Your family makes sense here.

Neurodiversity-affirming care respects different ways of thinking, communicating, learning, and experiencing the world. We get to know your child’s identity, strengths, interests, and support needs, including the ways their environment may be making life harder.

Our goals centre on wellbeing, self-understanding, autonomy, and meaningful connection. We support children in understanding and advocating for their needs, while helping the adults around them create conditions in which they can thrive. We take disability and distress seriously without treating neurodivergence itself as something to fix.

Being trauma-informed means recognizing that difficult experiences may shape how someone feels, relates to others, and responds to everyday situations. We prioritize emotional and physical safety, trust, choice, and collaboration. We take experiences such as bullying, exclusion, and repeated misunderstanding seriously, and work at a pace that respects each person’s readiness.

We also provide trauma treatment. Many of our therapists work with children, teens, and parents to process traumatic experiences and their ongoing effects. Depending on your therapist’s training and your needs, this may include approaches such as EMDR. You do not need to arrive ready to tell your whole story.

Yes, when developing a skill would support your child’s needs and goals. Sometimes we teach skills directly and explicitly—for example, explaining a strategy, modelling it, and practising it together. Other times, we create opportunities for skills to develop through play, creativity, and shared experiences. Both can be intentional parts of therapy.

We also explore whether your child already knows what to do but struggles to access that ability when overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, or under pressure. In those situations, we work on what is getting in the way, including the support available around them.

The balance between direct teaching and learning through experience depends on your child’s interests, readiness, communication style, and what helps them most.

Many families come to us asking specifically for cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, because another professional has recommended it. CBT explores the relationships between thoughts, feelings, and actions, and it is one of the approaches our therapists may use.

Sometimes we recommend CBT; sometimes we suggest another approach, or a combination, based on your child’s needs, preferences, development, and previous experiences with therapy.

If our recommendations differ from those of another professional, we will explain why, discuss the options, and make space for your questions. We welcome your child’s perspective throughout the process. The choice about proceeding is always yours, with your child involved in decisions in ways that respect their capacity and autonomy.

We support children and families with behaviours that are distressing, unsafe, or making everyday life difficult. Our approach is grounded in psychotherapy, relationships, and understanding the needs and circumstances contributing to the behaviour. We do not provide Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).

We look at factors such as emotional distress, sensory needs, communication, expectations, past experiences, and the fit between a child and their environment. Support may include developing skills, working through difficult experiences, supporting caregivers, and changing conditions that contribute to overwhelm.

We work toward meaningful changes that improve safety, wellbeing, and family life while respecting your child’s identity and autonomy.

We develop goals together and revisit them throughout therapy, including your child’s perspective in ways that work for them.

Progress might look like feeling less distressed, recovering more easily after difficult moments, understanding and expressing needs, enjoying relationships, or feeling more confident being themselves. For families, it might include less conflict, greater understanding, or routines that better fit everyone’s needs.

We look beyond what happens in the therapy room and beyond whether a child appears more compliant. We also pay attention to whether they feel understood and find the sessions helpful. If progress is limited or the approach does not feel right, we discuss what needs to change.

When you are seeking therapy for your child, we begin with a parent or caregiver appointment. This gives us space to understand your child’s history, strengths, challenges, and family context without asking them to sit through a conversation about everything that feels difficult.

We’ll explore what you hope will change, discuss consent and confidentiality, and plan how to introduce your child to therapy. You’ll also have time to ask questions and get a sense of whether we are the right fit. Your child’s first appointment focuses on getting comfortable and beginning a relationship, often through play, art, interests, or conversation.

No. Your child does not need a diagnosis to begin therapy. You can seek support for emotional distress, difficulties at home or school, relationship concerns, or other challenges affecting your child or family.

We begin with your child’s experiences, strengths, needs, and what you hope will change. You do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out.

Some funding programs have their own diagnostic or eligibility requirements, which are separate from accessing therapy with us.

Please tell us. Reluctance can reflect uncertainty, previous experiences of being misunderstood, discomfort with unfamiliar people, or simply not feeling that therapy is something they need.

We can begin with parent support and explore what might make getting help feel more comfortable and worthwhile to your child. If they decide to meet a therapist, we can plan an introduction around their interests, preferences, and communication needs.

