Stress counselling · Online only · BC & 5 other provinces
Stress Counselling Online
For the pressure that does not lift when the week ends.
You can see a counsellor about stress from home, anywhere in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Newfoundland and Labrador. Every session is online, so there is no office to find and no waiting room to sit in. Sessions are in English or Arabic, and in Hindi or Malayalam for clients in BC. There is no waitlist.
Opens our booking page on Jane, set to the free consultation. Pick "New Client Consultation (Telehealth) – 15 minutes" and a time that suits you. Jane asks you to create a free account to confirm it, and there is nothing to pay.
Prefer not to create an account? Text two times that suit you to (519) 760-5211 and we will book it for you, or send them through the short form. We reply with two consultation times, usually within 24 hours. If you would rather work with a particular clinician, say so and it is arranged.
$150 individual · $175 couples · 60 minutes · direct billing with Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans (Canada Life, Manulife); an insurance-ready receipt for every other plan. Fees & insurance · Direct billing
At a glance
Stress counselling online in BC and five other provinces, at a glance. TEO Counselling offers one-to-one counselling for stress to adults in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador. You would see Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC (CCPA #11249205), or Rola Shbib, BSW (Hons), RSW (Ontario) (OCSWSSW #866715), in any of the six provinces, or Alison Shaji, MA Clinical Psychology, RCC (BCACC #22608), if you live in British Columbia. A session is $150 for 60 minutes, with no intake fee and no package. The session window is 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm Pacific, every day of the week. An insurance-ready receipt follows every session; Mohamad, and Alison for BC clients, can bill Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans directly. Provincial health plans such as MSP and OHIP do not pay for private-practice counselling. There is no waitlist. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation, on a video call or a scheduled phone call, with no referral needed.
Counselling for stress — when it stops being a busy week
Counselling for stress is for the point where the pressure has stopped being a busy week and has become the way you live: sleep that does not restore you, a short fuse, a body that stays braced after the demand has passed. You do not need a diagnosis to book, and you do not need to be falling apart.
The sources are usually ordinary. A job that has quietly doubled. Money that does not stretch. A parent who needs more than you can give. A relationship that takes energy instead of returning it. Immigration paperwork, a health scare, exams, a move. One of these is manageable. Three at once, for a year, is a different thing, and the body treats it differently too.
People who book for stress tend to describe the same handful of things. They cannot switch off. They snap at people they love and regret it. Their shoulders, jaw or stomach have been tight for weeks. They forget what they walked into the room for. They have started leaning on a drink, a screen or food to come down at night. None of that is a diagnosis. It is a load, and a response to the load, and both can be worked with.
When another page is the closer fit
- Work is the whole story, and rest no longer touches it. That pattern has its own page: burnout therapy.
- The worry has a life of its own, even when things are calm. See anxiety therapy, which covers panic and social anxiety too.
- The stress comes from what your job required you to see. Police, fire, paramedics, dispatchers and emergency staff have a page written for them: first responder therapy.
- Sleep is the main casualty. The sleep therapy page covers insomnia and a mind that will not switch off at night.
If you cannot tell which of these you are, book here. Sorting that out is part of what the free consultation is for.
Stress therapist or stress counsellor: what the session is
Whether you search for a stress therapist or a stress counsellor, you are describing the same thing: a clinician you see one-to-one about the stress itself. A session is 60 minutes, online. You describe what is loading you, how it shows up, and what you have tried, and together you set a focus for the work.
The first session is mostly listening. Your counsellor wants the whole picture before anyone suggests anything: the demands, the people, the sleep, the body, the things you have already tried that did not hold. By the end of it you should have a shared sense of what the work is about, and you can change that focus later if the first guess was wrong.
After that, what the sessions draw on depends on you and on the counsellor you are matched with. With Mohamad, and with Alison for clients in BC, CBT looks at the rules that keep the pressure on, such as "if I stop, it falls apart", and tests them against what actually happens. DBT skills, which both also hold training in, are for riding out the spike in the moment without doing something you will regret. With Mohamad, IFS Level 1 (Level 2 in progress) works with the inner parts that keep saying yes, and the part that is tired of it. EMDR, with Mohamad or with Alison in BC, is for stress that is tangled up with something that happened to you. All three clinicians hold attachment-based training, which matters when the stress lives in your closest relationships rather than in your calendar.
Sessions are practical. You leave each one with something to notice or try before the next, and you report back on what happened. Your counsellor will tell you plainly if they think a doctor should also be involved, for example if the exhaustion or the low mood looks like more than a load problem.
What stress counselling is not
- It is not a stress-management class. There is no slide deck and no set curriculum. The content comes from your week, not ours.
