At DiveThru, we’re on a mission to ensure no one struggles alone. We understand there can be financial barriers that prohibit people from getting the support they need. And that’s why our Reduced Rate Therapy program exists. Through the program, we aim to support those who face financial limitations access mental health care through reduced rates for counselling services. If you want to access therapy services but feel that it is financially unfeasible for you, we encourage you to take a look at the eligibility requirements and apply to the program.
The first step is to fill out the application form, which provides us with information that will determine your eligibility for the program, as well as details that can help us match with the right therapist for you (such as key concerns you’d like to attend therapy for, age category you fall under, etc.). More details on eligibility can be found below.
Once we receive your application, we will screen it based on our eligibility criteria and let you know if you qualify for the program. We do our best to let you know the decision in a timely manner! If you qualify for the program, we will send you further details on what your reduced rate would be. If you accept the reduced rate, we will move forward in the process.
Once we’ve confirmed the reduced rate for your counselling sessions, we will send you your top therapist match, as well as their next available appointment times. There will be a few other important details to get from you to book your first appointment and create your DiveThru profile. From that moment forward, you’ll be able to login to your DiveThru profile and use it to schedule and manage your future appointments.
Before your first appointment, there will be an intake form and a consent form to fill out. Both of these can be found in your DiveThru profile (under Settings > Forms)! The intake form is especially important and helpful to your therapist so that they can prepare for your session ahead of time. You’ll receive appointment reminders (and other helpful info) in the days leading up to your appointment!
Whether you’re joining us in person or virtually, we’ll be excited to welcome you to DiveThru! After your first session, you will be billed using the reduced rate and we will provide you with a receipt. To book future sessions, you can login to your DiveThru profile and book them yourself or one of our studio coordinators would be more than happy to help you after your session.
The reduced rates available if you qualify for the program are $125 for a Mental Health Therapist and $150 for a Registered Psychologist/Registered Provisional Psychologist/Social Worker. This rate is for a 50-minute counselling session.
In order to make sure that our Reduced Rate Therapy program services those experiencing financial limitations, we make decisions on eligibility using a matrix of annual taxable household income and number of dependents.
Our session limit on the program is a total of 25 sessions, and we require sessions to be booked within an 8-week timeframe.
Please note: Mental Health Therapists are likely not covered under insurance plans.
If our therapists' Reduced Rate spots book up, we will create a waitlist. Currently, we have a waitlist for our Whyte Studio and Alberta Virtual therapists. We will update this section of the website as things progress.
Research shows that most clients see significant improvement within 12 to 20 sessions. With this in mind, we decided on 25 sessions for the program to ensure you have enough session time to work through your concerns. Please note: Sessions may extend past the 25 sessions if requested by the therapist to best support the client. This will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Sessions will need to be scheduled every 8 weeks at minimum. If your sessions extend beyond that time, we will unfortunately have to remove you from the program. We will be sending reminders to those nearing the 8-week mark to check in with you. If you are removed from the program, you are welcome to re-apply when you are ready to start therapy again! This process ensures clients who are a part of the Reduced Rate Program and are actively ready to attend therapy have access to available sessions.
At DiveThru, we use the term Mental Health Therapists for someone who has completed their Masters but is still waiting for their provisional registration from the College Of Alberta Psychologists, the board they are governed by and regulated under. Please note: this term may mean something different at another practice. Once the Mental Health Therapist becomes a Registered Provisional Psychologist, a client can choose to continue their 25 sessions with them (and now have a rate of $150 and be covered under their insurance plan, if applicable) or look to be rematched to another Mental Health Therapist (if available) to stay on the $125 session rate for their remaining sessions left in the program.
Your annual taxable household income is the pre-tax income your household reports when you do your yearly taxes. It can be found in the Notice of Assessment you received for the most recent tax year. If you live with a common law partner, your total household income includes both of your incomes. Likewise, if you live with family members who are contributing any part of their income to supporting you as part of the household, those incomes and yours are part of the household income. If you live with roommates and submit your taxes independently, their incomes do not constitute as part of your household income. Please note, EI benefits do count as taxable income in the year in which you receive them; if you are unemployed and receive EI benefits, those count as taxable income. Specific definitions and descriptions can be found on the Canadian Revenue Agency website, including who can be classified as a dependent.
Generally speaking, yes! If your insurance plan covers therapy services provided by Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists and Registered Social Workers, then you will be able to submit your receipt (which will have the reduced rate instead of the full rate) to your insurance provider for reimbursement. Please note: Mental Health Therapists will likely not be covered under insurance plans.
If your insurance plan covers therapy services provided by Registered psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists and Registered Social Workers, AND your insurance provider is on our list of providers we can direct bill for, we will be able to direct bill with the reduced rate. Take a look at our direct billing page for more information. Please note: Mental Health Therapists will likely not be covered under insurance plans.
For those who do not qualify for the Reduced Rate Therapy program and are searching for other low cost counselling options or additional support, we recommend the following resources: https://www.counsellingalberta.com ; https://affordabletherapynetwork.com ; https://www.familycentre.org/counselling ; https://mykickstand.ca/connect ; https://africacentre.ca/counselling-program ; https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/findhealth/service.aspx?Id=1009754 ; https://www.indigenouspsychologicalservices.com
Students are able to apply for the reduced rate counselling program. Your eligibility will be determined on the basis of your annual taxable household income and number of dependents. For more details on how to find out that information, please see the FAQ above.
Individuals who are unemployed are able to apply for the reduced rate counselling program. Your eligibility will be determined on the basis of your annual taxable household income (which in this case might be your Employment Insurance) and number of dependents. For more details on how to find out that information, please see the FAQ above.
