Katie Richardson Psychotherapy

FAQ

Are you licensed?

Yes! I am licensed as a Registered Psychotherapist authorized for independent practice by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Here is my proof of registration. I am covered under insurance plans that include “Registered Psychotherapist” in their policies. I am licensed to see clients who live in Ontario.

What does “independent practice” mean?

Being licensed for independent practice under the CRPO means I have exceeded 1000 clinical hours and 150 hours of clinical supervision. I am allowed to practice psychotherapy without a supervision requirement. That being true, I still value supervision and speak to my supervisors as needed.

What are your hours?

Currently my hours are 11-3:30 Mon-Thurs. Friday is my paperwork day. I do not working evenings or weekends.

What is your fee?

Currently my standard session fee is $170 (no HST). It is subject to yearly increases of $5-15 to account for inflation.

Do you have a sliding scale?

I have a small number of sliding scale spots that are currently full as of Sept 2025. If you are looking for low-cost therapy, I recommend checking out these resources:

The Affordable Therapy Network

Open Path Collective

Affordable Therapy Ontario

Also, for your information, student counsellors are commonly unpaid and may provide service at a very low cost.

Can I see you in person?

Yes! I see clients in person at 171 King St E in Oshawa.

Can I see you if I’m not living in Ontario?

If you are outside of Canada, for many reasons, I’m afraid not. If you’re in a Canadian province where therapy is not yet regulated, yes, I can probably see you. If you’re in a province that is regulated: maybe. I will need to check with the licensing colleges in both provinces, so please feel free to contact me if you’re wondering about this and I can look into it.

How old do I have to be to work with you?

Currently I am seeing clients who are at least sixteen years old. If you are younger and looking for support, I’d be happy to send along some referrals.

Are you an approved OAP provider?

Currently (Sept 2025), yes. All registered psychotherapists are now covered under OAP. This is new, so it may change in the future depending on their approval process. You may submit my receipts to OAP.

How often will I see you when I start therapy?

If you have never been in therapy before, weekly sessions are best to start. However, as many of us know, unless we have some killer benefits, weekly sessions may not be feasible. Depending on what you’re coming in for, I am open to clients starting biweekly as well. Sessions spread further apart than biweekly are for later stages of therapy.

If you are coming in looking for executive functioning coaching, my experience has been this is usually better do to weekly as well (at least at first) to promote growth in goal-setting and self-accountability.

Can you diagnose me?

I’m afraid not. Ontario does not allow Registered Psychotherapists to diagnose. I can offer validated screeners that give us a pretty good indication and you can bring a copy to your diagnosing doctor, however. I’m also happy to refer you to a diagnosing doctor or appropriate service.

Please note I no longer recommend online ADHD pop-up clinics that offer cheap assessment. Unfortunately, as the years have progressed with these clinics, the quality of their services have declined to a point of being borderline unethical.

I’m not Autistic and I don’t have ADHD. Can I still see you for therapy?

Yes! Go here to learn more about what’s within my scope of practice.

Can you supervise me?

Not yet! Please check back in 2026. I would very much like to be a supervisor once CRPO allows.

Didn’t you used to work for Dig A Little Deeper?

Yes. I contracted for Dig A Little Deeper Psychotherapy & Counselling for about a year. I chose to leave after life’s demands became to much to maintain my work at both practices. I love my Dig fam dearly and continue to have deep respect for the phenomenal work they do. I have made many good friends and colleagues through DALD, and pop on the Christina Crowe Podcast to cohost and sometimes am a guest myself.

What’s a “referral consultation”?

A colleague introduced me to this idea of shopping around for professionals to refer to via free consultation the same way we shop around for therapists we might like to see for sessions. I’m happy to have a little 15-minute meet & greet with any clinician who might like to add me to their referral list.

Will you push meds?

I cannot prescribe medication. I do strongly recommend trying medication for ADHD. ADHD is the MOST medically treatable condition in the DSM-5. And unlike with antidepressants, stimulant medication makes a tremendous difference for about 70% of people who try it. This is well established and documented in the last 150 years of research on ADHD. (So we challenge Gabor Mate.)

Some people come to me quite fearful of meds due to their experiences in the 90’s. I can tell you that as a member of CADDRA, I am very well informed (if I say so myself) about ADHD meds prescribed in Canada and I will provide a boatload of psychoeducation about how things have changed since the Zombify-Your-Child days, and, yes, will highly recommend trying meds with a CADDRA-informed prescriber. Very likely it will be the most effective of any intervention you try.

It’s not the only thing that helps (I wouldn’t have this career if that were so), but it is a significant contributor.

I am also pretty well informed about meds prescribed to improve mood regulation and reduce PDA fight responses in autism, but am much less direct about that. Happy to provide the information should you ask.

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