For those who decide to see a psychologist, most employment benefit plans pay at least part of the cost of seeing a psychologist. Look up your company Benefit Plan online and look for “paramedical” coverage and what is available. You will very likely be given either a total dollar amount allocated to all paramedical services such as chiropractors, psychologists and physiotherapists or individual amounts for each. If psychologists are not mentioned, look for a complete list of all the paramedical services covered.

Occasionally, plans specify certain individual amounts for the individual services but this seems to be unusual these days. While you are looking, find out how to make a claim online.

Also determine what period of time the dollar amount covers (most are the calendar year, so, for example, $1000 for each January 1 to December 31; or, for federal government employees, from April 1st to March 31st). Additionally, some plans pay the total amount of each receipt whereas others pay a portion (for example 80%) of the receipt.

If you are self-employed, check to see whether you may have paramedical services covered in your individual medical insurance plan. If you are under 25 years old and still a student, you may be covered by your parents’ benefit plans. And in the case in which you have no coverage at all, you will have to pay the psychologist out of your own pocket; in this case check with Revenue Canada to see if you may be able to claim the costs as a medical expense.

As professionals, psychologists try to make their services affordable to their community members. Rates in Toronto tend to be closer to the recommended Ontario rates whereas if you inquire farther out from Toronto, rates are reduced. You will likely find that rates vary from city to city for these among other reasons. Of course, finding a psychologist with whom you feel you can comfortably relate is a very high consideration.