Frequently Asked Questions

Psychotherapy is a treatment model with a long, rich history. Very simply, it consists of a collaborative working relationship between a client and a trained therapist that helps you to understand and navigate your thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and experiences. It’s a safe and confidential space where you can explore and work through things that might be bothering you or holding you back.

The benefits of psychotherapy include improving one’s mental and emotional well-being, enhancing coping skills, deepening self-awareness, and facilitating personal growth and development. Whether you’re dealing with stress, relationships, or personal issues, psychotherapy can help you live a happier and more fulfilling life.

Every TPG therapist has extensive training in psychotherapy; additionally, many have chosen to further their education by training in complimentary approaches.

Talk therapy and therapy are broad terms for speaking with a professional about issues and concerns. This might include receiving advice, instruction and encouragement from a counsellor, for example, or seeking support from a social worker around family conflict.

Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is a specialized subset of talk therapy that involves a structured, in-depth approach to understanding and resolving psychological challenges, often with a focus on long-term results. Counselling might be understood as addressing what you think and feel. But a depth-focused psychotherapy helps you re-work how you think and feel, promoting a greater degree of personal change.

TPG therapists are mental health practitioners with extensive specialized training in psychotherapy. Every practitioner is registered and in good standing with a regulatory body that oversees the controlled act of psychotherapy.

The regulation of psychotherapy in Ontario falls under the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) [link to CRPO website], which oversees the practice of psychotherapy in Ontario and ensures that practitioners meet the necessary standards of competence and ethics. An individual must be registered with the CRPO in order to use the protected title Registered Psychotherapist.

In addition to Registered Psychotherapists, several other regulated health professionals in Ontario are authorized to provide psychotherapy within their scope of practice: psychologists, physicians (including psychiatrists), nurses, occupational therapists, and social workers.

Every TPG therapist is a member in good standing of a regulatory body, and has demonstrated competence in their field.

You do not need a doctor’s referral to make an appointment with a therapist such as a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker unless you have insurance coverage that requires this in order to submit a claim.



Our therapists can be contacted directly from their profile pages. Many provide a low-cost or free initial consultation.

Therapy provided by Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers is not covered by OHIP (unless the therapist is also an MD or psychiatrist). However, fees may be covered by a workplace or privately held insurance plan. Please check with your plan provider for further clarification.

For any specific questions about fees, please reach out to the TPG therapist you are interested in working with.

Services provided by Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers are covered by many employee benefit plans and other health insurance policies. If you have private health insurance, please check with your plan provider for further clarification.

Our therapists are all regulated mental health professionals. If you have any insurance-related questions about a particular therapist’s designation, you can always reach out to them directly.

Yes. Confidentiality is critical to the process. There are, however, some circumstances in which a therapist is legally obliged to breach confidentiality (for example imminent risk of self-harm or harm to another), and these should be covered as part of an initial intake when you begin therapy.

Our therapists are each bound by the code of ethics of their regulatory body. Do not hesitate to discuss your confidentiality concerns with your therapist.

To find the right therapist for you, browse and filter profiles in our therapist directory.

Psychotherapy is a powerful agent of change when undertaken with purpose and intention. And, one of the most important determinants of an effective therapy is the therapeutic relationship itself. So, fit matters, as does the ability to build trust over time.

When we feel seen and heard, our self-understanding can be deepened, trauma can be resolved, and new relational patterns can be established.

You can use the search filters in our therapist directory or browse all profiles to find a practitioner who will be a good fit for you.

Many therapists offer virtual sessions. Online or phone sessions were demonstrated to be effective during the COVID-19 pandemic and have made psychotherapy available to a greater number of people by removing barriers associated with attending in-person such as distance, travel time, childcare, and accessibility.

When working remotely with a therapist, it is important to set up your space to ensure privacy during your session time, so that you may speak freely.

Online therapy and/or phone therapy sessions are offered by many of our therapists. You can create a filtered list of therapists who work online or by phone in our directory.

Making an appointment with a therapist for a consultation or an initial session is easy, as there is no doctor’s referral required. Once you have identified a therapist you would like to work with, you may contact them directly to discuss scheduling and fees.

Use the filtering options in our directory to make a selection; then, you may contact the therapist you’re interested in meeting with directly from the therapists profile page. Because many of our therapists offer phone therapy and online therapy sessions, you can choose a practitioner based on criteria other than location.

Fees for therapy in Ontario can range from $50-250+ per session depending on the type of practitioner providing the service, their training, and experience. Fees may be covered by an individual’s workplace or privately held insurance plan.



Our therapists are rigorously trained mental health professionals, and yet the fees they charge by are generally lower than those charged by psychologists. This makes psychotherapy a more accessible treatment model. Therapists may be able to negotiate rates in cases of financial hardship; however, this is at the individual therapist’s discretion.

You can address fee questions directly with each therapist via the contact form on their profile page.

There are many effective therapy approaches. Key factors of an effective therapy include: the depth and quality of the therapist’s overall training and experience; a positive therapeutic relationship, the therapist’s flexibility in drawing on various treatment models and approaches, the therapist’s ability to perceive and treat the client holistically, and the motivation of the client to make meaningful change in their life.

