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Home » Recent posts » 5 Leading Psychologists in Ottawa to Trust with Your Mental Health

5 Leading Psychologists in Ottawa to Trust with Your Mental Health

leading-psychologists-in-ottawa
We extensively test and research all services we review. Here's why you can trust us.
  • Qualifications and experience: Firstly, we looked for legit psychologists who featured the necessary licences. We also checked their years of experience.
  • Specialisations: Next, we checked the areas of their expertise.
  • Flexibility and compatibility: We also considered how they build a rapport with their patients.
  • Affordability: Of course, we also had to check their prices to see if they were affordable enough for our liking.
  • Accessibility: Lastly, we took a look at how they’re accessible based on their locations, availability and responsiveness through various channels.

Sometimes, life’s toughest challenges can get the best of us, and that’s okay! When in doubt, you can always seek help, which is where finding the right mental health professional can make a big difference.

As a lifelong Ottawan, I consider myself lucky to be living in a city wealthy with amazing psychiatrists (psychiatrists ottawa) and psychologists who offer expert help and personalised care. So whether you’re seeking refuge from anxiety, depression and other mental health hurdles, we’ve got you covered!

We’ve listed down and reviewed the top psychologists in Ottawa and explained why you should check them out.

How much do psychologists cost in Ottawa?

Psychologists in Ottawa typically charge anywhere from 230 CAD to 250 CAD or more per hour.

1. Dr. Jill Firestone – Firestone CBT Clinic

dr-jill-firestone-firestone-cbt-clinic

Services: Couples therapy, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, perfectionism therapy

Location: 1600 Scott St Suite 412 (Tower B, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4N7, Canada

Contact: +1 613-319-8000

Business hours:

  • Monday to Friday: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
  • Friday: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Website

Dr. Firestone immediately caught our attention when we discovered that she was the founder of her own clinic, Firestone CBT Clinic. Under her is a talented team of licensed and registered psychologists but for this review, we’ll focus on Dr. Firestone herself.

One of the first things we want to highlight about her is the 19+ years of experience she has under her belt. She has a Phd in clinical psychology and she spent all those years lending her services in various hospitals and private clinics in Ottawa.

We also love that she covers a wide area of mental health issues, catering to people with depression, anxiety, eating disorders and more. 

Through her assessment, treatment and consultations, she can help adults and adolescents battle these issues in a safe and comfortable environment.

The only thing we would change is her pricey rates, as we think it can be seen as a red flag by potential patients. Furthermore, we would’ve loved it if the clinic would operate on weekends as well since not a lot of people have free time throughout the week.

Pros

  • 19+ years of experience
  • Caters to different mental health issues
  • Warm and inviting personality

Cons

  • Limited operating hours
  • Pricey

2. Jamie D. Brooks – Westboro Psychology

jamie-d-brooks-westboro-psychology

Services: Individual therapy, adult ADHD assessments, COPE Well Groups, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Location: 385 Danforth Ave, Ottawa, ON K2A 0E1, Canada

Contact: +1 613-563-4492

Business hours: 

  • Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
  • Saturday: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Website

Right off the bat, Jamie D. Brooks wowed us by the fact that she founded this clinic as well as another Ontario-based organisation called COPE Well Groups. As far as experience goes, she’s more than reliable, having completed her full licence back in 2012.

One of the things we love about Brooks is her wide area of expertise, being able to cater to people with common issues like stress, depression and anxiety. Moreover, she can also lend her services to lesser-known problems like self-doubt, life transitions and perfectionism.

We also appreciate her diverse therapeutic styles that can cater to both adolescents and adults. For instance, she uses treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy while also offering compassion-focused therapy.

The only problem with booking Brooks is her pricey rates, which can throw off some potential patients. However, we can say that it’s money well spent, as you’ll be getting years of experience in return.

Pros

  • Founder of 2 mental health organisations
  • Caters to a wide array of areas of focus
  • Offers various therapeutic therapies and styles

Cons

  • Pricey rates

Helped me out with everything I needed

“Amazing Staff and spectacular service. They helped me out with everything I needed and didn’t stop there. Even reached out to me to make sure all was well after I stopped my sessions. Highly Recommended.”

-Ivan,  Google Review

Highly recommend their services

“This practice is very knowledgeable and professional. Great for kids, teenagers, or adults. I would highly recommend their services.”

-Curtis Golding, Google Review

3. Dr. Ryan J. Ferguson – Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

dr-ryan-j-ferguson-ottawa-institute-of-cognitive-behavioural-therapy

Services: Biology, chemistry, physics, maths, science, computer science

Location: 411 Roosevelt Ave #101, Ottawa, ON K2A 3X9, Canada

Contact: +1 613-820-9931

Business hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Website

Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is always on our radar when making lists about mental health because of its talented team. In this case, we wanted to highlight Dr. Ferguson, who is a clinical psychologist under supervised practice.

Something about Dr. Ferguson that stood out to us is his interest in treating anxiety and all of its related symptoms or problems (e.g. hair pulling, OCD, etc.).

We, along with his previous patients whom we interviewed feel like he understands the relativity of this disorder in today’s day and age. He approaches patients suffering from this issue using evidence-based therapies such as cognitive processing therapy and behavioural activation.

The only downside with this psychologist is his relatively young career, which can be a huge deciding factor with people who associate reliability with years of experience. However, we do want to say that he’s just as legit as tenured psychologists if you give him a shot!

