Our Psychologists, Social Workers, Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCC) and Licensed Counselling Therapists (LCT) offer services for a wide range of difficulties based on their training, interests, and expertise. Depending on your presenting issues, insurance coverage, interest in individual or group therapy, and if there is need for a psychological assessment, our administrative staff will help to match you with the professional that best suits your needs.
Psychological Assessments
What is an Assessment: Psychological assessment is the process of gathering information from various sources (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, testing, observations, file review, etc.) about a person’s social, emotional, behavioural, and/or cognitive functioning, and interpreting this information using current theory and research in order to provide a deeper understanding of a person’s psychological and adaptive functioning.
Pros and Cons of Assessments: There are many possible benefits to assessments, which will vary slightly depending on the type of assessment obtained. Benefits may include:
gaining a deeper understanding of strengths and weaknesses;
receiving recommendations for possible treatments, support services, strategies, or accommodations;
establishing a baseline of functioning to track progress or change;
receiving direction or determining suitability for career changes (e.g., new job or role, promotions, return-to-work planning, etc.);
gaining insights into other areas that may be directly or indirectly affecting your quality of life (e.g., interpersonal patterns, cognitive challenges, etc.);
obtaining diagnostic clarity in one or more areas of psychological and/or cognitive functioning;
obtaining access to services, treatments, financial aids, and so on by having necessary clinical diagnoses.
Limitations may include:
the assessment may or may not result in one or more clinical diagnoses (i.e., a diagnosis is only given when warranted by the available data, and is not guaranteed);
assessment results may not be valid for the lifespan of the client. For example, clinical diagnoses and treatment recommendations received as a child may no longer be valid in adulthood, depending on how the symptoms or circumstances may have changed over time;
assessment results can only reflect data collected. If information is withheld, distorted, or unavailable to the assessor, it may change the clinical impressions and conclusions drawn, which can thereby impact the utility or validity of the assessment results;
although the assessment results can be used to positively impact the client’s life in many ways (e.g., treatment planning, access to services, personal insights and growth, etc.), it is also possible that the assessment results will impact the client in an unfavourable way (e.g., not qualifying for certain services, programs, or careers; experiencing uncomfortable or challenging emotional reactions to assessment results/diagnoses; etc.).
Types of Assessments We offer a variety oftypes of psychological assessments at Hale Psychological Services, including:
Psychodiagnostic Assessments: Availablefor individuals aged 5 and older. A comprehensive psychological interview and clinical assessment to better understand your (or your child/youth's) symptoms, presenting problems, history, functioning, personality traits, and coping strategies to best recommend a tailored treatment plan and recommendations.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Assessments: Available for individuals aged 6 and older. A comprehensive psychological interview and clinical assessment to better understand your (or your child/youth's) symptoms, presenting problems, history, functioning, and differential diagnosis of ADHD symptoms & other issues that mimic these symptoms to make a tailored treatment plan and recommendations.
Psychoeducational (Specific Learning Disorder & ADHD) Assessments: Available for individuals aged 6 and older. A comprehensive psychological interview and clinical assessment to better understand your (or your child/youth's) symptoms, presenting problems, history of difficulties with learning or academic functioning, as well as current cognitive and academic areas of strength/weakness to differentially diagnose or rule out specific learning disabilities and/or ADHD, make tailored compensatory and/or remedial recommendations, and consult with parents and/or teachers to help implement, if applicable. Psychoeducational assessments include a mental health screening as part of the differential diagnosis process.
Neuropsychological and Cognitive Assessments: Available for individuals aged 16 and older with post-concussion syndrome, cognitive/memory issues, suspected Dementia, and/or head injuries. A comprehensive psychological interview and clinical assessment to better understand your (or your youth's) symptoms, presenting problems, history, functioning, changes/stability of functioning over time, and cognitive strengths/weaknesses in areas including but not limited to: Immediate and delayed visual and verbal memory, attention, visual-spatial perception, visual-motor abilities, expressive and receptive language, & executive functioning.
Psychovocational (Career) Assessments: Available for individuals aged 16 and older looking to determine a career path, navigate a career change, determine if they are able to return to work, or develop a feasible return-to-work plan. A comprehensive psychological interview, clinical and vocational assessment with a psychologist and vocational evaluator provides career recommendations based on your presenting problems, functioning, history, career interests, abilities, values, cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses, and personality traits to provide you with tailored academic and or vocational options.
Fitness for Duty (FFD) Assessments: Available for adults 18 and older (referrals must come through the client’s employer). These assessments provide feedback to an employer about the client’s mental fitness to perform a specific job or specific duties within a job. The process involves a psychological evaluation that is tailored based on the referral questions from the employer and the performance demands of the specific job/role in question.
Pre-Employment Screening Assessments: Available for adults 18 and older (referrals must come through the client’s employer or potential employer). These assessments provide feedback to an employer about the suitability of a candidate for specialized roles or work settings. The goal of these assessments are to help employers better understand potential job candidates to improve decisions regarding hiring, restructuring, and promotions in the workplace. The process involves a psychological evaluation that is tailored based on the referral questions from the employer and the performance demands of the specific job/role in question.
