1. Intake: In order to set up a new file and book an appointment there are a few questions that we need to ask. Intakes at Creating Solutions primarily happen over the phone immediately before booking an appointment but can also be done in the office. A client is asked demographic information (ie: address, date of birth), a general description of what they would like to work on with the therapist, and the household income to determine the session fee (please see “What is a sliding fee scale?” on our FAQs page).

2. Consent: The College of Alberta Psychologists’ mandates that every client is fully informed of the psychotherapy process, including their rights and responsibilities, prior to entering into therapeutic services. This is called informed consent. At the bottom of this page are our consent form and parental consent form for your information and review. Please be aware that these forms needs to be reviewed and signed with your therapist in the initial session.

3. Information Gathering: Information is an important aspect of setting up the therapy process and aides in building understanding and trust between the client and the therapist. In order to help this; Creating Solutions has an information questionnaire we ask new clients to fill out prior to the first session. This form is available below if you would prefer to print it off and fill it out prior to coming to our office. These forms are also available in the office; if you would prefer to fill them out when you arrive please allow yourself approximately 15 minutes prior to your appointment to complete them.

1. Parental Consent: Adults are able to agree to and sign the consent form independently (completed at the start of the first session). Children and youth under the age of 18, however, require the consent of all legal guardians to attend therapy sessions. Please note that if a parent holds sole custody of their child(ren) they will be requested to provide supporting documentation. If you have any questions regarding consent please contact our office at 780-414-0609 and ask to speak with one of our therapists.

Non-Court Related Interventions:

1. Intake: In order to establish a post-divorce therapeutic intervention the intake will need to be completed with either the Parenting Specialist (Sharon Smith) or the Child Specialist (Brandi Smith) on the Creating Solutions team. Contact information will also be requested for any other professional working with the family in order to coordinate all services.

2. Consultation/Initial Session: Creating Solutions utilizes a systemic approach to all post-divorce files. This approach ensures a transparent intervention focused on the best interests of the children and the future of the new family system(s). An initial session is scheduled with the Parenting Expert to establish the focus of the co-parenting process; should additional support be required for the children the Child Expert will be consulted and added to the therapeutic team.

3. Fees: Creating Solutions has a fee of $250 per hour for non-court related post-divorce interventions.

1. Intake: As with the non-court related interventions, court related post-divorce therapeutic intervention will need to be established with the Parenting Expert identified from the Creating Solutions team (Ms. Sharon Smith or Ms. Brandi Smith). Contact information will also be requested for all other professionals working with the family. A phone consultation with the parties’ lawyers is required to complete the intake.

2. Consultation/Initial Session: Creating Solutions utilizes a systemic approach to all post-divorce files. This approach ensures a transparent intervention focused on the best interests of the children and the future of the new family system. Initial session(s) are scheduled with the Parenting Expert to establish the focus of the intervention; additional support by the Child Expert is then coordinated with the Parenting Expert.

3. Fees: Creating Solutions has a fee of $350.00 per hour for court-related interventions. All court related post-divorce interventions are determined and agreed to utilizing a retainer agreement process.

1. Intake: Creating Solutions offers Psychological Education Assessments for children aged 6-16 years. This is an involved process that follows the established guidelines set out by the College of Alberta Psychologists. Each assessment is focused on specific questions and/or concerns identified by the school or parents and an intake for assessment services is completed with the assessing Psychologist, Brandi Smith.

2. Fees: Creating Solutions fees for assessments are a per hour rate of $205.00. During the intake process an approximation of required hours can be provided, however it should be noted that there are many factors that can impact the final number of hours required to complete an assessment.

1. Intake: The Creating Solutions’ Prepare and Enrich program follows the general therapy/counseling intake process.

2. Initial Session: An initial session is booked with the Psychologist in order to review consent for services and answer any questions, set up the online questionnaire for both partners to complete, and gather initial information about the relationship. Each person will need to provide their own email address to complete the questionnaire.

3. Fees: The fees for Prepare and Enrich follow the general therapy/counseling guidelines of a combined household income on the sliding fee scale (please see “What is a sliding fee scale?” on our FAQs page).