Direct billing and insurance
Paying for therapy, with less to carry.
Insurance paperwork should not be the hardest part of starting. This page walks through how paying for counselling actually works (direct billing, extended health plans, ICBC and CVAP funding, receipts) in plain language, with no surprises saved for later.
The short version
Many extended health plans cover counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). Whether yours does, and how much, is written into your specific plan.
Where your insurer and plan allow it, I bill them directly, so less comes out of your pocket at the time of your session. Where they do not, you get a receipt to claim back yourself.
ICBC and CVAP work differently. They are funded programs rather than benefits plans, and in most cases I bill them directly, so there is nothing for you to submit.
What direct billing is
Direct billing means I send the claim to your insurer myself, right after your session, and they pay their share straight to the practice. You pay only whatever portion your plan does not cover, and there are no forms to photograph, submit, or chase afterwards.
Direct billing for counselling has opened up considerably in the last few years. Here it runs through three routes: Pacific Blue Cross, which began accepting claims from Registered Clinical Counsellors in 2025; Sun Life; and the TELUS eClaims network, the shared system that carries Canada Life, Manulife, Desjardins, Industrial Alliance, and about thirty more insurers.
What it is not
Direct billing is not a promise of coverage. Your plan decides whether counselling with an RCC is covered, how much per session, how much per year, and whether it allows me to bill on your behalf at all. Some plans insist on reimbursing only you. That decision sits with your plan, not with me and not with the insurer’s general policy.
If your plan will not accept billing from me, nothing is lost: you pay for the session, I give you a receipt with my registration details on it, and you submit it through your insurer’s app or website. Most make that a few minutes’ work.
How we set it up, step by step
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01
Check what your plan covers
Before your first session, call your insurer or open their app and check the counselling benefit. The exact questions worth asking are listed just below. The whole call usually takes about ten minutes, and it means your first session starts with no money questions hanging over it.
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02
Sign your insurer’s consent form
Insurers need your written permission before I can bill on your behalf. There are three forms just below: one for Pacific Blue Cross, one for Sun Life, and one that covers every insurer on the TELUS eClaims network. Download the one that matches your insurer and fill in what you can; it stays on file here as long as billing continues.
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03
Share the details, securely
Alongside the signed form, I need three things from your benefits card: your insurer’s name, the policy or group number, and your member ID. When we set up your billing I will show you the simplest secure way to return everything, usually through Jane, the same secure site that handles booking here. Please keep policy numbers and signed forms out of plain email.
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04
Sessions, with the billing in the background
Before your first session I confirm whether your insurer accepts billing from me for your plan, and tell you plainly either way. Where direct billing is in place, I submit the claim after each session and your plan’s share never touches your account. Anything your plan does not cover (a co-pay, or the difference once a yearly maximum runs out) is settled the way any session fee is.
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A receipt after every session, either way
Whether your insurer was billed directly or not, you always receive a receipt with my name, my RCC registration number, and the session details on it. That covers everything an insurer or your tax records could ask for.
The consent forms
Each insurer asks for its own version of the same permission: your written consent for me to send claims on your behalf and for them to pay the practice directly. Pick the one that matches your insurer. If yours is not Pacific Blue Cross or Sun Life, the TELUS eClaims form is almost certainly the one you need.
Pacific Blue Cross
PBC’s “Pay Provider Authorization” runs to one page, signed by each person receiving sessions (a parent or guardian signs for a child).
Download the form (PDF)Sun Life
Sun Life’s plan member consent form, signed by whoever holds the benefits plan, even when the sessions are for a spouse or child on the plan.
Download the form (PDF)Everyone on TELUS eClaims
One form covers the whole network: Canada Life, Manulife, Desjardins, Industrial Alliance, and the rest. It authorizes electronic claims and payment to the practice.
Download the form (PDF)Not sure which form is yours, or stuck on a field? Leave it blank and we will finish it together when we set up your billing. Please return signed forms via email.
Before your first session
Six questions for your insurer
Have your benefits card handy, call the number on the back or open the app, and ask these. Jot the answers down. They decide what your sessions will cost you.
- Does my plan cover counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) in British Columbia?
- How much is covered per session, and is there a yearly maximum?
- Can the counsellor bill you directly, or do I pay and claim it back?
- Do I need a doctor’s referral for counselling to be covered?
- Are virtual video sessions covered the same as in-person ones?
- When does my benefit year reset?
The wording matters. Ask about “Registered Clinical Counsellor” specifically, not just “counselling”, since plans name the designations they cover.
For direct billing
What I’ll need from you
Your signed consent form, plus three details from your benefits card. All of it returned securely, never by plain email.
- Your insurer’s name
- Your policy or group number
- Your member or certificate ID
If anything about your coverage is unclear, bring it to the free consultation. Money questions are completely welcome there, and it is much nicer to sort them out together than to worry alone.
Funded programs
ICBC and CVAP work differently, and often better.
These are public programs rather than benefits plans. If one of them applies to you, counselling may be covered without touching your extended health benefits at all. In most cases I bill the program directly, so there is nothing for you to pay upfront or claim back.
ICBC, after a motor vehicle accident
If you have an open ICBC claim, counselling sessions are pre-approved for the first 12 weeks after the accident, with no doctor’s referral needed. I bill ICBC directly where your claim allows it. To start, I’ll need your claim number, the date of the accident, your date of birth, and your Personal Health Number.
If more than 12 weeks have passed, coverage may still be available. In that case I submit a treatment plan to ICBC and guide you through the process.
More about ICBC-funded counsellingCVAP, after a violent crime
The Crime Victim Assistance Program can fund counselling for people harmed by violent crime in BC, and for immediate family members and witnesses too, with the number of funded hours set by the program’s written decision on your claim. Sessions by video are included.
The application takes some paperwork, and you do not have to face it alone: we can review your CVAP benefits together, and I bill the program directly where applicable.
More about CVAP-funded counsellingQuestions people ask about billing
Three routes are set up here: Pacific Blue Cross, Sun Life, and the TELUS eClaims network, which carries Canada Life, Manulife, Desjardins, Industrial Alliance, and about thirty more insurers. Whether a claim from me is accepted still depends on your specific plan; an individual plan can choose to reimburse only you. So I confirm what is possible for your plan before your first session, and tell you plainly.
Not at all. It just means one extra step for you. You pay for the session, I hand you a receipt with everything your insurer needs on it, and you submit it through their app or website. The cost to you ends up the same; only the order of events differs.
No. The 15-minute consultation is free, is not billed to you, your insurer, or any program, and does not use up any of your covered sessions. It is simply a conversation to see whether working together feels right.
I will tell you before it happens, never after, so there are no surprise bills. From there you choose what fits: continuing at the regular fee, spacing sessions differently until your benefit year resets, or asking about reduced-fee spaces if cost is a barrier. All three are normal choices.
Often, yes. Many plans cover couples and family counselling under the same counselling benefit, billed under the plan member’s coverage. It is worth asking your insurer that question directly when you check your plan, since a few plans word the benefit as individual counselling only.
Still unsure what your plan covers?
Bring the confusion as it is: a photo of a benefits booklet, a half-answered phone call, or nothing at all. We can sort out the money part together in the free consultation, before you commit to anything.