Affordable & Sliding Scale Counselling

Mountainside Wellness offers a limited number of affordable, low-cost and sliding scale counselling spaces for people in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia who may face financial barriers to accessing private mental health care.

Reduced-cost counselling may be available for people without extended health benefits, students and youth, disabled and neurodivergent people, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Indigenous and BIPOC clients, and people experiencing financial hardship or unstable employment.

Online counselling can also make therapy more accessible for people outside Vancouver by reducing barriers related to transportation, mobility, geographic location, work schedules and other costs associated with attending appointments in person.

Sliding scale counselling is a way of making private mental health care more financially accessible by offering some counselling appointments at reduced rates for people who may not be able to afford the standard fee.

Instead of assuming everyone has the same financial resources, sliding scale counselling recognizes that income, disability, employment, insurance coverage, education and other circumstances can affect a person's ability to pay for therapy.

At Mountainside Wellness, sliding scale spaces are limited and depend on counsellor availability, current capacity and individual circumstances. People experiencing financial barriers are encouraged to contact the practice to ask about current low-cost counselling options.

Yes. Mountainside Wellness specifically encourages people without extended health insurance or workplace counselling benefits to ask about low-cost and sliding scale counselling availability.

Without insurance, the cost of private counselling can become a significant barrier, particularly when someone needs ongoing mental health support. Reduced-cost counselling options are intended to help make support more accessible when paying the full private counselling rate would create financial hardship.

Availability is limited, but not having insurance does not mean you should assume private counselling is automatically out of reach. Contact Mountainside Wellness to discuss current affordable counselling options.

Sliding scale counselling may be available for people who experience financial or systemic barriers to accessing private mental health care.

This can include people without extended health coverage, students and youth, people with lower incomes or unstable employment, disabled people, neurodivergent people, Indigenous clients, BIPOC clients, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and others experiencing financial hardship.

There is not one financial situation that describes everyone who needs affordable counselling. Eligibility and availability can depend on individual circumstances, counsellor availability, service demand and current program capacity.

If the standard cost of private counselling is preventing you from seeking mental health support, you are encouraged to reach out and ask what reduced-cost options may currently be available.

Reduced-cost options may be available for ADHD, autism and neurodiversity-affirming counselling depending on counsellor availability and current sliding scale capacity.

Neurodivergent clients may seek counselling for executive functioning, emotional regulation, sensory overwhelm, ADHD burnout, autistic burnout, masking, relationships, workplace difficulties, self-esteem, anxiety or challenges associated with navigating environments that are not designed around their needs.

Mountainside Wellness is neurodiversity-affirming and does not approach ADHD, autism or other forms of neurodivergence as identities that need to be fixed. Reduced fees do not change the commitment to individualized, respectful and affirming care.

Yes. Sliding scale and low-cost counselling spaces may be available for 2SLGBTQIA+ people experiencing financial barriers to accessing mental health care.

Queer and trans clients may seek counselling for anxiety, depression, relationships, trauma, grief, identity, family concerns, minority stress, discrimination, neurodivergence or other mental health and life challenges.

Mountainside Wellness is proudly 2SLGBTQIA+ owned and provides queer-affirming counselling that respects sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and lived experience without treating identity as something that needs to be changed or justified.

Yes. Depending on counsellor availability and the service being requested, low-cost and sliding scale virtual counselling may be available for clients throughout British Columbia.

Online counselling can make affordable mental health care more accessible to people in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Richmond, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Kamloops and smaller or rural communities throughout BC.

Virtual counselling can also reduce costs and accessibility barriers related to transportation, parking, mobility, childcare, work schedules, anxiety and sensory sensitivities.

Clients can contact Mountainside Wellness to ask about current availability for reduced-cost online counselling.

Sliding scale counselling may be available for students, youth and young adults who would otherwise have difficulty affording private mental health support.

Students and young adults may seek counselling for anxiety, depression, stress, relationships, identity, ADHD, autism, executive functioning, academic pressure, burnout, family difficulties, self-esteem, grief or major life transitions.

Limited income, tuition expenses, part-time employment and lack of extended health coverage can make private counselling difficult to afford. Mountainside Wellness recognizes these barriers and encourages students experiencing financial hardship to ask about current reduced-cost counselling availability.

Yes. Paying a reduced counselling fee does not mean receiving a reduced level of care. Sliding scale counselling changes the cost of accessing the service, not the commitment to providing compassionate, professional and individualized mental health support.

Clients accessing reduced-cost counselling can still work on concerns such as anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, relationships, neurodivergence, emotional regulation, identity, stress and other mental health or life challenges.

Mountainside Wellness's sliding scale program exists because financial circumstances should not determine whether someone deserves respectful and affirming mental health support.

To ask about low-cost or sliding scale counselling, contact Mountainside Wellness and let the team know that the standard cost of private counselling is creating a financial barrier and that you would like to discuss reduced-cost options.

Requests for sliding scale counselling are approached respectfully and confidentially. Mountainside Wellness recognizes that discussing finances can feel uncomfortable and aims to make the process as welcoming and non-judgmental as possible.

Sliding scale spaces are limited and depend on counsellor availability, service demand and current capacity, so reduced-cost appointments cannot always be guaranteed.

If a sliding scale space is available, the team can discuss potential counselling options and help determine which available service or counsellor may be an appropriate fit for your needs.