Northern Health covers the biggest area in the province with the thinnest counselling provision in it. When the local list is closed, you can still see a BC-registered clinical counsellor this week — by video, or by phone where the internet won’t hold one.
Online counselling · Prince George · Vanderhoof · Mackenzie
Counselling for Prince George and northern BC, online
Openings this week — no waitlist
Phone sessions where internet is poor
FNHA direct billing available
Video or phone, anywhere in BC
Free 20-minute match call
Master’s-level Registered Clinical Counsellors
Master’s-level RCCs
Registered Clinical Counsellors, online across BC
20 Min Match Call
No up-front payment, no receipts, no forms
No waitlist
Free match call, usually within a day or two
40+ insurers
Direct billing where your plan allows it
The local reality
When the waitlist in town is closed, “wait longer” isn’t advice
Northern Health’s region is larger than most countries, and counselling provision across it is the thinnest in BC. In Prince George the private lists fill fast; in Vanderhoof or Mackenzie there may be nobody taking new clients at all, and the public waitlist doesn’t just grow — it closes. What people actually do is drive hours, put it off until the next crisis, or give up on the idea entirely.
Online sessions break the geography. You draw on counsellors across the whole practice instead of whoever happens to work within driving distance of the Hart Highway — and where bandwidth is poor, sessions run by phone instead, which needs no connection beyond a phone line.
The counsellor in town retired and nobody replaced them
You’ve been told the list is closed — not long, closed
An hour of highway each way is your shortest option
Your internet drops when the weather turns
Your shifts flip between days and nights week to week
You’ve been telling yourself you’ll sort it out next season
Where the internet is thin, the phone line does the work.
A phone session is a full 50-minute session with the same Registered Clinical Counsellor, at the same fee, with the same confidentiality — over any phone line, including a landline. For many northern clients, phone is the default, not the fallback.
And for FNHA clients, we bill First Nations Health Authority directly — nothing paid up front, no receipts, no claim forms.
What online sessions are like
A secure link, a private space, and fifty minutes — that’s the whole setup
At the scheduled time, your counsellor emails you a secure link. You open it on a laptop, or through a free app on your phone or tablet, and you’re in the session — no account to create, no software to buy.
A private space for the length of the session — that’s the only real requirement
Any phone, tablet or computer with a camera works
An ordinary connection is enough — or just a phone line, for full phone sessions
Standard sessions are 50 minutes
Video or phone is your choice, and it can change day to day
If the connection drops, your counsellor phones you and the session carries on
A SMALL SLICE OF OUR HANDPICKED TEAM
Counsellors taking new online clients
Master’s-level Registered Clinical Counsellors, online across BC.
Isabelle Hochban
MACP, RCC · Online across BC
Registered Clinical Counsellor working with adults by video and phone across BC.
Sarah Jetha
MACP, RCC · Online across BC
Registered Clinical Counsellor working with anxiety, by video and phone across BC.
Dixie Wong
MACP, RCC, CCC · Online across BC
Registered Clinical Counsellor working with individuals and couples, by video and phone across BC.
How to start
Start with a conversation, not a process.
Free 20-minute counsellor-match consultation
If you’d rather talk it through first — or you’re not sure who would be right — our counsellor-match team will help you decide. It’s free, by phone, and there’s no obligation to book anything after.
Step 01
Tell us what’s going on
A confidential 20-minute phone call with our counsellor-match team. Guided questions about what brought you here, what you’ve tried, what matters to you, and what a good fit would look like.
Step 02
We find your counsellor — and tell you why
Our coordinators interview every counsellor about their style, training, strengths and limits — the things that never make it onto a website. They stay neutral; no counsellor takes part in their own matching.
Step 03
Arrive without having to introduce yourself
You start your first session without repeating your story, already knowing your counsellor’s background and how they work. Afterwards we check in by email to confirm the choice was right — and if it wasn’t, we rematch you.
To be clear
What the match consultation is not.
Finding a counsellor is stressful enough without a process that makes it worse. So, to be clear:
Not a form. We’re real people, on the phone, here to support.
Not a paid service, or a step you have to pay for before you can continue.
Not an endless questionnaire you fill out alone, hoping something comes of it.
Not matching by photograph. Picking a face from a grid is not a clinical decision.
Not counsellors choosing their own clients. Our coordinators are a neutral third party.
Not a waitlist — and you will never be seen by anyone without a Master’s degree and professional registration.
Not a sales call. Nobody will pressure you to book a session.
We believe we have an ethical obligation to help you find the right counsellor, because we’re the ones with the clinical experience. The therapeutic relationship is the single biggest factor in whether therapy works. It’s too important to leave to a search page.
Cost and coverage
Paying for it in the north
Counselling here is more often covered than people expect — and we bill directly wherever your plan allows it, so nothing is paid up front on covered sessions.
Direct billing available for our clients if approved by your insurance provider — no receipts, no forms
Resource-sector plans: most employer extended health plans cover Registered Clinical Counsellors
UNBC students: student plans typically include counselling coverage
Shift patterns are real here — evening appointments exist for a reason
$175
50 minutes · Online session
Standard session, video or phone.
Free
20 minutes · Match consultation
By phone, no obligation to book anything after.
Most extended health plans in BC cover counselling with a Registered Clinical Counsellor, and we bill more than 40 insurers directly where the plan allows it. Counselling with an RCC is generally tax-deductible as a medical expense. If you don’t have benefits, say so when you call and we’ll tell you exactly what you’d pay — no surprises.
Where we serve
Communities we serve across northern BC
If your community isn’t listed, the same online sessions still reach you — these are simply where our northern clients most often call from.
Prince George
Vanderhoof
Mackenzie
Frequently asked questions.
The counselling waitlist where I live is closed. How fast can I actually start?
The free match call is usually available within a day or two, and a first session with a matched counsellor is normally available the same week. There is no waitlist to join and no referral needed.
My internet is too unreliable for video calls. Is phone counselling a real session?
Yes — a full 50-minute session with the same Registered Clinical Counsellor, at the same fee, with the same confidentiality. For many northern clients phone is the default, not the fallback.
Can you bill FNHA directly?
Yes. We bill First Nations Health Authority directly, so covered sessions involve no up-front payment, no receipts and no claim forms.
I work shifts — days one week, nights the next. Can appointments move with that?
Yes. Evening appointments exist for exactly this, and your counsellor can vary session times week to week rather than holding you to one fixed slot.
Do I need a referral from a doctor in town?
No. You book the free 20-minute match call directly — no referral, no intake queue.
I’m in a community smaller than Vanderhoof. Do you still serve me?
Yes. Phone sessions reach any community with a phone line, and video works wherever your connection holds. The named towns are where our northern clients most often call from — not a boundary.
For partners and family
If you’re here looking for help for someone else.
Seeking counselling for someone you love isn’t interfering. It’s one of the most caring things you can do.
You’re not failing them by worrying — you’re paying attention. You can call us yourself and ask questions before anyone commits to anything; plenty of people do, especially where getting help has never been easy to arrange.
We are not a crisis line. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 9-8-8 — the Suicide Crisis Helpline, 24 hours a day — or 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) anywhere in BC. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 9-1-1.
The north waits long enough for everything else
Book the free 20-minute match call — video or phone, and a first session this week rather than a spot on a closed list.
connect@skylarkclinic.ca
The match consultation is free. No cost, and no obligation to book anything after.
