How to Find a Therapist in Canada | First-Time Guide

If your goal is to find a therapist in Canada, the first step is to know what you’re looking for. To find a good therapist means to find the right therapist: a professional whose background and approach to therapy suit your unique needs.

Plus, Canada is a large, diverse country. Whether you plan to attend sessions online or in person, it may benefit you to find a psychotherapist in Canada local to your city or province.

Here’s how to find a counsellor in Canada—where to start, how to assess your options, and how to choose a therapist who suits your needs.

Use the Right Tools to Find a Therapist in Canada

Before you go any further, take stock of the tools you’ll use in your search.

Simply googling “therapist near me” or “therapists in Canada” will turn up thousands of results. And those results are ranked according to search metrics, not according to whether a therapist is the right fit for you.

Online directories like Psychology Today give you more advanced search tools, but their therapist profiles rarely give you a clear idea of what it would be like to work with a particular therapist.

Only First Session exclusively lists Canadian therapists with professionally filmed videos profiles to help you see what it would be like working one-on-one with a therapist.

“Therapist” is a blanket term interchangeable with:

• Psychologist
• Psychotherapist
• Counsellor
• Social worker
• Clinical social worker
• Counselling therapist

(Life coaches and guides are not included in this list because they are not licensed therapists.)

Before going any further, search for Canadian therapists with First Session to get a sense of your options.

How to Get Therapy in Canada

Public mental health resources in Canada

Typically, publicly-funded mental health care in Canada serves people in an acute mental crisis or with complex diagnoses. 

You may have to wait months or even years before being seen by a publicly-funded therapist, with little to no choice in therapist or schedule and a limited number of sessions.

Sessions with private-practice therapists are not covered by public healthcare, but they are often covered in extended health plans.

Skip to the end of this article to learn about publicly funded mental health resources in Canada.

The cost of therapy in Canada

The cost of seeing a therapist in Canada varies widely.

Therapists set their prices based on a number of factors, including their level of education, specialization(s), and overhead costs. 

Before trying to find the right therapist, set a monthly budget that you can afford. This may help you narrow down your searches.

Many workplace and student health benefits cover therapy services, but most restrict which therapist designations qualify. Check out your policy details to see which designations and credentials qualify for reimbursement. Examples include “social worker”, “MSW”, “psychologist”, etc.

Finding the Right Therapist in Canada

Your connection with your therapist is the number one factor affecting your success in therapy.

Decades of research have shown that finding the right therapist for your needs improves the likelihood of therapeutic success. That applies across different modalities, mental health diagnoses, and therapeutic settings.

- First Session client

When you and your therapist have established a meaningful human connection, you can be vulnerable, feel heard, and trust the process.

Therapist traits

Some individual traits may be important to you when you consider what makes a good therapist for you. Some may not.

Consider:

• Age: Would you prefer a therapist your own age, or someone older with more lived experience? 

• Gender: You may feel more comfortable working with a therapist of a particular gender (or agender)

• Lived experiences: All therapists receive training in the most common issues their clients face, but not every therapist has personally experienced them

• Cultural and ancestral background: You may prefer to work with a therapist whose cultural background and context closely matches your own.

Specializations

Therapists may choose to specialize in:

• Specific diagnoses (e.g. borderline personality disorder, PTSD, autism, OCD)
• Client concerns (low self-esteem, sleep issues, grief, work or professional challenges)
• Client demographics (such as BIPOC, couples, children, caregivers)

If you don’t have a specific concern, you can work with a therapist with a broader client base. 

Often, First Session clients start therapy with a broad scope, and over time identify more specific areas they’d like to focus on.

However, some conditions require more support from the therapist to navigate or have specific treatment methods, including: trauma/PTSD, eating disorders, and gender and sexual identity. 

Modalities

A therapy modality is a specific method or approach used by therapists to help people deal with mental, emotional, or physical issues. It’s a tool tailored to help individuals heal or improve their well-being in a way that works best for them.

What are the most common modalities?

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
• Somatic Experiencing
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Eye Motion Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Psychedelic Therapy 

Even as you consider different modalities, keep this in mind: Evidence shows that therapist-client fit affects therapy outcomes more than the specific modalities used. 

Therapist availability

Here are some questions to consider when reviewing a potential therapist's availability:

• Are they available in the time window you’re looking for? (mornings, afternoons, evenings, weekends)
• Do you want to meet at the same day and time for each session or do you need flexibility?
• Do they require you to book weeks in advance or can you take it one week at a time?
• Do they offer appointments on short notice? 

For in-person therapy, you should also take into account commuting time and how it will affect your personal schedule.

Licence or designation of therapist

Different provinces have different licenses and designations for therapists. Extended health insurance typically only covers therapists with certain designations, so it’s important to make sure your insurance covers therapists with the designations most common in your province.

In-Person vs Online Therapy in Canada

In-person therapy is the traditional format for psychotherapy.

Many people who see therapists find that having a separate physical space for therapy helps them to create their own separate mental and emotional space. Also, certain aspects of therapy—like the therapist’s body language—are better experienced in person rather than 

on screen.

That being said, you may find it difficult to fit trips to a therapist’s office into your schedule. Or you may discover that the therapist you most strongly connect with has their office far away from where you live.

Online therapy in Canada has gained popularity in recent years, partly due to the effects of the pandemic. It opens up more options in terms of which therapists you can see. And you may find it more comfortable to do a session of therapy in your own home than in someone else’s office.