- It is not a diagnosis or a prescription. Counsellors and psychotherapists do not diagnose or prescribe. If medication is a question for you, your doctor or nurse practitioner is the person to ask.
- It is not a note for your employer. A medical note for time off work comes from a physician or nurse practitioner. Counselling can help you think through whether to ask for one, and what you would do with the time.
- It is not a crisis service. The crisis lines are further down this page, and they answer at any hour.
Stress management counselling vs the free kit
Stress management counselling is live work with a counsellor who responds to you; the free Stress and Burnout Recovery Kit is a printable you work through alone. The kit helps you map where the week leaks. Counselling is for when you have mapped it and still cannot change it, or when the load has roots the worksheet cannot reach.
Many people searching for stress counselling have already tried the self-help route: the apps, the breathing exercises, the lists. Those are not wasted. They are also not the same as sitting with someone whose job is to notice what you cannot see from inside your own week, and to stay with the problem over several sessions rather than one evening.
If counselling is what you came for
Book the free 15-minute consultation and talk it through with a counsellor. No referral, no intake fee, and no waitlist.
Or text (519) 760-5211 with two times that suit you and we will book it for you.
If you want the worksheet first, or alongside sessions, the Stress and Burnout Recovery Kit is free to download, with no email address asked for. It holds a load audit and a recovery planner written for someone who still has a job and a household to run while using it. It sits alongside the counselling rather than replacing it.
Who you would see
Stress counselling at TEO is with one of three clinicians. Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC, and Rola Shbib, RSW (Ontario), see clients in all six provinces. Alison Shaji, RCC, sees clients in British Columbia. All three hold attachment-based training, and which one you see depends on where you live, your language and what the stress is attached to.
Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC is a Canadian Certified Counsellor with the CCPA (#11249205) and the founder of the practice. He works in English and Arabic across all six provinces. His training includes CBT for Trauma, DBT, EMDR through an EMDRIA-approved program, and IFS Level 1 (Level 2 in progress). He also brings concurrent trauma and addictions experience, which is relevant when stress is being managed with alcohol or other substances. Clients who want to work in Arabic can read more on the Arabic-speaking therapist page.
Alison Shaji, MA Clinical Psychology, RCC is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (#22608), so she sees clients in British Columbia only, in English, Hindi or Malayalam. Her training includes CBT, DBT, EMDR and EFFT, with inner-child and shadow work for stress that has older roots than the current week.
Rola Shbib, BSW (Hons), RSW (Ontario) is a Registered Social Worker with the OCSWSSW (#866715) and works with individuals in all six provinces, in English. Her background is grief and bereavement, crisis intervention and addictions and mental health support, which suits stress that arrived with a loss, a crisis or a struggle with substances. Sessions with Rola are paid per session with an insurance-ready receipt; she is not on the direct-billing line.
You can check each registration on the public register linked from the clinician's own page. If the gender, language, faith or background of your counsellor matters to you, say so on the consultation call and it is taken into account. If we think someone else would serve you better, we will tell you.
Stress counselling cost
- One individual session is $150 and lasts 60 minutes. If the stress sits between you and a partner and you want to come as a pair, a couples session is $175, with Mohamad or, in BC, Alison.
- The first 15-minute consultation is free, and no referral is needed.
- You pay per session, by Interac e-Transfer or credit card through Jane. No package, no intake fee, and receipts are free.
- A session can be cancelled or moved without charge with at least 24 hours' notice.
Insurance. MSP, OHIP and the other provincial plans do not pay for counselling in private practice. An extended health plan through work may. Each plan names the kinds of counsellors it reimburses, so look for CCC (Mohamad), RCC (Alison) or RSW (Rola) in yours, and ask whether it wants a doctor's referral before the first claim.
Direct billing. Mohamad, and Alison for BC clients, can bill Pacific Blue Cross, and Canada Life and Manulife through TELUS eClaims, so you pay only the remainder. Everyone receives an insurance-ready receipt after every session, whichever clinician they see. The fees page and the direct billing page have the full detail.
How to book stress counselling
- Book the free consultation on Jane. Tap the booking button on this page and pick "New Client Consultation (Telehealth) – 15 minutes" from the list. The calendar shows the open times before you commit to one. There is no waitlist, and a first full session can follow as early as the next day when a clinician has the time. Jane will ask you to create a free account.
- Or have us book it. Text (519) 760-5211 with two times that suit you, or send the short form at the bottom of this page, and we reply with consultation times, usually within 24 hours.
- Use the consultation to decide. It is 15 minutes, on a video call or a scheduled phone call, with Mohamad or with Rola. Say what the stress is, where you live and which hours work. Ask about fees, insurance and training. You are matched with the clinician who fits, and you are under no obligation to continue.
