Quick Access / Single Session Counselling

Our Approach

Single session counselling focuses on a problem that is affecting your life today, without asking a lot of questions about the past. Counsellors work to support you in getting “unstuck” or back on track.

For many people a single session can offer emotional relief and increased hope so they can move forward. At Family Services Ottawa, we provide two ways for people to get quick access to single session counselling.

WALK-IN Counselling CLINIC

The Walk-in Counselling Clinic is offered at various sites around the city 7 days a week. See website for days/ locations around Ottawa.

*Please note the following changes to Walk-in Counselling Clinic hours over the Holiday Season:

Tuesday December 24th – Virtual counselling sessions from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm with the last session beginning at 11:30 am.
Saturday December 28th – Virtual and in-person sessions from noon to 5:00 pm with the last session beginning at 3:30 pm
Tuesday December 31st – Virtual and in-person sessions from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm with the last session beginning at 11:30 am.

The Walk-in Counselling Clinic is at Family Services Ottawa on the following days:

TUESDAYS

12PM – 8PM
(last appointment at 6:30PM)

SATURDAYS

12PM – 5PM
(last appointment at 3:30PM)

Free same-day counselling to individuals, couples and families, no appointment necessary, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Single-session model, sessions are 1 – 1.5 hours.

Learn more about the walk-in counselling clinic

*Please note: Following COVID protocols some sites are currently offering phone or video sessions; limited sites offering in-person sessions, see website for locations.

COUNSELLING CONNECT

Quick access through online booking for a free phone or video counselling session, available in English, French, and Arabic. You choose a convenient date and time. This service is for everyone: children, youth, adults and families in Ottawa and the surrounding area. There is no waiting list.

Counselling Connect services are provided by more than a hundred counsellors of diverse backgrounds and experience including Indigenous communities, African, Caribbean and Black communities, other racialized communities, and LGBT2SQ+ communities.