ICBC

MVA Counselling (for trauma conditions)

As a clinical counsellor, I have been seeing  MVA (motor vehicle accident) clients for over ten years. I also see pedestrians injured by MVAs. I will provide you with an initial assessment, teach you coping practices, provide psychoeducation, and give you targeted treatments to reduce your symptoms. Each client receives supportive and customized treatment according to his or her needs and wishes. I will also write reports as needed, and maintain necessary contact with your law firm and/or ICBC adjustor. 

I help MVA and MVA pedestrian clients deal with:

  • Trauma, including PTSD
  • Anger
  • Depression
  • Grief and Loss
  • Stress and Anxiety
  • Stress related to physical pain
  • I don’t work with brain injuries

Trauma, including PTSD

Trauma or full-blown PTSD is often the overarching psychological condition affecting ICBC MVA clients. When an event, including an MVA, is overwhelming, the brain has difficulty processing it fully. Afterwards a person often feels as if they are reliving an MVA over and over again. Frequently they are affected by psychological and emotional disturbances such as depression and anxiety long after the MVA.

For trauma, I mainly practice an evidence-based therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming). EMDR allows a person to fully or mostly process a traumatic event such as an MVA. The treatment can greatly reduce symptoms and sometimes fully resolves them. EMDR also helps a person to reinterpret a traumatic event like an MVA in a more rational and self-loving way: what once seemed, for instance, like “the universe conspiring against me” will now look more like “being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” See EMDR page.

Information about EMDR

For a meta-study on the effectiveness of EMDR treatment for MVA-related PTSD:http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00213/full

For more info on EMDR research and general info about EMDR:http://www.emdr.com/research-overview/

Also see, “The Evidence on EMDR”:https://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/the-evidence-on-e-m-d-r/

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my treatment be paid for by ICBC?

Most of it. I charge a small user fee so that, after ICBC’s payment to me, I end up being paid my full counselling rate. This is usually between $15 and $25 dollars. I bill ICBC directly (except for the user fee).

How many sessions will be required?

This is difficult to answer because each client has different treatment needs. If you have significant trauma symptoms or full-blown PTSD, you might need as many as 10 or 15 sessions. If your symptoms, trauma or otherwise, are less severe 2 to 8 sessions will likely be sufficient.

Will I have to “re-experience” the MVA in counselling?

If a client does not want to be re-exposed to the MVA, there is absolutely no requirement to do EMDR or (Imaginal) Exposure therapy (two “re-experiencing” treatment modalities I use). If an MVA client has trauma symptoms and does want to try these treatments, which I often recommend, I will move at a pace that is manageable for you. Safe and responsive pacing is crucial for MVA counselling treatment success.