Overcome the odds and rediscover your own strength & resilience through a personal psychotherapy experience.
What happens in psychotherapy? And is psychotherapy different than counselling?
In this region, the terms “counselling” and “psychotherapy” are mostly used interchangeably. My particular take on psychotherapy focuses on facilitating a therapeutic experience for my clients. So I won’t just be telling you what to do or giving you advice, instead I will be helping you feel empathized with and ultimately helping you learn to self-generate insight about yourself in ways you haven’t before! Depending on the treatment approaches we agree upon, such as cognitive therapy (CBT), we may discuss various aspects of your thoughts, feelings, and actions to help you self-reflect and make changes. For a cutting-edge and innovative psychotherapy based on neuropsychology called EMDR, the area I specialize in, I would be guiding you through a series of deep processing exercises. Check out my page on what EMDR is.
What is the first step of starting psychotherapy?
With me, before I even begin seeing a client, I always offer the first 10-15 minutes at no charge to anyone inquiring, usually on the phone, just to chat briefly. This time spent is totally worth it to me, because it helps me see how good of a fit we could be for each other, the general idea of what you’re looking for, and it lets you ask any questions about my locations, setup, or just about anything really! We may choose to begin some psychotherapy, or if I strongly feel a trusted colleague or referral would be better suited for you, I’d be happy to connect you to them. My passion isn’t just in growing my practice, but seeing people get plugged into great psychotherapy experiences and opportunities! Contact me directly by email at iven@ivenchungpsych.com or fill out my simple inquiry form to set up a connect!
How much does psychotherapy cost?
I find that rates for psychotherapy in the KW range from about $100 - $160 before applicable taxes. My standard fee is $132.74 + HST (which is an even $150) for a 45-50 minute session, which includes a 10-15 minute period of notetaking, prep, and research that I do each time for your session before and after your visit.
Where are you located in Kitchener?
My office is in Suite 305 at 1601 River Road East in Chicopee Park Centre (in the 2-story building attached to the 1-storey general ground-level plaza). There is accessible parking and an elevator in my building for those using mobility devices. You can enter the doors in the corner of the plaza, just to the right of the Dentist’s office. Come up the elevator or stairs to the top floor, turn right, and I am in Suite 305. As of July 2018, I also have also expanded into downtown Kitchener and I now have an office space in near Queen & King for a more downtown experience. Contact me directly by email at iven@ivenchungpsych.com or fill out my simple inquiry form to set up a chat about my locations and current availability at no cost to you!
What will my first psychotherapy session look like?
I find the first session is about getting to know your stories and your goals, and I always provide a rough estimate or quote at the end of the first session about whether something short-term is a good place to start, or if longer-term and more extensive psychotherapy seems more appropriate. Aside from that, I will always try to work within your time and financial limitations. If you can only afford 3 sessions, let’s begin with 3 sessions!
What happens after that?
The second part of therapy usually involves building some coping and stabilization. After that, it is usually greatly beneficial to move into processing or reprocessing the root causes of the difficulties you brought into my office related to your goal. The final part of therapy can either be closure or for some others they may choose to do some booster and maintenance sessions from time to time, especially if they want to maximize the benefits of any extended health care funds they have on hand. There are so many benefits to seeing the same psychotherapist over a longer period of time as seasons change, especially if the vibe and connection is solid!
What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is often helpful to people who are struggling with emotional problems, such as with the loneliness and weight of life’s greatest or even day-to-day difficulties. It can even be helpful to people who want to grow and enrich their lives! Psychotherapy goals can include experiencing some relief from a variety of emotional problems, gaining understanding into your personality, and improving relationships. Many people who participate in psychotherapy are able to maximize the helpfulness of the experience with the willingness to be honest with themselves and their psychotherapist, and with a desire and a strong motivation to improve some part of their life.
How long will therapy take?
Of course, the length of treatment varies from short- to long-term depending on the goals of the client. However, it is a core philosophy in my practice to “work myself out of a job”! This means, I fully recognize that as the connection between you and I become very good, and if the goals are clear, that at some point I will likely bid you farewell knowing that we’ve overcome what you stepped into my office with. I will always balance what is the feasible amount of sessions for you with my recommendations of length of therapy when we consider the scope of your goals together, and I like communicating this to you during or at the end of our first session. I also have a “door-half-open policy”, which means that, if after some time passes and you have new goals or some other things have come up, I’d love to chat with you again to see if it is more psychotherapy with me that I recommend or other helpful options.
How will I know you’re the right psychotherapist for me, Iven?
I believe there are three keys to helping you decide that. One, you want to consider whether you can picture having a pretty good relationship with me. We’ll likely be spending some pretty heartfelt times together, so that foundation needs to have potential! Two, my skills level and specializations in various areas of therapy need to match you. We can get good vibes from each other all we want, but if we’re just chatting and doing small talk all the time, then we might as well go hang out at the coffee shop or at the pub. I believe the combination of a good connection and my psychotherapy knowledge is what’s going to help you get results! Finally, keep in mind whether any of the psychotherapists you inquire with have done their own psychotherapy. I sure have! I never provide a psychotherapy treatment approach that I haven’t gone through myself. I value and believe in my work so much that I go through my own process of it as well. And if I may be so bold, say you find out that your psychotherapist hasn’t done their own psychotherapy or are too good for it for themselves… RUN!