- Start sessions. Each one is 60 minutes, online, joined through Jane. Sessions are between 12:00 pm and 9:00 pm Pacific, which is 3:00 pm to midnight Eastern.
If you want to see the whole process before you click anything, read what to expect in online therapy.
Questions people ask before booking
What is stress counselling?
Stress counselling is one-to-one counselling that takes the stress itself as the problem to work on: what is loading you, how your body and mind are reacting, and what you can change. At TEO Counselling it is online, 60 minutes at $150, with one of three counsellors. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation, and there is no waitlist.
Is a stress therapist different from a stress counsellor?
In everyday use, no. Stress therapist and stress counsellor both mean someone you see one-to-one about stress. Which titles are regulated varies by province in Canada, so the useful question is what the person is registered as and where you can check it. TEO's three clinicians hold CCC, RCC or RSW registrations, with the register numbers on this page.
What happens in a stress counselling session?
You and your counsellor start with what the stress looks like for you right now: where it comes from, how it shows up in your body, sleep and mood, and what you have tried. From there you agree on a focus. Sessions are 60 minutes, online, and you set the pace. Nothing is assigned that you have not agreed to.
Is stress counselling the same as burnout therapy?
They overlap. Stress is the load and your response to it, and it usually eases when the demand does. Burnout is what can build when work stress runs unmanaged for a long time. If work is the main source and rest has stopped helping, the burnout therapy page may fit better. If you are not sure, say so on the free consultation.
Can I see a therapist for stress online?
Yes. Every session at TEO Counselling is online, through a secure video call on Jane, with Zoom or Google Meet as a backup. You join from any private space with a stable connection. Sessions run 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm Pacific, seven days a week (3:00 pm to midnight Eastern), so evenings and weekends are open in every province.
How much does stress counselling cost?
Each individual session costs $150 and runs 60 minutes. The first 15-minute consultation is free, and no referral is needed. You pay per session, by Interac e-Transfer or credit card through Jane, with no package and no intake fee. An insurance-ready receipt follows every session, and Mohamad, or Alison for BC clients, can bill Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans directly.
Is stress counselling covered by insurance?
No provincial health plan pays for counselling in private practice, so MSP, OHIP and the others do not apply. An extended health plan through work may reimburse it. Plans differ on which counsellors they pay for, so look for CCC, RCC or RSW in your plan's wording and ask whether it wants a doctor's referral first. A receipt follows every session.
Is there a waitlist for stress counselling at TEO?
No. There is no waitlist for any of the three clinicians. After the free consultation you choose a session time from the open calendar, within the 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm Pacific window, seven days a week. If the first time offered does not suit you, say so and another is found.
Should I see a doctor or a counsellor for stress?
Both can help, and they do different jobs. A doctor or nurse practitioner can check whether something physical is adding to how you feel, and completes any note you need for time away from work. A counsellor works with you on the load, the thinking and the habits around it. Counsellors do not diagnose or prescribe, and no referral is needed.
How many sessions of stress counselling will I need?
There is no set number and no package. Some people come for a handful of sessions around one pressure, such as a job change or a stretch of caregiving. Others stay longer because the stress has older roots. You review it with your counsellor as you go and can stop whenever you choose. Nobody can honestly tell you the number in advance.
Do I need a referral for stress counselling?
No. You book the free 15-minute consultation yourself, online or by text, and nobody has to send you. Insurance is the one place a referral can matter: some extended health plans ask for a doctor's referral before they reimburse counselling, so check your plan's wording if you intend to claim.
What if I am in crisis right now?
Counselling is not a crisis service, and a booking page is not the place for an emergency. If you are thinking about ending your life, call or text 9-8-8 at any hour. When there is immediate danger, the number is 911. Once you are safe, counselling can be part of what comes next, and the free consultation is open to you.
Longer pieces on stress
High-Functioning Anxiety: Signs, Causes and What Helps
When the to-do list gets done and the inside runs hot anyway, and how that differs from stress and burnout.
Functional Freeze: When You Look Fine but Everything Feels Hard
Why a long stretch of pressure can leave you looking fine and feeling stuck, and why pushing harder backfires.
Start with a free 15-minute conversation.
Tell a counsellor what the pressure looks like from inside your week, on a video call or a scheduled phone call, and hear how the work would go. If we are not the right fit, we say so.
Book a Free ConsultationOr text (519) 760-5211
Prefer not to create an account? We can book it for you.
Send your name, a way to reach you and a few times that usually suit you. We will book your free 15-minute consultation at one of those times, or offer the nearest open one, and confirm by email or text, usually within 24 hours.