What is Psychology?
What does a Psychologist do?
Should I be seeing a Psychologist?
Is there shame in consulting a psychologist?
What is the difference between a psychologist, a psychiatrist, educational evaluator, and counselor?
Who pays for the services of a psychologist?
Can I use extended health benefits to pay for psychological services?
Does Manitoba Medical pay for the services of a psychologist?
Do city or provincial social assistance programs pay for psychological services?
Are psycho-educational services available for children in the public sector?
Are psycho-educational services available for adults in the public sector?
Does a private practice psychologist work for my child's school?
Will a private practice psychologist consult with my child's school?
Can I take my child to a psychologist if I don't have legal custody of the child?

What is Psychology?
The word "psychology" is derived from two words, "psyche," which means mind or soul, and "logia" which refers to the study of something. Psychology is the science of mental life. Psychology tries to understand how and why people act, think and feel the way they do, and how action, thinking, and feeling affect or are affected by an individual's or group's physical state and external environment. Psychology is at least as old as Hippocrates (400BC), although there is little agreement about how many classical schools of thought existed and what they were. Modern psychology is often categorized into the following broad schools: psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, physiological (or psychobiological), and social psychology.

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What does a Psychologist do?
A psychologist works to help people to understand, describe, predict, and sometimes change aspects of feeling, thinking, and behaviour. Some psychologists provide assessment services only while others provide only psychological treatment. Some psychologists provide both evaluation and treatment services.
Psychologists work with people of all ages. Child and Adolescent Psychology centres upon the development of young people, along with the behavioural, emotional, and related issues of childhood and adolescence. On the other hand, geriatric psychology focuses upon behavioural, emotional, and other issues associated with aging.
Psychologists work with individuals, couples, families, as well as other groups and organizations, companies and government agencies. Industrial and organizational psychology studies personnel selection and training, work and job design, staff development, organizational change, and related issues. Rehabilitation psychology focuses generally upon behavioural and emotional issues associated with physical disabilities. Forensic psychology centres upon criminal behaviour and the justice system.
Psychology is a broad field with many specialized areas. School or educational psychology deals with concerns and disabilities related to learning and the education system. Clinical and counselling psychology address behavioural, emotional, personality and relationship issues. Neuropsychology focuses upon dysfunction with the brain and central nervous system.

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Should I see a Psychologist?
Everyone, at some time in their life, faces big problems. Sometimes we solve these problems on our own. Sometimes friends, family, a religious leader, or someone else listen and offer good suggestions, or we get what we need from a good book or tape. Sometimes things improve as a bit of time passes.

At other times, friends or family can't help enough and we need a professional advisor. When legal issues are at stake, a lawyer is the right advisor. When general medical health is a concern, we see our family doctor or take a child to their pediatrician.
When learning, behavioural, or emotional issues are hard to tackle and don't go away, a psychologist might be the best person to see for help with understanding and finding solutions to problems facing us at home, school, or work.
It is often hard to recognize when help is needed. If you or someone you care about is experiencing any of the following difficulties, it may make sense for you to consult a psychologist.
· You suspect you or your child has a learning problem;
· You feel overwhelmed, demoralized, or "burned out" by school or work;
· You are anxious or nervous or want to overcome shyness or specific fears;
· You feel sad, moody, or depressed a lot of the time;
· You have trouble getting along with others at home, at work, or at school;
· You are having problems with parenting a child;
· Your family is going through a very stressful time with such events as separation or divorce, job or money problems, family illness of death;
· You suffer from chronic pain or illness;
· You have trouble controlling eating;
· The use of a substance (alcohol, a drug) is a problem;
· You have suffering abuse or been through a traumatic event;
· You are worried or confused about an approaching change of careers;
· You need an assessment related to child custody or access.
This is not an exhaustive list of reasons why someone might see a psychologist, and Red Ladder Optimized Learning does not provide assistance for all of the issues in the list. Not all people who see a psychologist or other mental health professional actually have an emotional disorder. Some are just stressed, unhappy, or confused and uncertain. Therapists can help people to mature and develop more fully.

We will be glad to discuss your concerns with you and, if we are not well-suited to helping you, suggest someone else who might be. The main thing to remember is that we all need help sometimes and, sometimes, putting off a request for help just allows problems get worse.

