FAQs

Updated: March 2025

  • At Daya, we believe everyone deserves access to compassionate, high-quality psychotherapy, regardless of their financial situation.

    We never want money to be a barrier to receiving the mental health support you need.

    Our therapy services are available to individuals aged 16 and older.

    💜 If you are ready to reach out, we are here to meet you where you are.

  • Daya is committed to providing compassionate, high-quality psychotherapy while ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent people from accessing the support they need. Our services are primarily funded through grants, donations, and contributions from the community. To make care as accessible as possible, we ask individuals to contribute what they can afford. Every dollar contributed helps extend our services to someone else in need.

    Contribution Guidelines

    ✅ Standard Rate (for households earning $84,000+)

    • Individual Session: $130

    • Couples Session: $175
      Your contribution at this rate helps us offer reduced-cost therapy to those who need it.

    ✅ Sliding Scale (for households earning $44,000–$84,000)

    • Session Fee: $65–$129
      This tier supports covering therapy costs while making services more accessible.

    ✅ Subsidized Rate (for households earning less than $44,000)

    • Session Fee: $0–$64
      For those facing financial hardship, we offer a deeply reduced rate.

    🔹 No One Turned Away Due to Finances
    If the suggested amount is not affordable due to exceptional circumstances (e.g., household size, unexpected financial strain), please discuss this with our Intake Team. Our priority is ensuring you get the support you need.

    💜 Every contribution helps us reach more people in need. Thank you for supporting our community!

  • At Daya, we strive to match individuals with a therapist as quickly as possible. However, wait times can vary based on several factors, including:

    🔹 Your availability and our therapists’ schedules
    🔹 What you’re looking to work on in therapy
    🔹 Our therapists’ specializations
    🔹 Available funding

    Wait Times for the Sliding Scale Program

    One of the biggest factors affecting wait times is funding. For our Sliding Scale Program, wait times can range from 2 to 12 months, depending on availability.

    Our Funding & Impact

    Daya’s primary funding comes from United Way, which generously provides $200,000 per year. This funding only allows us to offer approximately:

    ✔ 1,600 fully funded therapy sessions per year
    ✔ 133 sessions per month
    ✔ 33 sessions per week
    ✔ 7 sessions per day

    This means we can support around:

    ✔ 200 individuals per year (access one cycles - 8 sessions)
    ✔ 17 individuals per month
    ✔ 4 individuals per week
    ✔ 1 individual per day

    How Your Contributions Help

    Every contribution—big or small—makes a direct impact. If everyone contributed just $1, it could provide another person with a full cycle of therapy.

    💜 Together, we can make therapy more accessible for those in need. Thank you for being part of our community!

  • At Daya, therapy is offered in Cycles. Each Cycle includes 8 sessions of psychotherapy. (Please note: Some of our Community Partnerships may provide funding for a different number of sessions.)

    What to Expect

    During each Cycle, you and your therapist will work together to:

    • Identify what feels most important to work on

    • Set goals that feel meaningful and manageable

    • Work together towards positive change

    • Support your healing and growth

    Need More Time?

    If you and your therapist feel that more sessions would be helpful, you can request an extension for another Cycle. Whether that extension is granted depends on:

    • Your clinical goals

    • Your treatment plan

    • Available funding

    Important Note for Sliding Scale Clients

    To ensure we can meet both individual and community needs with limited funding, clients accessing the Sliding Scale Program may receive a maximum of 3 Cycles (24 sessions) within a 12-month period.

    💜 We are committed to supporting your mental health in a way that is sustainable, compassionate, and community-minded.

  • Session Length

    Typical session durations at Daya are:

    • Individual Therapy: 50 minutes

    • Couples Therapy: 50 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes

    Why not a full hour?
    The final 10 minutes are often used by therapists to complete essential administrative and clinical documentation to support your care.

