A 50-minute session with a psychologist in Calgary typically costs a couple of hundred dollars. At Supporting Wellness, a 50-minute session is $235 with a psychologist and $220 with a Canadian Certified Counsellor, and the fees are the same at our Calgary, Red Deer and Cold Lake clinics. What you actually pay is often much less, because extended health benefits, health spending accounts and the medical expense tax credit all reduce the real cost.
The Psychologists' Association of Alberta publishes a recommended fee schedule that many psychologists use as a reference point.
An ADHD assessment or a psychoeducational assessment involves interviews, testing, scoring and a written report, often spread over several appointments. That adds up to many hours of a psychologist's time, so assessments are priced as a package rather than per session. Ask for a quote before you book.
Most extended health plans include psychological services, usually as a percentage of each session up to an annual maximum. For example, a plan that pays 80 percent up to $1,000 a year would cover $188 of a $235 session, leaving you $47, until the $1,000 runs out after about five sessions. Your own plan will differ, so check three things:
If you and your spouse both have benefits, the second plan can often pay part of what the first does not.
Without direct billing, you pay the full fee at every appointment and wait for your insurer to reimburse you. With direct billing, the clinic submits the claim while you are there and you pay only the portion your plan does not cover. For someone attending weekly, that is the difference between fronting hundreds of dollars a month and paying a small balance.
Supporting Wellness direct bills many insurers, including Alberta Blue Cross, Canada Life, Sun Life, Manulife, Greenshield, Desjardins, Equitable Life, Industrial Alliance, Medavie Blue Cross and NIHB. If a claim cannot go through directly, you pay and we give you a detailed receipt to submit yourself. The full list is on our direct billing and insurance page.
At Supporting Wellness, missed appointments and cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice may be charged a fee of up to $200, so let us know early if you cannot make it. The free 15-minute connection call costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Cost is a normal question. Call us at 1-888-622-8350 and ask what a session would cost with the clinician who suits you and what your plan is likely to cover. Our Calgary clinic is at 8989 Macleod Trail SW, Suite 408, and we also see clients in Red Deer, Cold Lake and online.
Related reading: Does Blue Cross cover therapy?, Claiming therapy on your taxes and Is therapy free in Alberta?
