Billing & Fees
Fees, Billing & Insurance
At Onyx, we are committed to providing high-quality, compassionate mental health care to individuals (adults and youth) and couples. Our diverse team of experienced and qualified therapists is equipped to address a wide range of mental health concerns and support clients in their emotional and mental well-being.
Counselling sessions are available in-person at our Sherwood Park office or online/by phone across Alberta. Unfortunately, we cannot provide services to individuals located outside of Alberta, whether temporarily or permanently.
Counselling sessions are typically 50 minutes in length and billed at the therapist’s rate per hour. However, it’s important to note that your therapist also spends additional time outside of sessions to update notes, plan treatment, and prepare for upcoming appointments. While you are billed for the session time, there is much more work happening behind the scenes.
Additional services outside of regular counselling sessions, such as report writing, telephone consultation, letters, and form completion are billed at the therapist’s rate per hour.
Our service rates are aligned with professional standards across Alberta, guided by the recommended rates from the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta (PAA) and other relevant professional associations.
Our therapists have different designations/titles, and the session fees vary according to each designation. with fees varying according to each designation. Offering a range of therapists allows clients to select a professional who best suits both their needs and financial situation. Rest assured, all our therapists have the education, training, and experience necessary to ethically and competently provide counselling and mental health services.
At Onyx, our team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Mental Health Therapists, and Practicum Student Therapists. For more information on these designations, please visit our FAQ page.
Payment of Fees
Fees for your session are processed at the time of the appointment via the credit card we have on file, your health benefits plan, debit, cash, or Interac e-transfer.
As a client, you are responsible for the full payment of sessions, including missed sessions or those cancelled with insufficient notice. Any outstanding charges will be processed to the card on file unless prior arrangements have been made. This policy is standard for any service-based business. Please note that our services are not funded by the government, and we do not receive grants to operate. If financial concerns are a barrier to therapy, we can explore alternative options or refer you to a suitable provider.
A valid credit card or debit card is required on file to reserve your appointment. This does not automatically charge your card for the session; you may opt to pay via other methods as listed below. However, we reserve the right to cancel or refuse service if a valid payment method is not on file.
Payment Methods
You can pay via credit card, debit on-site, cash, or e-transfer (info@onyxtherapy.ca). If paying by cash, please ensure you have the exact amount as we are unable to provide change (we do not keep cash on the premises). A valid credit or debit card must still be on file.
If a payment is declined, please contact our office administration to arrange payment. If arrangements are not made, future sessions may be cancelled or booking suspended until payment is received. We strive to be flexible and want to ensure you can access therapy. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out so we can work with you to find a solution.
For couples sessions, each partner is required to have a credit card on their profile (as per our policy). The same card may be used for both profiles with consent from both parties. If there is high conflict or disagreement about payments between partners, it is not something we address in the session. Payment responsibility lies with the client who attended the session. While we understand frustrations, aggression or abuse toward our administrative staff when discussing payment will not be tolerated.
Cancellations / No-Shows
Counselling services are in high demand, and we strive to ensure that individuals who need therapy can schedule sessions with their therapists. We also value the time our therapists dedicate to this work. Therefore, we require a minimum of 24-hours notice if you need to cancel or rebook a session.
While we understand that unexpected situations can arise, missed appointments or cancellations made with less than 24-hours notice will be charged for the full session time. This policy is in place to respect our therapists’ time and to allow clients on the waitlist the opportunity to be contacted with sufficient notice.
If you are running late for your appointment, please contact our office as soon as possible so we can inform the therapist or potentially move the appointment to an online format. If you cannot make it to your in-person session, we can switch to a phone or online session to avoid incurring charges.
Please note that insurance plans will not cover fees incurred for missed sessions or late cancellations.
If you are frequently cancelling or not attending multiple sessions, we may need to re-evaluate your readiness for therapy. Your therapist can support you in making this decision. Reserving a spot and not attending impacts other clients who are waiting for an appointment, so we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
Insurance & Direct Billing
Our clinic offers the complimentary service of direct billing to most insurance providers. While we understand that the billing process can sometimes be stressful, our clinic holds a zero tolerance policy for aggressive or abusive behaviour, both in-person and over the phone.
At Onyx, we follow the strict guidelines set by each individual’s insurance provider. It’s important to note that we do not control the rules surrounding insurance billing—your insurance company does.
When booking over the phone, we do our best to match you with the best fit therapist for your needs, considering things like who is best equipped to work with the issues you are coming into therapy for, your availability, and cost considerations. However, we do not know which types/designations of therapist your insurance will cover, nor the amount of coverage you will receive until we bill for the session. This means that, depending on the therapist’s designation, we may or may not be able to direct bill to your specific insurance plan.
Coverage is set by your employer and the plan they have available for you. It is your responsibility to understand what your plan covers and advise us of this so we can make the best recommendation based on the provided information. If you are unaware of the details of your coverage, we recommend that you contact your insurer(s) before your first appointment.
Please Note:
Sunlife does NOT allow any mental health professional to direct bill at this time. If you have Sunlife coverage, you will need to pay the clinic directly, and we will issue you a receipt for reimbursement.
Our Registered Therapists (Registered Psychologists and Registered Social Workers) are typically covered under most insurance plans. We may be able to direct bill to the following:
- Alberta Blue Cross
- Medavie
- GreenShield
- Telus portal providers (see below)
Discover all participating insurers
For Registered Provisional Psychologists:
We can only direct bill to the following insurance providers:
- Alberta Blue Cross
- GreenShield
- Medavie
For all other insurance plans, you will need to pay the clinic directly and manually submit the receipt for reimbursement.
For Student Therapists, Mental Health Therapists (MHTs), and Unregulated Therapists (Certified Grief Counsellor):
These therapists are not covered under any insurance plans as they are not licensed. Submitting a claim using their supervisor’s information may be considered fraudulent by your insurance provider.
Always check your plan prior to booking a session to confirm whether the cost of therapy or specific therapists is covered.
We do not engage in any fraudulent billing practices:
We follow all legal and ethical guidelines when billing insurance. Here are some examples of what we cannot do:
- For couples/family/group sessions, we are required to submit the number of participants and their legal names. The insurance company will decide how coverage is applied, often splitting coverage equally among participants.
- If you are not covered under a plan, we cannot bill for your portion of the session under your partner’s plan.
- If each participant has their own coverage, we must bill in the order instructed by the insurance companies, with the primary plan billed first, followed by the secondary plan.
- If participants are covered under multiple insurance plans, please notify our billing administrators. They will guide you on how the billing process will work. Our billing administrators are available during business hours only. You may be required to pay out of pocket and submit for reimbursement.
We are always happy to answer questions you may have about our services, fees, billing, etc. Please reach out to our office at 587-745-2662 or info@onyxtherapy.ca to speak to our administration staff.