    Session Frequency

    You and your therapist will work together to decide how often sessions should be scheduled, based on:

    • Your therapeutic needs

    • Clinical goals

    • Availability

    General Guidelines:

    • Weekly or Biweekly Sessions – Can be best for deeper therapeutic work, immediate support, and creating momentum for change

    • Every 3 Weeks or Monthly – Generally useful for ongoing support, clinical check-ins, or maintaining progress

    💜 We aim to provide care that meets you where you are, at a pace that feels right for your healing.

  • Therapy can look different for everyone—and that’s okay. What your sessions look like will depend on:

    • What you’re hoping to work on

    • The therapeutic approaches being used

    • Where you are in your healing journey

    You and your therapist will work together to shape the sessions in a way that feels most helpful for you.

    Sessions might focus on:
    💬 Feeling heard and understood
    🔍 Gaining insight or perspective
    🌱 Making meaningful changes
    🧠 Understanding patterns or past experiences
    🤝 Building safety, trust, and connection

    💜 There’s no one “right” way to do therapy—just the way that supports you best.

  • The first step is to schedule an intake appointment. You can contact us in the way that feels most comfortable for you:
    📞 Phone
    📧 Email
    🌐 Through our website
    🏢 In person

    What to Expect

    Our Intake Team will start with a quick screener to make sure that therapy—and Daya—is the right fit for your needs. If so, we will schedule your intake appointment.

    🗓 Most intakes are done by phone—our team will call you at the time of your appointment.

    🏢 Need an in-person intake? No problem. Just let us know when booking, and we will arrange it for you.

    💜 We are here to make getting started as easy and welcoming as possible.

  • Daya offers psychotherapy services to support mental health and emotional well-being. However, there are some areas where we may not be the best fit. Below are some common needs that may require additional or alternative services, along with organizations that can help.

    Housing Support

    While Daya can support mental health stabilization to help maintain housing, we generally cannot assist with completing housing applications.

    For housing support, please contact:
    📞 CMHA Thames Valley – (519) 668-0624
    🔗 cmhatv.ca

    Addiction & Eating Disorder Treatment

    Daya is not an addictions or eating disorder treatment center and does not provide inpatient, outpatient, or 24-hour monitored treatment programs. However, we can support individuals in managing the emotional impact of these challenges.

    For addictions treatment, contact:
    📞 CMHA Thames Valley – (519) 668-0624
    📞 Quintin Warner House – (519) 434-8041 (missionservices.ca)

    For eating disorder treatment, contact:
    📞 CMHA Thames Valley – (519) 668-0624
    📞 London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) – (519) 685-8500 (lhsc.on.ca)

    Psychiatric Assessment, Diagnosis & Medication

    Daya provides psychotherapy but does not offer psychiatric assessments, diagnoses, or medication prescriptions. However, we can help individuals navigate the emotional and personal effects of a diagnosis.

    For clinical assessments, diagnosis, or medication, contact:
    📞 LHSC – (519) 685-8500 (lhsc.on.ca)
    📞 Your family doctor

    Legal Support

    Daya does not specialize in legal system navigation and does not provide assessments or court testimonies.

    For legal system support, contact:
    📞 John Howard Society – (519) 438-4168 (johnhoward.on.ca/london)
    📞 St. Leonard's Community Services – (519) 850-3777 (slcs.ca)

    Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Support

    Daya can provide emotional support for individuals impacted by IPV, but we cannot offer direct physical intervention. We can help connect individuals to emergency services and community resources when they are ready.

    🚨 Best Practice Note: Couples therapy is not recommended when there is active IPV in a relationship.

    For immediate IPV support, contact:
    📞 ANOVA – (519) 642-3000 (anovafuture.org)
    📞 London Abused Women's Centre – (519) 432-2204 (lawc.on.ca)
    📞 Changing Ways – (519) 438-9869 (changingways.on.ca)

    Crisis & Emergency Support

    Daya is not a crisis center and cannot provide 24/7 crisis response or case management for ongoing crisis situations. We are also unable to provide immediate on-call interventions for suicidal behavior.

