shared with others. Our office strives to
continually meet and exceed HIPAA compliance standards. With
the exception of specific situations outlined in the privacy policy,
our conversations are confidential. We take your privacy very
seriously and have concerns about how information may be shared
once it leaves our office. Therefore, we take special care to
protect your privacy by informing you and getting your permission
in writing before releasing any information about you (such as from
an insurance company, other healthcare provider, etc).

What can I do outside of therapy to help with my situation?

Although our sessions are crucial in addressing your concerns, they
are not the only vehicle to help you accomplish your goals. Life is
very complex and in order for you to be more successful, practice
will need to be done between sessions and in real life situations.
We will often give you “homework” or suggestions of things to
read between our meetings.

My work makes it difficult for me to schedule during the
day. Do you have any weekend or evening appointment
times?

Yes, we do schedule special appointments in the evenings and on
some Saturdays. We will set appointments that work within your
schedule and our availability. However, our schedule fills rather
quickly and it is best to schedule several appointments, a month in
advance, in order to ensure premium time slots.

Do you see children, adolescents, adults, or couples?

This is a general practice with several specialties and we see
parents, adults, and couples. After your situation is assessed, you
will know if your specific concerns fall outside our area of
expertise and you will then be given referral information for
specialists. However, our background is diverse and includes
working for people with various ages and concerns. Much of our
time is spent working with people who are feeling distressed with
relationship issues (personal and professional), parenting concerns,
abuse/neglect, trauma reactions, depression, anxiety, chronic
medical conditions such as pain, sleep and stress.