Note to Readers: This article, originally published in 2014, has now been updated for 2026.

When it comes to enquiries about counselling services, the question, “am I covered to see you?” was one of the most frequent and important questions I used to get.  Since the pandemic, more counsellors have been trained, online counselling surged in popularity and the reach of counselling to the public has expanded. For many people, however, coverage still affects how much counselling they can receive, if at all, especially if money is tight. Unfortunately, counselling is not a universal health care benefit.

Knowing The Options

If you Google counselling services, you will receive numerous search results, especially for Vancouver. Most of these results will fall under one or more of the following categories.  Some will not even appear on a search engine–for example, options available only select group extended health plans:

• Not-For-Profit Subsidized Counselling
• Private Sliding Scale Counselling
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Benefits
• Third-Party Funding
• Private Counselling and Psychotherapy

And I’ll warn you: some of the following options are unfair in the cosmic scheme of things.  Some of you will have several counselling options available, others much fewer.

Not-For-Profit Subsidized Counselling

What

Such counselling may be free, fixed low cost, or charged at a rate according to your household income (AKA “means tested”).

Providers

Such counselling is typically provided by community agencies, post secondary institutions or the public mental health system.

Counsellors and Qualifications

Counsellors come from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. Subsidized counselling may be offered by a master’s level counsellor, a practitioner with a PhD, a lay counselling provider, a counsellor with a diploma/counselling course(s), or student interns. Students should always be supervised by an experienced and credentialed counsellor.

Access

Typically, amongst subsidized counselling options, there is a waiting list, often significant, although not necessarily so.  It’s always good to check in with the agency regularly to see where you are still on the list.  Sometimes the squeaky (but polite) wheel does get the grease.

Private Sliding-Scale Counselling

What:

Private counsellors/counselling clinics–or more typically, their counselling interns–offering therapy at reduced rates. Rate reductions vary significantly across counsellors but there is usually a minimum session cost involved, although some private mental health professionals may see clients for free under special circumstances.

Since this article was originally written in 2014, the population of counselling professionals in British Columbia has expanded significantly. For example, according to publicly available data from the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC), the association had a roster of 4074 registrants (RCCs) in 2017 and by 2025 the number of RCCs had increased to 10,713 (i.e. 163 percent growth).  Part of what isn’t conveyed in this data is the fact that there have been, and continue to be, many counselling interns seeking hands-on counselling experience under the supervision of established counsellors, as part of the requirements for completing their counselling training and subsequent credentialing. And because they are students, and not yet registered, sessions are often offered at a discount or on a sliding scale.

Counsellors and Qualifications:

As of 2026 in British Columbia, anyone can call themselves a counsellor, regardless of training, or lack thereof. Look for a professional who belongs to a regulated professional college such as the BC College of Social Workers the College of Heath and Care Professionals of BC (which includes the registration of psychologists) or a professional association such as the BCACC or the Canadian Counsellor and Psychotherapy Association. You may also wish to ask about how long the counsellor has been practicing therapy, as many websites do not provide this information.

Access:

Typically self-referral. Some counsellors advertise their subsidized rates, such as on this list, while others have this information on their website only. Further, some therapists do not advertise their reduced rates, reserving it solely for existing clients whose financial circumstances have changed, so that they may continue their therapy. And many therapists offer full-fee sessions only. When referring yourself, specify that you are seeking a subsidized rate and ask whether one is available. When subsidized counselling is being offered by an intern, it is important to verify that they are being supervised by an experienced and credentialed counselling professional.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Benefits

What

If you are employed and have extended health benefits, your employer may have purchased counselling services provided by an employee assistance provider.  This service is offered at no additional cost to you and there is typically no financial transaction between you and your EAP therapist.  The number of sessions available to you depends on what your employer has paid for, often ranging from as little as 3 to as many as 12. If more sessions are needed beyond the session limit, the EAP counsellor will often refer the client to a private psychologist, a therapist in the community or a community counselling agency.

Generally, the focus for EAP counselling is on short-term counselling, crisis management or assessment and referral to another counsellor for longer-term counselling, if needed. You may reach your session limit before resolution of the issue(s) you are seeking help for and companies’ policies differ as to whether you can continue with your same counsellor if you were to pay them out of pocket.

Access

To access EAP counselling, employees typically contact a call centre and speak with an intake counsellor who arranges an appointment with a personal counsellor who is part of the EAP company’s network of in-house or satellite service providers.  An appointment is usually available between 24-72 hours after the time of the initial call.

During the initial phone call, clients may request a gender preference for their counsellor or also request a therapist with experience in a particular area. Clients may even ask to work with a therapist that they met with previously through their EAP provider. Sometimes clients are assigned to whichever counsellor is available, particularly if it is a time-sensitive situation.  Clients may be able to have their EAP counselling provided by a private practitioner of their choice, up to a certain amount of sessions, if that therapist is willing to sign on with the EAP company as a network provider.

