Psychiatric input, inside your therapy
This is a psychiatric consultation that happens inside ongoing therapy. The psychiatrist works as a consultant to your clinical work, bringing a specialist's perspective on one specific question. Their written recommendation goes to whoever manages your medication.
You don't start over. The work already built stays the foundation, and what the consultation surfaces comes back into it.
Anju Uddin, RP, is certified through Psychotherapy Matters Virtual Clinic (PMVC) to coordinate collaborative psychiatric consultations.
How this differs from a psychiatry referral
The psychiatrist does not become your doctor or take you on as a patient. They act as a consultant to your therapy: they look at the specific question Anju brings and send a written recommendation to the clinician who manages your medication. If you would like a psychiatrist who treats you and prescribes directly, you can ask your family doctor for a referral through the public system, at no cost to you.
The psychiatrist does not prescribe medication, complete forms, or write accommodation letters. Their role is to assess and recommend.
For adults who have reached the edge of what therapy alone can clarify
This pathway is for adults (18+) in individual therapy with Anju, or starting it, who have a question that needs psychiatric input to move forward. That might look like:
A diagnosis that feels uncertain or incomplete
A medication that isn't responding the way it should
A clinical question about risk that warrants a second perspective
A long-standing pattern that therapy has clarified but not resolved
What it costs
Covered by OHIP
The psychiatric assessment is an insured physician service. What you pay for is Anju's time.
*Applies to new clients. If you've already had at least three sessions with us, the $450 is the only added cost (plus $90 if a follow-up is needed). Some people need more than three sessions before the consultation, and we'll tell you where you stand as we go.
Insurance
Direct billing is available with select insurers for psychotherapy services, and we provide receipts for all others. See which insurers
A free consultation is required before beginning this pathway.
How the consultation works
The process is structured but flexible. Each step builds the clinical picture the psychiatrist needs to be useful.
Therapy first
We require a minimum of three sessions before requesting a consultation. That time builds a documented clinical picture and a real therapeutic relationship, which is what makes the consultation useful.
We identify a specific clinical question
Something that genuinely needs psychiatric input. The clearer the question, the more useful the answer.
A referral form is signed
Generated through PMVC and signed by your family doctor or nurse practitioner. If you do not have one, or cannot get an appointment with yours, a doctor at a walk-in or virtual clinic can sign it. The referring clinician receives a copy of the consultation report directly from PMVC.
The consultation takes place
A 90-minute session with the psychiatrist. Anju is with you throughout, so you won't walk into the room alone.
Recommendations go to your prescriber
The psychiatrist's written recommendation goes to the clinician who manages your medication.
Therapy continues
What the consultation surfaces becomes part of the ongoing work. If a follow-up with the psychiatrist is needed, we can book one through the same pathway, usually a 30-minute session.
Why a collaborative consultation works
A specific question
Bringing a psychiatrist a well-defined clinical question, built from your work in therapy, is what makes the response usable.
You don't start over
No repeating your history to someone new. No waiting to be understood before the real conversation can begin. The context is already there.
Clarity on diagnosis
When a diagnosis feels incomplete, or when several could fit, a specialist's read can help clarify what therapy alone can only circle.
Medication questions
If something isn't working, or the picture has changed, a psychiatrist can look at the whole regimen and make a recommendation your prescriber can act on.
You're not in the room alone
Anju attends the consultation with you. This can help if you have found medical appointments hard to navigate, or felt you lost the thread or were talked past.
It feeds back into the work
The findings become part of what you and Anju do next.
A free consultation is required before beginning this pathway.
Psychiatric consultation FAQ
Yes. The psychiatric assessment is an insured physician service. You pay for therapy sessions and for Anju's time: preparing the referral, attending the consultation with you, and integrating the recommendations. No portion of what you pay is paid to a psychiatrist or used to fund any OHIP-insured physician service, and paying for therapy does not result in faster or preferential access to the consultation.
Wait times depend on psychiatrist availability and the type of consultation. We will give you a realistic estimate during your intake sessions so you can plan.
Yes, a referral is always required. The form is generated through PMVC and signed by your family doctor or nurse practitioner. If you do not have one, or cannot get an appointment with yours, a doctor at a walk-in or virtual clinic can sign it instead (some virtual clinics charge a small fee). If your family doctor does not agree that a consultation is needed, it cannot go ahead until they sign the referral or you find a new family doctor who does. If you are looking for a family doctor, you can register through Ontario's Health Care Connect.
No. The psychiatrist is a consultant, not a treating physician. Their written recommendation goes to whoever manages your prescriptions — your family doctor, nurse practitioner, or walk-in or virtual clinic — and ongoing prescribing and monitoring stays with them.
The report is confidential and held securely by PMVC. It is not downloaded into your therapy file. The referring doctor receives a copy directly from PMVC, and you can request a personal copy from PMVC as well (photo ID required; a records fee applies).
Not concurrently. This pathway depends on one clinical picture, held consistently, and split care makes that unreliable. If you are working with another therapist, we can talk about timing during your free consultation.
This pathway requires individual therapy, so we would begin individual work first. Couples or family therapy can continue alongside it in many cases — we'll figure out the right sequence together.
Therapy sessions are available in person at our Liberty Village office or virtually. The psychiatric consultation takes place online, with Anju joining you. Either way, you must have valid OHIP coverage and be physically located in Ontario at the time of all clinical appointments.
No. This pathway is not designed for crisis situations and does not produce documentation for legal, disability, insurance, workplace, or school purposes. If you need urgent support, please contact your doctor, go to your nearest emergency department, or call 9-8-8.
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