Pros

  • Covers a wide area of specialties and focus
  • Doctor of Philosophy and Clinical Psychology
  • Personable
  • Offers both online and in-person psychology

Cons

  • Relatively young career as a psychologist

Eternally grateful

“I am eternally grateful for this practice, my intake process matching me with the right therapist for me, and for my therapist. I went from absolute rock bottom to a place of mental stability and safety I’ve never had – not in my adult life, and quite possibly ever. Period.

To those reviewers spouting negativity on the intake process, here are some bits of information you may want to know:

1. Repeat questions during intake are necessary. It’s part of psychology to check for inconsistent answers, or a change in perspective when offered the question with slightly different wording.

2. Questions may be triggering but that’s kind of a given. Your therapist needs to know what triggers you! How could you possibly expect to get through therapy without addressing the things that hurt you and caused your reactions in the first place??

3. A paid assessment and intake session to match you with the correct therapist based on your history, triggers, current concerns and desires, etc is essential. How do you expect to find the correct therapist for your needs? 

Choosing someone on your own based on photos and snipers of information in an online bio will be far less effective than having a literally trained professional make that match for you. And doing so costs them time and overhead so, yeah, you’re going to be charged for it.

To make matters worse, being in a profession where confidentiality is everything, they can’t even defend themselves against any of these reviews because they can’t confirm that any of these people have been clients with their practice. It’s a lose-lose situation.

People in need of behavioural/psychological help are typically not in the correct mindset to be handling their own day-to-day struggles, let alone trustworthy/accurate/providing the full picture in a pragmatic sense for a review of a group of professionals who have literally vowed to help them. 

Going online to spread negativity when in that mindset is not necessarily accurate, nor will it be helpful.

These people have literally helped save my life. For that, I am eternally grateful.”

-Amy Greenberg, Google Review

VERY helpful

“Went in 2018 and it was VERY helpful. I still use the skills I learned to this very day. I recommend if you are open to pushing your boundaries and getting out of your comfort zone to heal.”

-Sharon T., Google Review

4. Dr. Melisa Arias-Valenzuela – Uprise Psychology

dr-melisa-arias-valenzuela-uprise-psychology

Services: Stress management and burnout, depression, anxiety, ADHD therapy

Location: 130 Albert St Suite 1204, Ottawa, ON K1P 5G4, Canada

Contact: +1 613-695-7133

Business hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Website

Dr. Arias-Valenzuela from Uprise Psychology was talked about so fondly by their previous clients, highlighting her collaborative and compassionate approach so we immediately took a closer look. 

Discovering that she’s a mother and a second-generation immigrant, we instantly got why. Her being a Latino also lends to her being able to cater to a broader audience, as she can speak English, French, Spanish, which we thought was pretty neat. 

We were also impressed with the experience she got from training at mental health hospitals, university clinics and more.

What we love the most about Dr. Arias-Valenzuela, however, is her wide area of expertise, catering to common mental health issues like anxiety, trauma, grief and more. 

Plus, she approaches these issues with psychological interventions backed by scientific data so you know she’s efficient with her work.

The only potential red flag we see here is the limited operating hours, as the clinic is only open on weekdays. This could be frustrating for patients who don’t have that much free time on their hands on the weekends or if they want to spend their rest days at home.

Pros

  • Wide area of expertise
  • Multilingual (English, French and Spanish)
  • Collaborative and compassionate approach

Cons

  • Closed on weekends

Compassionate, professional and patient-centred

“Uprise Psychology & Wellness is one of the first places that I recommend to clients when they are looking for weight-inclusive mental health support. They are compassionate, professional, patient-centred, and they truly care about the health and wellbeing of their clients.”

-Jennifer Neale, Google Review

A clinic I trust

“I would absolutely recommend working with the team at Uprise Psychology & Wellness. They combine their compassionate, caring and person-centred approach beautifully with their clinical skills to provide effective treatment for mental health challenges. 

This is absolutely a clinic I trust. Thank you for all you do!”

-Marie-Pier Pitre-D’Iorio, Google Review

5. Dr. Arthur Blouin – Ottawa Centre for Cognitive Therapy

dr-arthur-blouin-ottawa-centre-for-cognitive-therapy

Services: Cognitive therapy, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias

Location: 1150 Morrison Dr #400C, Ottawa, ON K2H 8S9, Canada

Contact: +1 613-729-0801

Business hours:

  • Monday to Thursday: 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM
  • Friday: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Website

With over 40 years of experience, it was a no-brainer to include Dr. Blouin in a list consisting of the best psychologists in Ottawa. He’s also the director of the Ottawa Centre for Cognitive Therapy, which goes to show his impact in promoting mental health in the Ottawa region.

Dr. Blouin is widely praised by his previous clients, with some of our interviewees highlighting his warm approach to therapy. Through research, we also discovered that he approaches each patient uniquely, understanding their needs thoroughly to provide help.

We also love his wide area of specialities that range from anxiety to eating disorders, depression, stress management and PTSD. He also caters to those suffering from attention deficit disorder.

The main downside with this psychologist is his pricey rates, which can be argued as being reasonable thanks to his expertise and experience. Furthermore, we wish that they would extend their operating hours through the weekends.

Pros

  • Wide array of clinical specialities
  • 40+ years of experience

Cons

  • Closed on weekends
  • Expensive