    For immediate crisis support, contact:
    📞 Crisis Services – 1-866-933-2023 (reachout247.ca)
    📞 Emergency Services – 911

    For ongoing crisis support, contact:
    📞 CMHA Thames Valley – (519) 668-0624 (cmhatv.ca)

  • In Ontario, Canada, there are important distinctions between psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists:

    Psychotherapist

    • Education: Typically has a master's degree in counseling, psychotherapy, social work, or related field

    • Regulation: Registered with at least one of six regulatory colleges; College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO), College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), and College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario (COTO)

    • Focus: Provides talk therapy to help clients work through emotional and psychological issues

    • Treatment approach: Uses various therapeutic techniques like CBT, psychodynamic therapy, etc.

    • Medication: Cannot prescribe medication

    • Fees: Not covered by OHIP, can be covered by some private insurance plans (typically has professional designation requirements)

    Psychologist

    • Education: Doctoral degree (Ph.D., Psy.D., or Ed.D.) in psychology

    • Regulation: Registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario

    • Focus: Can provide psychotherapy, but also conducts psychological assessments and diagnostic testing

    • Treatment approach: Similar therapeutic techniques as psychotherapists, plus psychological testing

    • Medication: Cannot prescribe medication

    • Fees: Not covered by OHIP, often covered by private insurance

    Psychiatrist

    • Education: Medical doctor (M.D.) with specialized training in psychiatry

    • Regulation: Licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

    • Focus: Diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, with emphasis on biological aspects

    • Treatment approach: May provide some psychotherapy, but often focuses on medication management

    • Medication: Can prescribe medication

    • Fees: Services are covered by OHIP

    Key differences lie in their education, ability to prescribe medication, diagnostic capabilities, and OHIP coverage. Your choice might depend on your specific needs, whether you're seeking medication, testing, or specific types of therapy.

  • Understanding Our Therapists' Credentials
    At Daya Counselling Centre, all our therapists have at least a Master’s-level education and are either Registered Psychotherapists (RP), Registered Psychotherapists (Qualifying) [RP(Qualifying)], Registered Social Workers (RSW), or Clinical Interns. Below is a simple breakdown of what these designations mean.

    Registered Psychotherapist (RP)

    • Regulated by: College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)

    • Requirements: Minimum of 450 direct client contact (DCC) hours, 100 clinical supervision hours, and a competency exam.

    • Independent Practice: After 1,000 DCC hours and 150 supervision hours, RPs can practice independently. Those with five years of experience and additional training can become clinical supervisors.

    Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) [RP(Qualifying)]

    • Regulated by: CRPO

    • Requirements: Working toward full RP status; typically takes 1–3 years.

    • Clinical Interns: Some may hold this designation if they have completed at least 90% of their academic program.

    Registered Social Worker (RSW)

    • Regulated by: Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW)

    • Requirements: 450–900 supervised field placement hours (mix between DCC and professional practice) for a Master’s degree.

    • Scope: Social work training often has a systemic focus, but RSWs who specialize in psychotherapy have direct client contact experience through field placements.

    Clinical Intern

    • Regulated by: Generally working toward registration with either CRPO or OCSWSSW.

    • Requirements: Typically complete 160–200 DCC hours and 35–65 clinical supervision hours.

    • Experience: While interns have fewer DCC hours, Daya select interns with front-line experience in mental health and/or specialized experience or training with specific populations and community needs.

    • Commitment: Clinical interns choose Daya because they are passionate about providing accessible mental health care to the community.

    Our Approach to Matching Therapists

    At Daya, we believe both clinical experience and specialized expertise matter in therapy. Our intake process carefully matches clients with therapists based on their unique needs, ensuring a strong therapeutic relationship—the key to effective therapy.

    If you have any questions about our therapists or want to find the right fit for you, contact us today!