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Is there shame in consulting a psychologist?
No. People who receive psychological evaluation or treatment have nothing to be ashamed of because they are confronting the challenges in their life directly and working toward greater success. For centuries, people have reduced psychological difficulties to issues of laziness, badness, or lackl of intelligence. We now know that people are born with learning styles and biological tendencies. Under stress, people may be prone to developing depression or anxiety or physical illness. There is nothing shameful about having mental health problems, and these should be treated just as we would treat a headache, an ulcer, or diabetes. Successful treatment can mean the difference between success in school, career, family life, and other relationships, and failure in these.

For these reasons, failing to address a difficulty, or under-reacting, may be the biggest problem. Simply to hoping a situation will resolve itself, despite its being significant or having persisted for a long time may be damaging. Some people have misconceptions or fears about seeking or receiving psychological assistance, or say they don't "believe" in psychology, or refuse to ask the advice of a "shrink." Sometimes pride prevents people from getting help. They believe they simply should not have difficulties. Learning disorders and other psychological issues sometimes become more of a problem if left unaddressed.

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What is the difference between a psychologist, psychiatrist, educational evaluator, and counselor?
Clinically trained psychologists and psychiatrists are professionals with approximately the same number of years of formal training. A basic difference between them is the type of training they have taken. Psychiatrists hold a degree in medicine like your family doctor and have taken additional training in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and behavioural problems. As physicians, they are licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons and can prescribe drugs. For the most part, their fees are paid by Manitoba Health.

A clinically trained psychologist have a Ph.D. degree specializing in the study of human emotion and behaviour. They may assess, diagnose, and treat problems related to emotion, thought, and behaviour, and are the only professionals allowed to administer and interpret certain kinds of tests used to assess intelligence, psychopathology, and brain dysfunction. Private practice psychologists are registered by a provincial college of psychologists in Canada or a State board in the U.S. In Manitoba, the Psychological Association of Manitoba is body responsible for licensing psychologists. Although psychologists often have training in psychopharmacology, Manitoba psychologists cannot prescribe medication, and refer clients to physicians for this. Psychologists' fees are covered by private payment, extended medical plans, employee assistance programs, and through government agencies or other special programs.

School resource teachers, special education evaluators, some academic tutors and human resource professionals administer academic achievement tests to people and may take measures of learning ability or aptitude in order to clarify the level at which a person is operating and for the purposes of educational planning, career selection, etc. As well, many non-psychologist counselors often provide excellent support and skilled assistance.
Assessment by a psychologist may include some of the same measures as the ones given by an educational evaluator, but is likely to consider problems at a deeper level and may be more broad in terms of consideration of emotional, thinking, and behavioural issues. Psychologists are legally able to diagnose and, as mentioned above, are the only professionals allowed to administer and interpret certain tests often essential to a comprehensive evaluation. It is common for a psychologist to make use of important test results collected by an educational assessor in the course of a broader evaluation.

By law, a psychologist has received extensive formal training and supervision in their area of expertise. Although a psychologist is a business person providing a service for a fee, a psychologist is duty-bound to abide by a strict code of professional ethics and standards, in a way that protects and honours the trust relationship of psychology, clients or patients, and the public at large.

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Who pays for the services of a psychologist?
Can I use extended health benefits to pay for psychological services?
Does Manitoba Medical pay for the services of a psychologist?
Do city or provincial social assistance programs pay for psychological services?

Private practice psychology is provided on a fee for service basis. Normally, clients or their families are responsible for fees incurred for evaluation and intervention. Fees are normally based upon an hourly fee. Our services are not paid for by Manitoba Health (Medicare), but are very often covered by extended health plans such as Blue Cross, Great-West Life, or Manulife. Many people have good extended health coverage for the services of a registered psychologist, but don't know it. Any fees paid out of pocket to a registered clinical psychologist may be deductible as a medical expense on a federal tax return.

The fees of a psychologist are sometimes paid by third parties such as Child and Family Services, a First Nations Educational Authority, the Department of National Defence or Veterans Affairs Canada, the Workers' Compensation Board, social assistance programs (Income Security), or a government or corporate employment and education program.

