About

Kristy Higgins is the Owner of Therapeutic Life Counselling with over 20 years experience in private practice, providing counselling services to families, couples, individuals and groups of differing ages and cultural backgrounds in the counselling profession, and over 10 years experience offering training and supervision services to counsellors in the field. She is a member of the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists (ACCT) and holds the designations of Registered Therapeutic Counsellors (RTC), Master Therapeutic Counsellor (MTC), and Registered Counselling Supervisor (RCS).

She has a wide range of training and experience in Gestalt, Trauma, Loss & Grief, Self Growth and Development, Metaphysics, Family and Couple therapy utilizing a client-centered approach. She finished her psychology degree from Northern British Columbia, Canada. She holds many specialized trainings, including the Myer's Briggs Type Indicator (MBTi), Trauma Incident Reduction (TIR) with Metapsychology International, Counselling Certificates from the Kelowna College of Professional Counselling, Bilateral Stimulation Processing with Dr. James Miklos, Analysis of Life Therapy with Atul Kumar Mehra and Integrative Depth Psychology Therapy with Dr. Werner Meinhold.

Counselling & Supervision Philosophy

People are the “expert” about their own lived experience and often have clear ideas about the process of change they want, or that they are in. My expertise is in helping people change, by honouring their ideas and goals, and collaborating with them in the co-creation of solutions and new possibilities. This is very different than offering expert specific advice and answers (in fact people rarely follow advice).

Solutions are often found within us, rather than outside us. Part of my role is to assist people to uncover knowledge and wisdom that has been hidden, stolen, or forgotten, by the presence of problems, or discounted as unimportant by well-meaning individuals.

Nature of Counselling:

The counsellor / therapist will encourage the client to set specific goals for counselling and will generally use a client-centered, integrated approach to help meet the needs of the client. The counsellor will work with you to help you achieve your therapeutic goals through unconditional acceptance, empathy and a willingness to be sincere. It is not the counsellor’s role to evaluate or judge the client’s actions. Participation in counselling therapy is voluntary; however the collaborative outcome is directly influenced by the client’s willingness to actively engage in the therapeutic process with the counsellor /therapist. The client may terminate the sessions at any time and that decision will be supported.

Effects of Counselling: As a client progresses through counselling there can be emotional ups and downs. Sometimes in counselling one may feel worse before feeling better, this is a normal part of therapy. While benefits are expected from counselling, specific results are not guaranteed. Counselling is a personal exploration and may lead to major changes in your life. These changes may affect others in your life and some of these life changes could be temporarily distressing. The exact nature of these changes cannot be predicted. Together we will work to achieve the best possible results for you. This issue can be discussed in more detail, if there are any questions or comments. Please be advised that some therapies may involve: tapping on specific acupressure points; unresolved memories, emotions and/or physical sensations may surface; and after the session, processing may continue.

Session fees: Fees are set per one hour session, and the counsellor/ supervisor agrees to provide counselling / supervision services. Session duration could be weekly / bi-monthly / monthly / based on the clients’ needs. Payment in full for sessions is payable at the end of each session. In the event that you will not be able to keep an appointment, please let me know at least 24 hours in advance; cancellations of less than 24 hours’ notice are charged the sessional rate. Other services, such as letters, reports, consultations, verification of sessions and phone, email, or text conversations may be billed at an hourly rate.

Fees & Payment: Payments of missed appointments are the client’s responsibility. Accepted forms of payment include, cash, cheque and e-transfer. Fees are subject to change, a 30 day notice will be given. It is the client’s sole responsibility to collect payment from their respective insurance company. There is no guarantee that your insurance company will recognize and accept the receipt submission.

Counselling Relationship: Ours is a professional relationship rather than a social one. If I see you in public, I will protect your confidentially by acknowledging you only if you approach me first. I will not discuss details of the counselling sessions in public. Counsellors consult with supervisors /colleagues or other health professionals regarding the management of cases. Every effort is made to protect the confidentiality of the client.

As happens from time to time, I may have clients who know each other. Again, I will keep confidential (within limits cited above) anything you disclose to me. You, of course, are free to disclose whatever you wish. Please be aware that if you ever have any questions or concerns regarding your confidentiality you are always welcome to bring them to me for a discussion. If you do not feel I am adequately addressing these concerns, you can contact ACCT. Finally, in case of any potential conflicts, I reserve the right to continue counselling with the primary client (here being the first client who had first contact), offering a referral to the other.

Records and Confidentiality: All of our communication and what happens in session becomes a part of your clinical record. Keeping files allows me to work with you in a planned and organized manner tracking goals and progress. The records are kept under lock and key in a secure location. These records will be maintained for sixteen years after the last counselling contact. Therefore, you will be unable to access your information after this time unless other arrangements are made. In case of my death, a designated registered counsellor will maintain my files. For legal reports, mental health and progress reports, specialized testing and programs will require an additional fee. Telephone sessions are charged at the regular fee by the minute. It is important to note that phone, text, and email communications have the potential risk of breaching confidentiality.

Responding to a Subpoena: In the event that a subpoena for records or testimony is received, it is the policy of TLC to: (1) Notify the client and provide a copy of the subpoena, (2) have the client complete a release of information according to the provincial and federal laws of Canada, and (3) review all client records to be released to the courts with the client. Unless otherwise previously agreed in writing, all services and expenses incurred by the provider for court related issues would be charged to the client and subject to regular payment policies. Any time required for contact with lawyers, depositions or courtroom proceedings would be subject to the estimated professional fees and regular payment policies.

Clients Rights: Some clients achieve their goals in only a few counselling sessions; others may take longer. As a client, you are in control of your healing process and may decide to end the counselling relationship at any time. However, because of the nature of the issues that bring clients into counselling, if you suddenly discontinue counselling without notifying me, I may contact you to ensure that you have received the services you required. Additionally, because you are in control, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I may suggest using a certain protocol that I think will be helpful and you have the right to refuse or discuss modification of it. Furthermore, you are always welcome to ask about anything with which you have questions. I assure you that my services will be rendered in a professional manner consistent with accepted legal standards as well as acceptable ethical standards, as provided by the association in which I belong. If at any time for any reason you are dissatisfied with my services, please let me know or make a report to my regulatory body.