Most First Session therapists are licensed to serve clients across Canada.

Even if you don’t need to commute to your therapy sessions, schedule time to yourself before and after the session, so you can prepare in advance and process your thoughts and feelings when the session is over.

Therapists by province

Looking for a therapist in your province? Choose an option below to start your search:

• Find a therapist in Ontario
• Find a therapist in British Columbia
• Find a therapist in Alberta
• Find a therapist in Quebec
• Find a therapist in Saskatchewan
• Find a therapist in Manitoba
• Find a therapist in Nova Scotia
• Find a therapist in New Brunswick
• Find a therapist in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Find a therapist in the Northwest Territories
• Find a therapist in Nunavut
• Find a therapist in Yukon
• Find a therapist on Prince Edward Island 

How to Choose a Therapist in Canada with First Session

First Session’s therapist profiles are intuitively designed and give you all the information you need to take the first steps towards choosing a therapist in Canada.

Here’s a breakdown of each section:

Basic info

Along with a photo, the top section of each profile page features:

• The therapist’s availability (whether they’re accepting new clients)
• Their name
• Their designation or license type
• Their pronouns
• Their session rate
• Where they offer remote sessions

Here you can choose to book a session or jump down the page to the therapists’ weekly schedule.

Profile video 

First Session includes a video as part of each therapist profile. That gives you an even better sense of what to expect during an actual session. 

Note your gut reaction to exploring these videos—that is, your connection not only to what a potential therapist says, but how they say it. 

Personal notes

Below their video, each therapist includes personal notes about their experiences and practice. These may include:

• What they have learned from their personal experiences, and how they inform their practice
• How their clients typically describe them
• Their cultural and ancestral background

Expertise

A therapist’s expertise is broken down into:

Areas of focus, organized by category

Therapeutic frameworks and approach, or modalities

Populations served, or groups the therapist specializes in treating

Practice details

Practice details include objective factors that may affect whether you choose to work with a particular therapist, including:

Service offerings and rates, or the cost of different types of sessions, including consultations

Insurance and benefits coverage, or the therapist’s professional designation (insurance typically only covers treatment by therapists with specific designations)

Schedule, namely which days of the week the therapist is available to see clients

In person sessions, including the location of the therapist’s practice and photos of the space

Virtual sessions, or the provinces and territories in which the therapist is able to treat clients remotely

More info

The final section on the page covers the therapist’s education, designations, and completed training certificates. It also includes the languages in which they offer treatment.

Take Advantage of Free Consultations with Canadian Therapists

First Session makes it easy to book a free consultation with a therapist in Canada.

A free consultation gives you the chance to test your personal fit with a therapist over a short, no-commitment conversation. You can also ask any questions not answered by a therapist’s profile page.

Word of advice: Don’t get bogged down with consultation calls. When interviewing potential therapists, only schedule one to three at a time, and make sure they’re spread over one week or more. Any more than that tends to lead to decision paralysis.

Finally, you don’t need to book a consultation before seeing a therapist. If you’re confident, based on what you’ve learned about them, that a therapist would be a good fit for you, you’re free to go ahead and book your first official session.

How to take the next step

If you’re reached this stage, you’ve already identified the therapist that’s right for you, and you’re ready to start your journey.

Some tips to help you take the next step:

• If you find yourself really struggling to choose between more than one therapist, then whichever one you choose is going to be a good choice—so go ahead and book that first session

• There’s no such thing as therapist soulmates. If you’re always waiting for that one perfect therapist to come along, you’ll end up waiting forever. Statistically speaking, there are many therapists that would make a great fit. 

• If you’re having trouble making a decision, consider: Are you unsure about a particular therapist, or are you unsure about your ability to make the right choice?

• If you struggle to listen to your intuition or trust your own judgment—issues therapy can address—then the decision to schedule the first session with a therapist that feels right for you counts as progress.

Even before they’re met with a therapist, people usually feel better after booking their first therapy session. Taking concrete steps to address your mental health is empowering, and starts to build inertia that will help carry you along your therapy journey.

How can I tell if therapy is working?

First things first: Therapy offers you the rare opportunity to work towards something without worry about performance or achievement.

That something could be concrete mental health goals, or the general aim of improving your wellbeing. But an achievement-oriented mindset is more likely to hinder your progress than help it. And it may even feed into issues you’re trying to address—eg. a sense of inadequacy, or obsessive compulsive behaviour.

So, you don’t need to track your progress with an Excel spreadsheet in order to tell if therapy is working. But here’s what you can do:

• Journal. Keeping a journal of the insights and challenges you meet in your sessions creates a time capsule you can review later. Reading through entries that range over months or even years can give you a sense of how your outlook has changed with the help of therapy.

• Talking to loved ones. As you continue along your journey, your partner, your family, or your closest friends are likely to notice positive changes in your behaviour. Ask them what they notice. You may find you’re surprised at how far you’ve come.

Ready for the next step? Browse our directory to find the right therapist for you.

Publicly-funded mental health resources in Canada

• 9-8-8: Canada’s national suicide crisis hotline, accessible by phone call or text.

• The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA): The CMHA has branches in locations throughout Canada providing access to free information and support programs.

• The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health CAMH): Online courses for those struggling with addiction and whose lives are impacted by it.

‍MyGrief.ca: Online resources for those moving through grief.