Building trust takes time. Your child’s perspective matters, and we work collaboratively rather than treating attendance or participation as something to force.

Therapy does not have to centre on spoken conversation. Depending on your child’s preferences and needs, sessions may involve play, art, movement, shared interests, writing, typing, or their preferred communication supports.

A child who uses speech may still find talking difficult when anxious, overwhelmed, or getting to know someone. We make room for pauses, observation, and participation that develops gradually.

Let us know how your child communicates and what helps them feel understood. We’ll discuss the adaptations they need and identify a therapist whose approach and experience are a good fit. Using few or no spoken words does not mean having little to communicate.

Yes. Parent sessions can help you understand your child’s needs, work through difficult situations, adjust expectations and routines, and strengthen your relationship. These sessions can be helpful alongside your child’s therapy or when your child is not attending.

You are also welcome to seek therapy for yourself. Parenting can bring exhaustion, uncertainty, grief, and experiences that connect with your own history. We support parents with their own mental health, neurodivergence, relationships, and wellbeing.

Together, we will clarify whether the work is focused on supporting your child, your own therapeutic needs, or whether separate services would be helpful.

Parents are important partners in therapy, and children also need privacy to build trust. We do not routinely provide a detailed account of everything your child says or does in a session.

At the beginning, we discuss how you will be involved and what information can be shared. With appropriate consent, this may include broad themes, progress toward goals, and ways to support your child at home. Information sharing depends on your child’s capacity to consent and applicable privacy requirements.

Confidentiality has legal limits, including certain child-protection concerns and serious safety risks. We explain these limits clearly and, wherever possible, involve your child in conversations about information that needs to be shared.

There is no set number that fits every child. The length and frequency of therapy depend on your child’s needs, goals, circumstances, and how the work develops. Some families seek support around a specific concern; others benefit from longer-term care.

Building trust is part of the work, particularly when a child has previously felt misunderstood or pressured. We review progress together and discuss when to continue, adjust the approach, space appointments further apart, or bring therapy to a close.

Yes. With appropriate consent, we can collaborate with teachers, school teams, physicians, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other professionals involved in your child’s care.

This may include sharing relevant observations, helping others understand your child’s needs, discussing accommodations, or coordinating approaches across settings.

We agree on the purpose of the communication and what information can be shared, while respecting your child’s privacy and capacity to consent. If professionals offer different recommendations, we can help you understand our reasoning and consider the options available to your family.

Our current therapists offer individual psychotherapy sessions ranging from $130–$175 per session, depending on the therapist. Group programs have their own fees, which are listed with each program. We’ll confirm the fee for your appointment before you begin.

We offer a free initial consultation so you can ask questions and explore whether we are a good fit. If cost is a concern, please let us know—we can discuss available reduced-fee spaces and possible insurance or funding options.

We do not direct bill extended health insurance. You pay for your appointment and receive a receipt that you can submit to your insurer for reimbursement.

When a parent attends and participates in a session, their name is also included on the receipt, along with an accurate description of the service provided. Depending on your benefits plan and the nature of the session, you may be able to claim it under your own psychotherapy allowance. For some families, this provides access to coverage beyond the child’s individual allowance.

Please check with your insurer about coverage for Registered Psychotherapists, parent or family sessions, and any limits or referral requirements.

We offer a limited number of reduced-fee appointments, depending on financial need and clinician availability.

If cost is a barrier, please let us know when you reach out. We can discuss whether a reduced-fee space is available and what options may fit your circumstances.

Eligible psychotherapy services at Family Kinnections can be paid for using OAP core clinical services funding, which includes mental health supports such as counselling and psychotherapy.

The services you can purchase depend on your funding stream and its requirements. Let us know which OAP funding you receive so we can help you clarify how it may apply to your child’s care and provide the appropriate service documentation.

Yes. We provide Letters of Recommendation when clinically appropriate as part of ongoing care.

Recommendations must relate to your child’s assessed needs and treatment goals. For OAP core clinical funding, eligible technology, program materials, or therapy equipment must form part of a treatment plan that the recommending professional delivers or oversees.

We discuss how recommended items will be used and supported within your child’s care. A letter does not guarantee funding approval or make an otherwise ineligible purchase eligible.