Counsellors and Qualifications

Traditionally, the industry EAP standard has been that counselling is provided by counsellors with a minimum of a master’s degree plus five years post-graduate experience.

If you have not had a good experience with your EAP counsellor, I always encourage people to phone the call centre back and ask for a different counsellor. It’s most useful to do this early in the process so that you don’t have to start all over again with a new therapist and conclude your sessions almost as soon as you got started again, just because your sessions have run out.

Third-Party Funding

What

Again, you may not be paying directly for your counselling but may be in a situation where counselling services may be available to you.  You may be able to choose your own counsellor or the third party payer may have their own network of counselling service providers.

There is typically a funding limit to which third parties will pay; it you are considering going this route, it is good to know this beforehand and whether the issue you are needing help with can be helped within the funding limits.

Providers

Examples in British Columbia may include, but are not limited to:

• Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC)
• Work Safe
• Residential Historical Abuse Program
• Crime Victim’s Assistance Program
• Gambling Support BC
• First Nations Health Authority

Access

Wait times will likely vary, depending on the availability of the counsellors contracted to provide the service. Whomever is administering the third-party funding would also need to determine that you meet the eligibility requirements for counselling funding.

Counsellors and Qualifications

Again, programs may vary in terms of what they accept for qualifications from their counsellors.  Typically, the therapist will have a PhD or Master’s degree in either social work or counselling.

Private Counselling and Psychotherapy

What

Also sometimes know as fee-for-service counselling.  The therapist does not receive any funding from outside sources: you pay them directly according to their fees.  In most cases you would pay up front and the counsellor will provide you with an official receipt for either income tax purposes (if your counselling qualifies as a medical expense), or for you to submit for reimbursement to your extended health plan, if you have one.

More recently, more therapists are now eligible to offer direct billing, if they have chosen to apply to become a direct billing provider, which includes having their counselling vetted by the direct billing service. Not all counsellors, however, have opted in to become direct billing providers, as some counsellors may not want to take on the additional administrative burden, particularly if the therapist does not have administrative support available to them.

Counsellors and Qualifications

Counsellors qualifications vary widely; most commonly, counsellors will have a master’s degree in social work or counselling. Psychologists in British Columbia have PhDs.  Other counsellors in the community have a diploma or have done coursework in counselling and a minority have no training at all–and this is perfectly legal in British Columbia. It is important to do your research.

Fees and Funding

Current counselling fees among private counselling practitioners in Vancouver range widely from approximately $140-$300 hourly, usually depending on therapists’ level of training and experience. Expect psychologists to be in the upper end of the range, usually $250 hourly and up, while most master’s level practitioners are in the $140-$200 range. Those with counselling diplomas (not degrees) commonly have rates on par with master’s trained therapists. But buyer beware: price is not necessarily an indicator of training and experience.  There is no legislation around this – anyone with any or no counselling experience can call themselves a counsellor in British Columbia and charge whatever the market will allow. 

Extended Health

It is important to note that if you are submitting your counselling sessions through extended health insurance, insurers will have a maximum that they will pay for a counselling or psychotherapy session, and this price ceiling may vary by the credential of the therapist. If your therapist exceeds the insurer’s limit, the client is responsible for the balance. Further, if coverage is important to you, be sure to know what type of counselling professional you are eligible to meet with.  Almost all plans are covered for registered psychologists and from there, it is a mixed bag between registered social workers, registered clinical counsellors and others.

Another important question is to ask your insurer what your yearly maximum is.  If you cannot afford any counselling on your own and you are limited to, say $500 a year, be sure to tell your counsellor so that they can plan appropriately with you.  There’s almost nothing worse for clients then opening up about a painful issue and then having to terminate counselling abruptly.

Direct Billing

If you have entered into a direct billing arrangement with your counselling professional, it is critical that you understand what your yearly maximum is and that you keep track of how much money you have left. For privacy reasons, insurance companies do not provide counselling professionals with this information and if you attend a session and there is no insurance money left, clients are responsible for paying the counsellor directly for their session. Also, missed or late-cancelled appointments cannot be direct-billed by counsellors to insurance providers for reimbursement, as this constitutes fraud. Clients are solely responsible for missed or late cancellation fees.

Access

Typically in a private counselling situation, clients choose their own therapist, often interviewing several to find the right match.  Sometimes the service is arranged by a concerned family member of friend.

Access to private counselling is often more rapid, although if a therapist in your community is popular and sought-after, there will be a waiting list or they may not be accepting new clients. Sometimes popular therapists have a cancellation list that you can ask to be added to. If you have a problem that can’t wait, ask that therapist for a referral to another counsellor.

If there is a counselling option I haven’t thought of, please let me know. I am always pleased to answer questions about accessing counselling in general or with me personally.  Please be in touch!