Registered Massage Therapy

Yes. The Benefits Planning Session is complimentary and there is no obligation to book treatment afterwards. You leave with a plan either way.

Not to see us. Physiotherapy is direct-access in British Columbia, so you can book without a referral. Some extended health plans still ask for one before they will reimburse, so it is worth checking your policy before your first visit.

The therapist. A registered massage therapist is a regulated health professional, which is why the treatment is usually claimable on extended health and a spa massage is not. The session is also built around a problem rather than around relaxation, though it can be both.

No. Arriving without a clear brief is normal, and working out what the problem actually is can be most of the early work.

Usually, at least in part. Most extended health plans written in British Columbia include a naturopathic allowance, and it is one of the least-claimed lines on them.

What varies is the shape of it — an annual dollar maximum, sometimes a per-visit cap, occasionally a combined maximum shared with other practitioners. Your booklet will say. We can direct bill eligible plans, so in many cases you only pay the difference.

No. EMDR does not depend on you giving a full narrative out loud, which is part of why people choose it.

Your clinician needs enough to work with. How much you say beyond that is yours to decide.

No. Hypnosis in a clinical setting is focused attention and deep relaxation, not sleep and not the version you have seen on a stage.

You remain aware of where you are, you can speak, and you can stop at any point. Nobody can make you do anything you would not otherwise do.

They are different trainings and different designations. Registered dietitian is a protected title in British Columbia with its own regulatory college, and it is the designation most insurers require before they will reimburse nutrition counselling.

Holistic nutrition is a separate field with its own training. Ask us who you would be seeing here, and check that against your plan before you count on coverage.

No. Classes are small and built for all levels, and you are told how to scale a movement rather than left to work it out from the back row.

If it is your first class, arrive a few minutes early and say so — the instructor will keep an eye on you.

No. These are aesthetic and relaxation treatments rather than registered massage therapy, and no extended health plan in British Columbia will reimburse them.

If what you need is claimable treatment for a specific problem, book registered massage therapy instead — same building, different appointment, and we will tell you which one you actually want.

No. Skin treatments are not claimable on extended health plans, and we would rather say so plainly than have you find out at the desk.

They are self-pay, and worth budgeting for as such alongside the parts of your care that your plan does cover.

Two separate questions, and the distinction saves people money.

The naturopathic assessment is generally claimable under your naturopathic allowance. The infusion itself generally is not, and most plans treat it as self-pay. So the useful thing to know before booking is how much of your naturopathic maximum is still available this year.

Because iron can be given in the wrong amount, and dosing without a current picture is not safe. Recent ferritin and related values tell your naturopathic physician whether infusion is appropriate at all, and if so how much.

If you do not have testing from the past three months, a lab requisition can be provided at the assessment visit.

You lie down fully clothed. Nadine places her hands lightly on or just above specific areas of the body, and works with sound and intuitive guidance alongside that. You do not have to talk and there is nothing to do.

Most people describe it as deeply relaxing. Some fall asleep, which is fine.

Twenty minutes lying in a HigherDOSE infrared sauna blanket. Infrared warms the body through rather than heating the air around you, so it feels different from a traditional sauna.

Come hydrated, bring water, and expect to sweat. You will want a few minutes to cool down afterwards.

Your benefits booklet if you have it, or just the number on the back of your insurance card. If you have neither, come anyway — part of the session is working out what to ask your provider.

Sixty minutes, at $185. Most of it is assessment. Follow-ups run thirty minutes at $95.

Forty-five minutes is enough for a single area. Sixty is the usual choice. Seventy-five is worth it when there is more than one thing going on, or when you want treatment and time to settle afterwards.

Yes. Each of our counsellors offers a free introductory consultation so you can find the right fit before committing to a full session.

No, and you should not. Naturopathic care here is designed to sit alongside your family physician rather than replace them.

Bring a list of what you are taking and tell your naturopathic physician who else is involved in your care. Interactions between prescriptions and supplements are real, and they are easier to manage when everyone knows.

There is no standard number. Preparation comes first — sometimes several sessions of it — before any processing begins, and skipping that part is how EMDR goes badly.

Your clinician will give you a sense of the shape of it once they know what you are working on.

It depends on what you are working on. A specific fear often takes fewer sessions than a long-standing pattern.

Sessions are not sold as a fixed programme, and you are not asked to commit to a block up front.

No, and protocols that ask you to tend not to survive a fortnight.

The first session includes what you are not willing to give up. That is not politeness — a plan built around your actual week is the only kind that gets followed.

Sculpt is strength — light to moderate weights, controlled tempo, training the body through connected lines rather than one muscle at a time. It is built for longevity rather than for a look.

Stretch is slow full-body mobility with blocks, straps, bolsters and release balls. Most people who come regularly do both.

Training and purpose. A registered massage therapist is a regulated health professional treating a clinical problem, which is why it is claimable and why the session involves assessment.

These treatments are for relaxation, circulation and recovery. Different skill, different intent, and both are legitimate — they are just not interchangeable.

LED uses specific wavelengths of light on the skin; microcurrent uses a very low-level electrical current to work with the muscles of the face. Both are non-invasive and neither involves downtime.

Results are gradual and cumulative rather than dramatic. Your aesthetician will tell you what to reasonably expect from one appointment versus a series, which is usually the most useful five minutes of the visit.