Psychological Assessment reports can vary greatly in length depending on the complexity (e.g., the amount of objective testing involved, length of file review required, duration of clinical interviews, etc.), and/or the type of report needed. Examples of types of documentation requested are as follows:
No Written Report: the assessment and a verbal feedback session are billed the hourly rate for the time required. Note this is only available with certain types of assessments, and excludes psychoeducational, neuropsychological, and psychovocational assessments.
Completion of Letter or form(e.g., Disability Tax Credit): are billed a minimum of 1 additional hour.
Brief Report: a brief psychological report is written documenting most relevant information obtained, a summary of test scores, diagnoses if applicable, and therapeutic, school, work, and/or home recommendations.
Full Report: a comprehensive psychological report is written documenting information obtained from all sources, a detailed interpretation of test scores, diagnoses if applicable, and therapeutic, school, work, and/or home recommendations.
Individual Therapy
What is Therapy: Therapy is the process of meeting with a therapist to work towards resolving unhelpful, unhealthy, or challenging behaviours, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues, and/or somatic responses (sensations in the body).
Appointments: Therapy sessions are typically 45-50 minutes long (depending on your clinician) with the remaining 10-15 minutes used for session documentation, as is standard in the field. Pros and Cons of Therapy: Psychotherapy can have lots of benefits, but you may also experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and/or helplessness. The goal of therapy is not necessarily to avoid these and therapy can often help you to work through these feelings. Evidence-based therapy has also been shown to have many benefits (e.g., decreased symptoms, improved functioning, improved relationships, increased coping skills and resilience, reductions in psychological distress, etc.).
Creating Change: Simply talking with a therapist is not sufficient to produce change. Improvement requires that you make therapy a priority by attending sessions and by carrying out practices and activities between sessions. Change also requires a willingness to evaluate current thoughts and behaviours and try new things. It can be hard work. If you are not feeling ready to commit to this process, you are strongly encouraged to talk to your clinician about your reservations.
Our clinicians are trained in and experienced in offering counselling and numerous empirically-supported treatments for a wide range of presenting problems and psychological difficulties based on their training, interests and experience. Below is a summary of common, but not all, presenting issues and psychological difficulties addressed by our team of professionals:
The type of therapeutic interventions and treatments offered depends on the professional's training, interests, and experience, as well as your presenting problems and/or psychological difficulties. Some of the most common empirically-supported and evidenced-based techniques, treatments, and therapeutic interventions used by our professionals are:
- Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - Behavior Therapy - Cognitive Therapy - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) - Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) - Exposure Therapy - Mindfulness & Relaxation Training - Motivational Interviewing - Narrative Therapy - Play Therapy - Problem Management Training (PMT) - Problem-Solving Skills Training (PSST) - Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) - Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem-Solving (STEPPS) and Early Intervention (STEPPS-EI) - And more...
Couples Therapy
Ask about which of our clinicians are trained in providing Couples Therapy for heterosexual, same-sex and 2SLGBTQIA+ couples. Couples therapists are trained in Emotion Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Our Couples Therapists can help with communication issues, parenting issues, infidelity. sex therapy, sexual dysfunction, sexual aversion, polyamory, and open relationships.
Group Therapy
The Emotion Management Skills Group is a friendly and relaxed 19 week continuous therapy group welcoming new individuals at the beginning of each module, space permitting. It is for individuals agee 16+ who are interested in learning skills to manage strong emotions (like anxiety, depression, anger, boredom, or rejection). You will learn new skills for dealing with common mental health issues and improving your quality of life. This group is not intended for those with current psychosis, current and active suicidality, or those under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Skills are taught on mindfulness, distress tolerance, radical acceptance, emotion regulation, validation, interpersonal effectiveness, thought challenging, exposure, relapse prevention & more! An Information Session is held monthly to introduce the group format and skills to be learned. Please Note: Attendance at an Information Session is necessary for group registration. Contact us today to register for the next Information Session! A group leader or administrator will contact you afterwards to inform you of your registered start date.
Costs and Coverage
The cost of services varies by the professional and is based on the recommended fees by Provincial and Federal licensing bodies (i.e., College of Psychologists of NB, NB Association of Social Workers, etc.), as well as recommended fees by third-party referral agencies (such as the Canadian Armed Forced (CAF), Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), BlueCross, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), etc), and the professional's years of training and experience.
Individual therapy fees range from $120-220 per therapy hour (50 minute session). Group therapy is $120 per session (discounts available if paid by module or all at once). Group &/or individual therapy and assessment services are not covered by New Brunswick Medicare. However, many healthcare plans pay all of some of the costs of seeing a psychologist, social worker, and/or counsellor. Talk to your insurance carrier to see if you are eligible. We are pleased to offer direct billing to some plans and referral parties. Direct billing is available for CAF, VAC, and RCMP referred individuals. *For CAF, VAC and RCMP, please verify eligibility with case managers in advance.If you are not covered directly, a receipt will be provided to you that you can submit for coverage through your health insurance plan. Payments can be made by Debit, Credit Card, Cash, E-transfer, and/or Cheque made payable to Hale Psychological Services.