Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. While we specialize in working with gay men, we’re glad to work with 2SLGBTQIA+ folks in general, and of course, anyone else who feels they would benefit from working with any of our counsellors. 

Sometimes, we work with clients who have an 2SLGBTQIA+ person in their life, and would like to work with a counsellor who is knowledgable about 2SLGBTQIA+ issues. Other times, straight folks may want to work with us simply because they feel most comfortable working with a gay counsellor. 

If you’re interested in working with one of our counsellors, we encourage you to set up a free consultation by visiting our getting started page. 🙂

Yes. All sessions are completed online using a secure web-based video platform.

Our counsellors are located in the Comox Valley, British Columbia.

Yes. The research shows that online counselling is just as effective as in-person counselling. Read this article to learn more.

Online counselling may be a good fit for you if:

✅ You’re confident and comfortable using technology.

✅ You have a quiet and private space you can use for counselling sessions.

✅ You have a secure internet connection that is fast enough for video-calling. Check your internet connection at fast.com. You will need a result of 15Mbps or higher. (If you can watch videos on streaming services/YouTube without lagging, you’re internet is likely fast enough for video-calling).

✅ You like the convenience and comfort of having counselling sessions from your own space.

Online counselling won’t be a good fit for you if:

⚠️ You aren’t confident or comfortable using technology.

⚠️ You don’t have a private and quiet space you can use for counselling sessions.

⚠️ You don’t have a secure internet connection that is fast enough for video-calling. Check your internet connection at fast.com. You will need a result of 15Mbps or higher. (If you can’t watch videos on streaming services/YouTube without lagging, you’re internet is likely not fast enough for video-calling).

⚠️ You regularly have suicidal thoughts, thoughts of harming others, and/or thoughts of self-injury. In-person counselling provides better-fitting care if this describes some of your thoughts.

⚠️ You regularly experience psychosis and/or dissociation. In-person counselling provides better-fitting care if this describes some of your experience.

Yes. Our counsellors are limited to working with clients within Canada or specific provinces depending on their current registrations.

Jordan Gruenhage is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) who can work with clients across Canada.

Victor Wakarchuk is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Registered Social Worker (RSW) with a Master of Social Work (MSW) who can work with clients located anywhere in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.

Sessions are scheduled according to Pacific Time on the following days:

• Tuesday: 10 AM – 8 PM

• Wednesday: 10 AM – 6 PM

• Thursday: 10 AM – 8 PM

• Friday: 10 AM – 6 PM

We only provide direct billing for First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) clients in British Columbia.

For all other counselling, we’ll give you a receipt after each session with your counsellor’s registration information which may be eligible for reimbursement through your insurance provider (we don’t bill other insurance companies directly).

If you aren’t sure if counselling with one of our counsellors would be covered by your insurance, we suggest checking with your insurance provider prior to scheduling your first session. Finding answers to the following questions will help you determine your insurance coverage:

• Does my insurance plan include mental health benefits?

• Do I need to be pre-approved by my insurance provider, or have written approval from my primary care physician in order for counselling to be covered? 

• Does my insurance have a limit on the amount of money which can be reimbursed, or the amount of sessions per calendar year? And if so, what are these amounts?

• Will my coverage reimburse me for the full amount or a portion of the session cost?

• What type of mental health professional does my insurance cover? And what are the registrations/credentials of my counsellor (e.g. RCC, CCC, RSW, MSW)?

• Does my insurance cover online counselling services?

• Do I have to pick a counsellor from a list, or can I choose any counsellor?

• Where do I submit a receipt from sessions to get reimbursed?

To learn more about fees for each of our counsellors, click their name below:

• Jordan Gruenhage

• Victor Wakarchuk

Payments are made through all major credit cards only. Your credit card information will be securely stored on file so that during sessions you and your counsellor can focus time entirely on your counselling and not on billing. Payments are charged to your credit card after your session.

If your counselling is through the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), we’ll bill FNHA directly, and you won’t have to pay any additional fees or top-ups.

Counselling is a significant investment in yourself which costs time, energy, and money. It’s important to make sure you and your counsellor are a good fit for the work you’d like to do in counselling so that you can be sure you’re making the right investment for yourself. Click the button below to schedule a free 15 minute consultation call so that you can get to know your counsellor better, and talk about getting you some help.

To learn more about what counselling is like with each of our counsellors, click their name below to read more about them and their approach.

• Jordan Gruenhage

• Victor Wakarchuk

We know that the 2SLGBTQ+ community can feel small, so it’s understandable to wonder if what you and your counsellor discuss in counselling stays confidential. With a few exceptions, everything you and your counsellor talk about in counselling stays confidential between you and them.  

The only exceptions to this confidentially are when there is risk of harm to yourself or others, harm of a child or vulnerable adult, or a court-issued subpoena.

Individual counselling sessions are typically 50 minutes long. Approaches like EMDR are most effective with longer 80 minute sessions, but can also be done in 50 minute sessions.

How long your counselling will take is harder to answer. It depends on the specific needs and goals you bring to counselling. For some people, a few sessions are enough to get them started on work they can continue on their own outside of counselling. For others, they may continually start and stop counselling throughout their life as they continue their personal work and new issues arise. Some people also have periodic check-up sessions after they’ve finished counselling.

To put it simply, there is no “right” length of time for counselling. One of our main goals as counsellors is to make ourselves obsolete so that you’re only in counselling as long as you need.

Click the button below to schedule a free 15 minute consultation call so that you and your counsellor can get to know each other better, and talk about getting you some help.