Yes. Nothing is administered before a naturopathic doctor has taken your history, reviewed what you are taking and decided that infusion is appropriate for you.

That is not an upsell — IV therapy is not suitable for everyone, and the assessment is where that gets established.

Sometimes, and if that is the better route for you we will tell you. Where iron is low enough, infusion can often be arranged through the public system at no cost to you.

We would rather send you there than take your money for something you could get covered.

No, and we will not describe it as one. Reiki is a relaxation practice. It is not a treatment for any medical condition and it is not a substitute for care from a physician or a regulated health professional.

It sits alongside the rest of what you are doing, not in place of it.

Yes. If you are pregnant, have a cardiovascular condition, low or unstable blood pressure, an implanted device, or are taking medication that affects how you regulate heat or fluid, check with your physician first and tell us before you book.

If in doubt, ask. It is twenty minutes — it is not worth a risk.

The session is still useful. Without a plan to spend, the triage matters more, not less: what is most pressing, what will make the biggest difference, and what it would actually cost.

It depends on what the assessment finds, and you will get an honest estimate at the end of it rather than an open-ended course. We would rather revise that estimate than quietly keep rebooking you.

Massage maximums commonly sit somewhere between $300 and $800 a year, which at typical Vancouver rates is roughly three to six appointments. Your own booklet is the only authority on your plan — and it is worth knowing the number before you start rather than after.

Often, but check two things rather than one. First the maximum, because mental health is usually the smallest line on a plan and can be gone in a handful of sessions. Second the designation your insurer reimburses — some plans cover registered clinical counsellors, some only psychologists, and the two are not interchangeable on a claim form.

Sometimes. Testing is recommended where the result would actually change what happens next, not as a matter of routine.

Some tests can go through the public system on a requisition. Others are private and are billed separately from the visit — you will be told the cost before anything is ordered.

It depends on who delivers it. Where the session is with a registered clinical counsellor, it is usually claimable under the same mental health line as ordinary counselling. Where it is not, it generally is not.

Ask us who you would be seeing before you book, and check that designation against the wording in your booklet.

Usually not. Most plans written in British Columbia do not include clinical hypnotherapy, so it is safest to plan for it as self-pay.

Some plans carry a broader alternative or wellness allowance that may apply. Two minutes on the phone to your insurer will settle it either way, and is worth doing before your first session rather than after.

Not as a starting position. Elimination has a place when there is a specific reason to suspect something, and it is temporary and structured when it happens.

If you are being asked to remove something, you should be told why, for how long, and what you are watching for.

Often yes, and this is the advantage of classes designed by our own chiropractic and physiotherapy practitioners — the person at the front understands what a healing shoulder can and cannot do.

Tell the instructor before class starts. If your practitioner has told you to avoid something specific, say what it is.

Light, rhythmic, very slow work on the surface of the skin, delivered here by a specialist trained in the methods of Vancouver Sculpt Lab. People book it for puffiness, for recovery, and after travel.

If you have had lymph nodes removed, a cardiac or kidney condition, or an active infection, tell us before booking — there are circumstances where it is not appropriate and we would rather know first.

It depends on what you are working on and what you are spending. Some things suit a short series close together; others suit a seasonal appointment and good habits in between.

You will get a straight answer rather than a package, and if the honest answer is that home care matters more than the next booking, you will be told that too.

Plan for around an hour for an infusion once you are established, and longer for a first visit that includes assessment. Intramuscular injections are much quicker.

Eat beforehand and come hydrated. You can read, work or sleep through it.

The assessment visit is generally claimable under a naturopathic allowance. The infusion generally is not.

Check your naturopathic maximum before you book, and ask us to direct bill the assessment if your plan is eligible.

No. Reiki is not claimable on extended health plans in British Columbia. It is self-pay.

Yes, and it is the most common way people use it — after massage, after a class, or before a long evening.

Mention it when you book so the time is held for you rather than hoping it is free when you arrive.

No. There is no membership or package to sell. If the honest answer is that you need one appointment, or none, that is what you will be told.

Something you can move in, and that lets us see the area we are working on. Shorts are useful for anything below the waist.

Direct billing is available for eligible plans. Bring your policy and member numbers to the first appointment and we will tell you whether yours is one of them.

Yes. Sessions run in person in Yaletown or by video, with the same clinician either way, and you can move between the two as your week requires.

It depends entirely on what you came in for, and anyone who gives you a number without knowing that is guessing.

What you can expect is a realistic timeline at the first visit, and a follow-up early enough to change course if the plan is not working.

Not through us — we cannot bill classes to extended health.

Some plans carry a rehabilitation or active-rehab allowance that may apply to clinician-led classes. It varies by insurer and by policy, so ask yours directly. The class price does not change either way.

No. Hospital infusions treat an acute medical problem under a physician's direction. This is elective nutrient therapy, delivered by a naturopathic doctor, for people who are generally well.

If what you are describing needs urgent medical attention, we will say so and point you at the right place rather than book you in here.

It depends on how low your iron is and on why it is low — and the second question matters more. Iron that keeps falling has a cause, and replacing it without addressing that is a short-term fix.

Expect follow-up testing rather than an open-ended course.

Yes. Both individual and couples sessions are available, and run fifty minutes.