Our therapists use a variety of approaches to personalize your treatment. All of our therapists have a foundation in psychodynamic or depth therapy, which encourages a useful understanding of how our past influences the present, addresses inner conflict, fosters satisfying relationships, and increases coping skills.

You can filter our therapist directory by issue and approach to find the therapist who is right for you.

Every one of our therapists is a registered mental health professional in good standing with their regulatory body. Additionally, they have each completed extensive academic training, as well as the practical experience of undergoing their own personal therapy—experience that many practicing mental health professionals do not have. Experience in the client’s chair is a unique requirement of Toronto Psychotherapy Group, and we consider it to be vital as it bestows unique, core skills that cannot be obtained in any other way. 



Our therapists’ training and experience support the efficacy and ethical delivery of the psychotherapy services they provide. Their qualifications exceed the professional requirements set out by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Visit our therapist directory to view our practitioners.

Well-trained therapists spend years studying what causes—and eases—human suffering. This allows them to determine how to best support you based on your presenting symptoms and your therapy goals. Therapists are also bound to maintain confidentially, which allows you to discuss all aspects of your life, including your close relationships.

Removing the give and take that typically exists in friendships and other relationships allows the focus of therapy sessions to remain on you. This allows for a dialogue that promotes self-understanding, healing, and growth.

Visit our therapist directory to find the best fit for you.

If you are reading this, the idea of seeking therapy has likely crossed your mind a number of times before. If you are overwhelmed, then speaking with a therapist can be a critical act of self-care—but an inability to cope is not the only reason to engage in a therapeutic process. You may also benefit from seeing a therapist if:

• You are experiencing a lot of stress
• Your emotions feel out of control
• Issues related to your mental health are affecting your daily life
• You feel unable to go after things you want
• You have experienced a significant loss or a traumatic event
• You feel stuck or hopeless
• Your relationships do not feel adequate or are conflictual
• Issues that trouble you keep recurring
• You feel unfulfilled and are seeking greater meaning in your life

Our therapists are highly trained mental health practitioners with experience in helping their clients with both acute and chronic issues and concerns. You can find therapists who are taking on new clients on our directory page.

Counselling and coaching usually involve receiving practical advice about how to reach particular goals. They do not typically include a meaningful inquiry into any psychological hurdles or barriers to achieving those goals.

Psychotherapy can be goal-oriented, but it also includes the exploration of parts of ourselves that sit outside of our everyday awareness. In this way, psychotherapy provides a fuller understanding of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, including why and how we get in our own way. Psychotherapy provides a fuller understanding of the self.

TPG therapists treat many issues and concerns including common effects of trauma, such as anxiety, depression, addiction, obsessive and compulsive thoughts and behaviours, chronic anger, low self-esteem etc. You can filter by issue or approach in our therapist directory to find the best fit for you.

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can diagnose mental health disorders and prescribe medication. Some psychiatrists also provide talk therapy services; others do not. Working with a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist at the same time can be beneficial for some clients, particularly those who are seeking or require medication and medication management.

Psychologists hold graduate degrees in psychology. They work in a variety of settings and might provide talk therapy, psychometric testing, and psychological assessments or a combination of these.

Psychotherapists stand out for their expertise in personalized, non-medication-based therapy. If you’re seeking emotional well-being, personal growth, or specific therapeutic approaches, consulting a psychotherapist can be a highly effective choice tailored to your unique needs and preferences.

Our psychotherapists are all registered mental health practitioners. In Ontario, Registered Psychotherapists are qualified to treat, by means of psychotherapy technique, delivered through a therapeutic relationship, an individual’s serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory that may seriously impair the individual’s judgement, insight, behaviour, communication or social functioning.

For more information about Registered Psychotherapists, please visit the CRPO website.

Click here to browse our therapist directory.

In short, yes. The effectiveness of psychotherapy across a range of mental health conditions is supported by a vast body of literature. It has even been shown to effect structural and functional changes in the brain.

Over time, working with a therapist in-person or via online therapy can provide significant relief from chronic emotional issues. It is important to know that while the effects of ongoing therapy are not immediate, they are enduring.

The therapeutic relationship between the client and therapist plays a crucial role in the success of psychotherapy. You will likely have some sense of the potential usefulness of therapy for you after a few sessions with your therapist. If you are concerned about whether your experience in therapy is benefiting you, you and your therapist should discuss your experience and expectations.

Our therapists are highly trained practitioners whose core treatment approach is psychotherapy. To speak to a therapist who can answer questions about your specific needs, see our therapist directory.

Psychotherapy is commonly an exploration of the ways in which unresolved issues from the past influence an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in the present.

The engagement between a therapist and client in psychodynamic psychotherapy increases awareness, promotes insight, and fosters personal growth through a meaningful inquiry into all significant aspects of one’s experience, including any immediate symptoms and concerns; the nature and quality of past and present-day relationships; attitudes towards self, others, and the broader world; and hopes and fears for the future.

With increased awareness, barriers to greater happiness and fulfilment can be directly addressed and resolved.
When you work with a TPG therapist, you will be guided through the process by someone who has been specially trained in the processes of transformation and healing.

Click here to browse our therapist directory.