Virtual Group Therapy Practice
Helping people of all ages cope with chronic pain or illness.
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Virtual Group
Therapy Practice
Helping people of all ages cope with chronic pain or illness.
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Chronic Pain
Having chronic pain can affect every aspect of your life, including: your ability to work, parent, do household chores or engage in your favourite hobbies. It can impact your relationships, self-esteem and mood. Sometimes even your preferred coping strategies, such as smoking or simply pushing through the pain, can make your pain worse. Many people with chronic pain feel like their lives have turned upside down. Many say: “I don’t feel like ME anymore.” Managing chronic pain often requires a full “toolbox” of: (1) medical treatments; (2) therapy; (3) lifestyle changes; (4) coping skills. It takes time and effort. It can be hard. However, it is possible to learn new ways to cope with your pain and to improve your quality of life.
Our Clients
Having chronic pain can feel very isolating, but you are not alone. An estimated one in five Canadians lives with chronic pain, and many factors contribute to your risk of developing chronic pain (your age, gender, occupation, ethnicity etc.)
We value equity, inclusion and diversity including all body sizes, abilities, age, race, ethnicity, genders, sexual orientation, religious/spiritual beliefs, and political values.
Our Practice
2. View details & upcoming workshop dates (info button).
3. Find session dates (in bold print) in the monthly calendar.
4. Reserve a spot.
Benefits Of Virtual Group Therapy
We specialize in virtual workshops and treatment groups, which you can access from the comfort of your own home. Clients can log on with a computer, a tablet or a cell phone – from anywhere in Ontario. The videoconferencing technology is easy to master, even with no tech experience. Virtual group therapy is convenient, effective and enjoyable. Our clients agree. Hundreds of clients have completed our workshops and therapy groups, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Research shows that virtual group therapy can be as effective as in-person therapy.
Virtual Workshops
The Chronic Pain "Toolbox"
90 Minutes
$50
Are you struggling to manage your pain, and to participate in your usual daily activities? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Has living with chronic pain triggered frequent bouts of frustration, anger, anxiety or depression? You are not alone. This session will help you to understand your chronic pain symptoms, and your pain triggers. It will help you to avoid common coping strategies that make pain worse, and will introduce you to new and effective pain management strategies. We will provide education, support, coping skills, treatment recommendations, and self-help resources. Need some individual help with treatment planning? Additional individual support is available if required (individual session rates apply).
Fibromyalgia Workshop
90 Minutes
$50
Have you been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia? Are you confused by odd and unpredictable pain symptoms? Have you been told that Fibromyalgia “isn’t a real condition”? or maybe that your pain “is all in your head”? This session will help you to understand FMS symptoms and triggers. We will review FMS research and treatment guidelines, and debunk FMS myths and stigma. This workshop is for individuals who have already attended “The Chronic pain Toolbox”, and are looking for education about their FMS diagnosis.
My Doctor Says I Need to Pace Myself: But How?
90 Minutes
$50
Have you been pushing through the pain to do your daily tasks? Is this getting harder to do over time? Are you experiencing frequent severe pain flare-ups? We call this an “overexertion and crash” pattern of activity, and it is a common pain trigger. This workshop will help you find new ways to do the activities that are important to you, with less pain. We will provide education, self-assessment tools, group problem-solving, coping skills, treatment recommendations, and self-help resources.
Posture and Body Mechanics for Everyday Activities
90 Minutes
$50
How you position your body during activity can influence pain and fatigue. This workshop will provide an overview of proper posture and specific, practical body mechanics strategies for performing daily tasks. From brushing your teeth to preparing meals to gardening, this workshop will touch on the activities that you need and want to do more comfortably. We will provide education, video demonstration, group problem-solving, treatment recommendations and resources.
Applying for Disability - Challenges and Considerations
90 Minutes
$50
Are you struggling to make the decision about whether to apply for government disability? Have you been told you should apply for disability and don’t even know where to start? This workshop will help you understand government disability programs in Ontario and Canada, including Employment Insurance – Sickness Benefits, Canada Pension Plan-Disability, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), and the Disability Tax Credit. We will highlight who is eligible for these programs, what the application processes are, and challenges that chronic illness can present when applying for disability benefits. You will also learn tips for how to complete disability applications, and be given some additional resources to help you through these disability application processes.
Group Therapy
Pain Management Group
10 weeks, 90 minute sessions
$750 + initial assessment
Having a solid understanding of chronic pain, and effective pain management strategies is an important first step. However, managing chronic pain requires lifestyle changes and new coping skills, and change is difficult. Are you struggling to make these changes on your own? Our intensive Pain Management Group helps you to master new skills each week – identifying symptom patterns and pain triggers, relaxation and stress management skills, minimizing emotional distress, modifying and pacing painful activities, preventing and coping with pain flare-ups etc. We help you to set goals, monitor your progress & stay on track. It is hard work, but research shows that cognitive behavioural pain management groups like ours are often more effective than pain medication. Additional individual support is available if required (individual session rates apply).
