What You Can Expect From KCI
As you may know 93% of the distressed couples who find their way to KCI end up staying together in very happy and stable marriages.
They find relief from marital depression, conflict and other relational challenges.
However, most of them initially find it difficult and intimidating to begin the counselling process.
Over the years, I have learned how important it is to be especially sensitive to personal, racial and cultural differences, as well as our client’s gender specific needs and issues related to their unique personal, family and marital life issues.
My prime concern is to provide you with a supportive and responsive environment, in order to help you obtain the results you want and need.
KCI offers you the opportunity to work with one of the country’s leading marital therapists.
There are no eligibility requirements and no outside referral is necessary.
It only takes one call to start the healing.
Please feel free to email us garyburge@sympatico.ca.
We will call you for an appointment.
You may also call the office at 905-893-2463.
Here are some other questions that couples often ask and what you can expect if you decide to work with me.
How Long Will I Need to Go To Counselling
At KCI we focus on solution-centered therapies, which generally address client concerns in under six weeks.
Over 90% decide to remain in their marriages, happily so, living more satisfied, fulfilled lives.
Location and Privacy
The Kleinburg Counselling Institute is conveniently located west off Highway 27, one mile north of Nashville Road and three miles south of the King Side Road on Hedgerow Lane just north of the village of Kleinburg.
As you travel north on Highway 27, you will see the Copper Creek Golf Club on the east (right).
Turn left (west) onto Hedgerow Lane to Number 96 Hedgerow Lane.
If you are traveling south on Highway 27, turn right (west) onto Hedgerow Lane.
Our office is a very private home office nestled on a quiet little street, Hedgerow Lane across the road from the Copper Creek Golf course. There is no public waiting room to ensure that you do not meet with other couples. We accept credit, cheque, debit, etransfer or cash. You will get a receipt regardless of the method of payment.
How Long Will it Take Me to Get An Appointment With You?
At KCI we return your phone call by the end of that business day.
We also make it a priority to see all new clients as soon as possible, usually within a week.
What Will Be Required of Me in Therapy?
In order for you to have a successful therapy experience, we suggest that you:
- Budget for the cost of your therapy
- Clear space in your work and personal schedule to come to therapy appointments
- Describe in detail the problem or problems you are having
- Be willing to talk about your family relationships and childhood history
- Be open to thinking about your problem in a new and different way
- Be open to trying new approaches or strategies to deal with your problem
How Often Should We Come to Therapy?
To get the most out of therapy, most couples find they need a single meeting a week.
That meeting (often called a session) takes 50 minutes.
Some people find that it is useful to begin by coming for a session two or three times a week for the first several weeks in order to get things moving quickly.
Sometimes couples want to really “get it done” so the sessions last for 2 or even three hours.
We can discuss your personal needs and situation.
And tailor the process to your specific needs.
Do Do You Do Other Types of Therapy Than Marital?
Marital work is extremely intricate and so much is at stake. For that reason I have chosen to work only with married couples. It is my sole area of expertise and I therefore do get very good results. However, I not only have a Ph.D. in the Psychology of Marriage but 31 other therapeutic and professional designations such that I am also able to help individual spouses work through their personal, psychological issues as well.
Can I Work With You Individually on my Relationship
or is it Better to Come as a Couple?
Certainly you can work with me on your marriage individually but most often working a couple gets the best and quickest results.
What Do You Suggest When One What if One Partner
Wants to See You But The Other is Reluctant?
It depends on the reason(s). If the reluctant partner is getting his/her own way all the time and is therefore not motivated, I suggest that the motivated partner work with me on gaining leverage in the relationship to equalize the balance of power.
If the reluctant partner is afraid or unconvinced because of the lack of information about counselling and how it works, I develop strategies with the motivated partner to help the other partner feel at ease about counselling and then suggest that the reluctant person or the couple come for an information session.
Are You Comfortable Being the Therapist For Both Partners?
In most cases, yes.
Doing it this way can introduce some complexities to the situation but if the therapist is adequately trained to deal with them, there are important advantages.
Often, when there are two therapists involved the focus becomes each person’s need and individual agenda , not healing the relationship.
Not good.
Sometimes I have particular reasons to recommend separate therapists but usually it is best for both partners to the same therapist.
How Will we know that When The Therapy is Working?
Believe me, you will know.
You will feel the effects of the changes in your marriage almost immediately.
When the therapy is working you will begin to:
- Feel happier and more confident in your marriage
- Stop arguing
- Instead of every issue becoming a ripping and a tearing, you will find your conversations about things that would normally have been a conflict to be a deepening and a strengthening.
- Do and feel things in your marriage that you would not have thought yourself capable of
- Feel lucky to be married to your spouse, accepted, respected and loved
- Feel more in control in your life
Confidentiality
All contact with clients is held in the strictest confidence.
KCI adheres to the legal and ethical requirements as mandated by the Ontario Association of Counsellors & Psychotherapists.
At KCI, we recognize that services are an intensely personal experience, we therefore make every effort to protect your right to privacy.
All matters, from issues that emerge during therapy to questions of finances, are dealt with in a strictly confidential manner.
What About Cost?
There is a per session – hourly – fee for each visit that you have with Gary.
A session lasts 50 minutes.
I try to make coming to see me as affordable as possible, so, my fee, $250.00 per hour (plus HST) is the same no matter when (day, evening, or weekend) your appointment might be.
For someone with my experience and expertise, that fee is very much on the low side.
In other words, although my fee might be higher than most marriage therapists, due to the shorter length of time I need to get a couple to a good place in their marriage, the actual or overall cost turns out to be less than the lower hourly fee you might otherwise pay.
And please do remember, my fees are completely covered, if you have insurance.
A minimum 24-hour notification is required for any and all cancellations or the full fee must be charged.
The fee is payable by cash, cheque, e-Transfer, or credit card at the end of each session.
Availability
Daytime, evening or weekend appointments are available.
Are you Covered by Extended Health Care Coverage?
Yes, although marital therapy is not insured by the OHIP, Gary’s services are covered by most private Extended Health Insurance Plans.
As Our Therapist, What Kind of Advice Do You Give?
The short answer is “I don’t…give advice”.
It generally has been my experience that clients do best by working out their own decisions and they see therapy as a process in which each of us assumes more and more individual responsibility for their life choices.
Generally, the need to ask for advice means that we have not yet understood something about ourselves; once we do, we are free to decide.
What If I Am Already on Medication?
Medication will not affect therapy negatively.
Scientific studies regularly show that the outcomes of therapy without medication are similar to the outcomes of therapy with medication.
Unless you wish to discontinue medication, your therapist will not expect you to do so while you are in therapy.
Do You Carry Practice Insurance?
Yes; like all professional therapists, I carry liability insurance to protect their clients and themselves against any damages.
As Our Therapist, What Do You Actually Do?
A therapist helps you the way a guide does when you go to a part of the country you have not visited before.
The therapist has already made such a journey and knows about what to expect and how to handle it.
Because a competent therapist has made the journey before you have, and with many others, he or she can keep you on track in your journey and will see features of your personal landscape that are worth appreciating.
The therapist will be able to provide the tools and techniques that will help you to move through your emotional issues and arrive at a better understanding of your marriage and its possibilities.