We are familiar with the use of extended health benefits and will be glad to discuss this with you. Also, further information on this topic is available on this web site: Fees, Insurance, and Tax Issues

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Are psycho-educational services available for children in the public sector?
Does a Red Ladder Optimized Learning clinician work for my child's school?
Psycho-educational evaluation and intervention services are available through Manitoba school divisions free of charge. Speech and language pathologists, Audiologists, social workers, and reading clinicians also work in the school system through the Child Guidance Clinic of Winnipeg or one of the Educational Support Centres attached to School Divisions. In all cases, school officials consult with the appropriate CGC clinician before a referral is accepted, except in the case of Audiology, where prior consultation for a hearing assessment is not mandatory. If a student is a minor, parental permission is required.

Parents concerned about the quality of their child's school success can speak with their child's teacher or resource teacher about the advisability of psycho-educational evaluation, psychological intervention, or both, and ask about the availability of these services.
In many cases, wait lists in the public system are lengthy.

A school psychologist spends a certain agreed-upon amount of time in a school each week or each school cycle during the school year. Evaluation and intervention is not conducted during the summer or winter holidays. The psychologist and school work together to prioritize the clinician's caseload. The need for prioritizing cases within an arguably overstretched public system leaves is unlikely that a child who is passing school or who shows no significant behavioural problems will be seen within a reasonable time. Depending upon the school division, the time of year, and other factors, the wait for public services may be as brief as a few months or may take one or more years.

There seems to be a difference in general emphasis in evaluation by a school-based psychologist versus that of a private practice psychologist. Whereas a school-based clinician spends a certain amount of time in a particular school each week and works closely with that school and each of the others in which he or she consults, a private practice psychologist works more at arm's length from the school system.

Although parental consent is needed before psychological work can begin with a child or teen, most commonly the school initiates the process, and consultation with the child's teacher appears to be the most common starting point for evaluation, with parents being consulted second. Although parents normally receive feedback at the end of their child's evaluation, some report that they have not received feedback and have needed to consult their child's school file in order to find out what the evaluation results were.

Most often, parents initiate a private practice psychological evaluation, and parents tend to be the starting point for collection of information and history. A private practice psychologist tends to speak with school officials somewhat later, and may or may not observe a child in the classroom setting. School teachers and other school officials have sometimes reported that a private practice psychologist has not consulted them at all. Unless a parent requests, for some reason, that a private practice psychologist not consult with their child's school, school officials will normally be interviewed and asked to participate in the evaluation process. It is the policy of Red Ladder Optimized Learning to obtain as much information from school staff as possible.

Waiting times tend to be much shorter in private practice psychology, and when a family has extended health insurance, need not cost a lot. Evaluation is generally available throughout the summer and on school holidays, meaning that a child need not miss school to attend.

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Are psycho-educational services available for adults in the public sector?

Limited services are available to adults through hospital-based evaluations units upon referral by a physician. There tends to be a waiting list for these services. Services are also available through the Psychological Services Centre at the University of Manitoba.

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Will a private practice psychologist consult with my child's school?

A private practice psychologist works for the individual client. Where the client is a minor, the psychologist works for the client and his or her parents. With the authorization of the client or a minor client's parents, a private practice psychologist will collect certain kinds of information from a classroom teacher, ask the teacher to complete paperwork related to the child, and may observe a student in the classroom. Consultation with a child's teacher and classroom observation can be vital pieces of information for an evaluation of learning.

However, it is not appropriate for a private practice psychologist to discuss his or her work with anyone apart from the client and family, except when the client has explicitly authorized the exchange of information. That is, although a private practitioner will collect information from a teacher, he or she cannot release information without authorization. In this way, the flow of information is one-way only unless a client or his or her parents authorize something else. The client or his or her parents maintain similar control of private practice psychological findings and report.

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Can I take my child to a psychologist if I don't have legal custody of the child?

As in any health care setting, private or public, a psychologist must have the permission of a minor's legal guardian before beginning any evaluation or intervention with the child or teen, and a psychologist will request formal authorization to work with a minor. Where two parents live together with their child, either or both parents can normally provide the necessary authorization. Where a separated or divorced couple co-parents a child, it will be important to clarify the custodial arrangement in force. Only a custodial parent can provide the required consent to assess and treat, and a non-custodial parent seeking treatment for their child should ask the child's other parent for the necessary permission.

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We will be glad to discuss any of this further with you.