Depression Treatment Group
10 weeks, 90 minute sessions
$750 + initial assessment
Living with chronic pain is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. Many people with chronic pain begin to struggle with emotional distress – frustration, anger, anxiety and depressed mood. The risk of developing depression is high. Are you feeling low or depressed several days per week? Are you struggling to boost your mood? Do things that usually make you happy leave you feeling “Meh?”. Do you feel numb? Are you someone who coped with stress or emotional distress by staying busy? This group talks about the relationship between chronic pain and depression, and focuses on practical coping strategies to improve your mood and cope with emotional distress without making your pain worse. Group sessions include weekly surveys to help you set goals, monitor your progress & stay on track. Additional individual support is available as needed (individual session rates apply).
“Staying on Track” Group Follow-up Sessions
90 Minutes
$50
· 10-30 patients
Managing chronic pain requires us to make lifestyle changes and master new coping skills. Staying “on track” can be very difficult. Are you struggling to maintain your pain management strategies? Are some situations trickier than others? Are you able to pace yourself and manage your pain at work? In social situations? On vacation? When your mood is low? Group support & problem-solving re: treatment barriers can make a big difference. Each session’s content is guided by participants’ challenges.
Individual Therapy
Mental Health
50 minutes
· Individual assessment & treatment planning prior to our intensive Pain Management Group or Depression Treatment Group.
· Individual support during treatment, or post-treatment individual follow-up.
· Individual therapy for chronic pain, chronic illness, depression, anxiety, stress management, relationship stress / conflict, insomnia, weight loss, etc.
· Treatment modalities: CBT
o Dr. Marilyn Hill, Clinical Psychologist ($250)
o Cynthia Herr, Clinical Social Worker, BA, MSW, RSW ($150)
Occupational Therapy
50 minutes
· Individual assessment & treatment planning prior to our intensive Pain Management Group
· Optional individual support during group treatment, or post-treatment individual follow-up.
o Gillian Fish, BSc(OT), OT Reg. (Ont) ($120)
Meet The Team
Dr. Marilyn Hill
Dr. Marilyn Hill
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology), University of British Columbia
College of Psychologists of Ontario #3267
Ontario Psychological Association
I am a health psychologist with 25 years of work experience in hospital pain clinics helping people learn to live and thrive with chronic pain and/or illness. I am an experienced and skilled group therapist, with a relaxed, down-to-earth and engaging style. Therapy is hard work, but it can also be enjoyable.
There are lots of rewarding moments in my work. I like watching someone take an active role in their health care by working to add new tools and treatments to their Chronic Pain Toolbox. I enjoy seeing someone master a new coping strategy –it’s even more fun if they were skeptical about a coping skill, and mastering it turned out to be life changing! I love watching someone gain confidence that they can cope with the pain, and find joy and laughter again.
What’s more, my colleagues are THE BEST. They are kind, caring, experts who go above and beyond for their patients. I hope that you enjoy working with them as much as I do. Welcome to Strength in Numbers!
Cynthia Herr
Cynthia Herr
MSW, Wilfred Laurier University
RSW, Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers # 803653
Ontario Association of Social Workers # 11140
I am a registered social worker with over 25 years’ experience working with, and learning from, people (just like you!) who are struggling with chronic physical and mental health issues. I love working with people on an individual basis, but there truly is something “magical” about groups.
When people with similar struggles join together – amazing things can happen. In facilitating groups, I have had the pleasure of watching individuals learn from each other, grow together, and co-create meaningful change in their lives.
Reaching out for help may seem intimidating – but it doesn’t have to be. I bring compassion and humour to my work with clients, helping individuals become more active participants in their health care. My colleagues and I are experts in chronic pain, but you are the expert in you. Let’s work together to help you regain those parts of your life you may have thought you lost, and to rebuild a life that is full of personal meaning and purpose!
Gillian Fish
Gillian Fish
BSc(OT), OT Reg(Ont)
University of Toronto
College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario #G205003
Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists
As an OT with over 25 years of experience, I have had the opportunity to work with many people from all walks of life and from diverse backgrounds. The one thing they all have in common is that chronic pain has changed how they are able to participate in the daily activities that bring meaning and a sense of purpose to their life.
What I have learned is this: chronic pain doesn’t have to control your life.
My aim, as your OT, is to understand who and what is most important to you and to provide you with the tools you need to overcome the barriers that chronic pain can create while, at the same time, helping you construct new ways to engage with life. Let’s get started on building that tool box together!
Practical Details
Documentation / Reports
· Workshops: generic session note available, if required for insurance purposes.
· Therapy Groups: brief progress notes available, if required for insurance purposes.
· Any additional documentation required by clients or 3rd party payors will be charged for completion, at the hourly individual services rate.
Scheduling
· Daytime, late afternoon / early evening hours. Some weekend workshops.
· Minimum numbers of participants are required to run workshops and therapy groups.
· Workshops: Self-referral. Register for upcoming workshops here
Payment
· Payment by credit card; credit card details required upon registration. Payments processed & receipts provided following each session.
· Cancellations with more than 48 hrs notice can be rescheduled to a later date without penalty.
· Cancellations with less than 48 hrs notice will not be refunded.
· Clients are responsible for submitting receipts for 3rd party funding, if eligible (WSIB, insurance companies, EAP). Please confirm that services are covered by your benefit programs before scheduling treatment.
· Fees for Psychology, Social Work and Occupational Therapy services can claimed as a medical expense tax credit for income tax purposes.
Photos by Peyton
info@strength-in-numbers-ontario.ca