Kurt Zubatiuk & Wendy Strickland, Registered Psychotherapists

12/20/2022

Just a reminder.

Did you know that Canadian therapy services are taxed? Support the campaign to make mental healthcare more accessible by signing the petition here: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4126

11/28/2022

Update on HST/GST on psychotherapy petition. Apparently 300 signatures needed before January 13:
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To our amazing supporters,

We need your help. Our new House of Commons petition is live, but ONLY until January 13.

We are only 300 signatures away from 10,000. With your help, we can do it - and more.

We need a show of support, from coast to coast to coast, before time runs out.
Please click on the link above, and share it with friends, colleagues, family and loved ones to add your support today.

We need to show the government that tax fairness matters, and that mental health matters to all Canadians… and the clock is ticking! If we work together to sign and share this new House of Commons petition, we can get rid of this barrier to mental health service access once and for all!

Please let your MP know and ask them to support this important campaign.
It’s all available with one click of a button here: www.taxfreetherapy.ca

Using the hashtag on social media, please post and share as much as possible!

We extend our sincere gratitude to the thousands of wonderful supporters like you who have helped us to reach this next step towards finally ending this unjust tax.

Sincerely,

The national team!

Among providers of mental health services in Canada, Counselling Therapists/Psychotherapists are the only mental health professionals required to charge GST/HST. Get Rid of This Tax Today!

11/13/2022

Giving this another plug. Across the country therapists and counsellors, amongst others, are advocating for psychotherapy and counselling to be exempt from HST/GST. It benefits patients/clients and practitioners alike.

Please note that the form letter option carries more clout than the email signature.

Among providers of mental health services in Canada, Counselling Therapists/Psychotherapists are the only mental health professionals required to charge GST/HST. Get Rid of This Tax Today!

10/27/2022

Greetings. We're gently asking anyone who sees this to consider expressing your support, via letter and/or petition to the Federal gov't, to have HST/GST removed from psychotherapy/counselling services across Canada. This would effectively reduce the cost for clients/patients and be an important step towards making this service more available to the Canadian public. (For more details, follow the link.) Please also consider sharing this to your wall.

Among providers of mental health services in Canada, Counselling Therapists/Psychotherapists are the only mental health professionals required to charge GST/HST. Get Rid of This Tax Today!

01/19/2022

http://you.leadnow.ca/petitions/remove-sales-tax-on-psychotherapy-1?source=rawlink&utm_source=rawlink&share=e8e1cb01-36da-4515-bda0-6ae0f89dacf9

A petition requesting the removal of GST/HST from psychotherapy and counselling.

Counsellors and psychotherapists are the only mental health professionals required to charge GST/HST! Other providers of psychotherapy include: psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses. All of these professionals are exempt from ch...

10/20/2021

He’s here, he’s there, he’s . . . on the podcast!!

Brett Goldstein and I recorded this one live a couple weeks ago at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Texas. It was equal parts wild and fun!

We talked about “Ted Lasso,” vulnerability in the show’s writers’ room, and why drama without humor is not good art. We also talked about the Muppets, the meaning of bo****ks, and death. You know—just a normal chat.

https://spoti.fi/3aTKxMG

11/15/2020

"(T)he presence of familiar people projecting the social-emotional cues of acceptance, understanding, compassion, and empathy calmed the stress response of the individual. We feel safest in the presence of familiar and nurturing members of our family and community. These powerful regulating effects of healthy relational interactions on the individual—mediated by various key neural networks in the brain—are at the core of relationally based protective mechanisms that help us survive and thrive. (p. 26-27)"

Giving time, love, and attention builds neural networks needed throughout life.

05/25/2020

The humanity of psychotherapy.
Apps & texts, or real live people?

A war for the future of psychotherapy will determine how we treat problems in living.

04/15/2020

Prolonged response to "community" trauma, the loss of what is familiar & "normal", and the persistent background fear for our health and even life. Small wonder many of us are tired. Read on below.

    For the last two weeks I have heard one question more than any other. Whether clients, friends, or family members, over and over again I have heard asked some version of the same question: “why am I so tired?” This question is usually prefaced by the perceived lack of energy each person fe...

04/01/2020

Psychotherapy, Counselling and COVID-19

In this time of social distancing and self isolation, many psychotherapists have moved their practice online using video conferencing software. It's a stressful time, and many of us have few people to really talk. Everyone is in the same boat! Who can listen to our anxiety?

Use your search-engine, find local listings for therapists, you will likely find one that can meet your needs. For example, our old school has two listings, one being exclusively for lower-cost options. Other schools and institutes likely have the same. Provincial associations, or other official bodies, usually have listings. Colleges/regulatory bodies, too. Finally, there are industry specific commercial listings.

Many of us are experiencing financial hardship. These listings usually indicate whether sliding scales/lower-cost fees are offered.

Your local area may also have crisis phone numbers for those who need to talk *now*.

If you think you may need such services now or in the future, look ahead. Figure out what's out there in your area so you have things handy when things feel acutely hard.

Take care.

02/09/2020

Dungeons & Dragons
I remember being a kid and getting to try out different personae that were radically different from my daily self. It was great for this shy kid to become something else for a few hours a week.

Adam Davis, co-founder of the Dungeons & Dragons therapy group Wheelhouse Workshop, thinks kids with social issues aren’t being asked the right questions. In a dreary school counselor’s office, it can be hard to engage with “Why aren’t you doing your homework?” and “Have you tried jo...

01/01/2020

Happy New Year. As the pun goes, may we all experience 20/20 clarity this year. Here's to health, healing and joy.