Private therapy in Ontario is not covered by OHIP, and for a lot of people the fee is where the search stops. One option rarely gets explained properly. A practicum student is a graduate clinician completing supervised clinical training, and their sessions are charged at the lowest fee level a practice sets. Two clinicians work at that level at the Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre (CITC), each supervised by a Clinical Psychologist registered with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario, and each offering a first appointment longer than any other clinician’s at the practice. This article covers what the arrangement gives a client, what a practicum student can and cannot do, who the two students work with, and what the fee level involves, as all of it stands in September 2026.
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What a Practicum Student Is
A practicum student is a graduate student in clinical psychology completing a supervised clinical placement as part of their degree. They carry their own caseload and run their own sessions, and a registered psychologist supervises the work. Here the supervisor is named, and their registration number can be checked on the public register of the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario.
Supervision does not extend the scope of practice. Under Ontario’s Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, communicating a diagnosis is a controlled act, and formal psychological assessment and diagnosis sit with Clinical Psychologists. A practicum student provides therapy.
What supervision involves week to week, including how often a case is reviewed, is a fair question to ask before you book. CITC’s Clinical Coordinator can describe the arrangement for the clinician you are considering.
What the Practicum Level Gives a Client
Three things separate the practicum level from the rest of the fee schedule at CITC: the longest first appointment the practice offers, a supervising Clinical Psychologist named with a registration number a client can check, and the lowest session fee in the practice’s range. All three come from how a supervised placement is set up rather than from the fee being lower.
Both practicum students start with a 90-minute first appointment, the longest offered at CITC. Every other clinician at the practice runs a 75-minute first appointment, and the extra time at the practicum level is included in the fee rather than billed on top.
That hour and a half covers history, what brought you in, what has and has not helped before, and what you want out of the work. Regular sessions after that run 60 minutes, the same length as a session with any other clinician at the practice.
The format is yours to choose. Both practicum students work in person at the Midtown Toronto office and virtually throughout Ontario, and the Clinical Coordinator can set the first appointment up either way.
The Two Practicum Students Seeing Clients at CITC
Elssa Toumeh and Kaja Bakken are the two practicum students currently on the roster. Both see clients in person in Midtown Toronto and virtually anywhere in Ontario, and both have documented referral areas rather than a general list.
Elssa Toumeh: Elssa works with adults and young adults. Her documented referral areas include anxiety, depression and low mood, stress and self-esteem, life transitions, and immigration and acculturative stress. She is supervised by Dr. Diana Lisi, Clinical Psychologist, registration #7408, whose own documented work is CBT-oriented for anxiety, social anxiety, phobias and low mood. Elssa’s documented hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays, in person and virtually.
Kaja Bakken: Kaja works with children, adolescents and young adults. Her documented referral areas include anxiety, depression and school-related concerns. She is supervised by Dr. Leah Enns, Clinical Psychologist, registration #6466, who also conducts CITC’s giftedness assessments. Kaja’s documented hours are Thursdays and Fridays, in person and virtually.
Whether either of them has an opening changes, so it is confirmed with the Clinical Coordinator when you enquire rather than read off this page.
How the Practicum Fee Level Sits Against the Rest of the Practice
A regular individual session at CITC ranges from roughly $175 to $300, and the practicum level sits at the bottom of that range. A clinician’s position in it follows their stage of training and professional registration, not the kind of therapy they deliver. First appointments are charged separately, at a higher rate that reflects the longer appointment.
One other supervised level sits between the practicum students and the registered clinicians. Sami Harb is a doctoral intern, completing the supervised internship year of a doctoral programme in clinical psychology under Dr. Carolina McBride, registration #3575, and Dr. Leah Enns. His first appointment also runs 90 minutes, and his session fee sits above the practicum level and below the Clinical Psychologist level.
Four assessments are priced the same way: the brief psychodiagnostic assessment, the comprehensive psychodiagnostic assessment, the standard adult ADHD assessment and the giftedness assessment each carry a practicum or graduate-student fee level. Across those four services the fees run from roughly $875 to $2,750 depending on the assessment and the level. The documented package stays the same and the fee changes with who delivers the work under supervision.
For the figure that applies to you, ask the Clinical Coordinator, who can confirm both the first-appointment and the session fee for a specific clinician before anything is booked.
When a Practicum Student Is a Good Match
Fit decides the referral. CITC matches clients on clinician scope, specialty, age group, modality and current availability, so a practicum student is offered where the presenting concern falls inside their documented referral areas. Elssa’s cover adults and young adults; Kaja’s cover children, adolescents and young adults and school-related concerns.
Some work sits outside those areas. Formal psychological assessment and diagnosis run through Clinical Psychologists, and several protocols are provided by one named clinician at another fee level. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is provided by Medina Ismayilova, Registered Psychotherapist, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for obsessive-compulsive disorder by Lauren Greenwood, Psychotherapist.
A short phone call sorts this out faster than a page can. The Clinical Coordinator hears what you are dealing with and says which levels and clinicians are a reasonable fit, including the ones that are not.
Will Insurance Cover a Session With a Practicum Student?
Coverage depends on your plan, the clinician’s provider designation, the service and your insurer’s rules, so it has to be checked against your own benefits rather than assumed. Designation is one of the factors insurers apply, which is why the answer can differ between two clinicians at the same practice, and why it matters more at the practicum level than anywhere else in the fee range.
CITC direct bills through TELUS Health eClaims for participating payers where the client’s plan and provider type are eligible, and also direct bills Sun Life and Medavie Blue Cross. Anything direct billing does not cover is paid by the client. Receipts can also be submitted by clients to their insurer where direct billing is not used, is unavailable or does not apply. Therapy here is not covered by OHIP.
Before a first appointment, ask your insurer which provider designations your plan reimburses. The Clinical Coordinator can tell you the clinician’s designation and how the session would be submitted, which is the half of the question the clinic can answer.
What CITC Offers and How to Start
CITC is a psychology practice founded in 2003 by Dr. Carolina McBride, with in-person appointments at 20 Eglinton Ave. West, Suite 1007, near Yonge and Eglinton in Midtown Toronto, and virtual appointments throughout Ontario. The clinical team includes Clinical Psychologists, psychotherapists, an occupational therapist, a doctoral intern and two practicum students.
The practice does not publish a fixed wait time for therapy or assessment, because booking depends on which clinicians are accepting new clients at the moment you enquire. That policy was confirmed in September 2026. When an appropriate clinician is accepting and has an open appointment, there is no separate waiting-list period and you book the next available opening.
Two limits are worth knowing before you call. There is no in-house psychiatrist and no medication management, so if medication is part of what you need, that runs through your physician or a separate referral. The practice also does not accept HCAI clients and holds no HCAI registration.
Intake starts with a brief complimentary phone call with the Clinical Coordinator, who matches you to a clinician on scope, specialty, age group, modality and current availability. The office is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To ask whether Elssa Toumeh or Kaja Bakken has an opening, contact CITC’s Clinical Coordinator at [email protected] or 647-508-2020.
Common Questions About Working With a Practicum Student
Does a practicum student have less training than a Registered Psychotherapist?
They sit at different stages of different pathways. A practicum student is a graduate student in clinical psychology completing a supervised placement as part of their degree, and a Registered Psychotherapist has finished training and is registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. The practical difference is supervision: at CITC, Elssa Toumeh works under Dr. Diana Lisi and Kaja Bakken under Dr. Leah Enns, both Clinical Psychologists.
How is a practicum student different from a doctoral intern?
A doctoral intern is further along. The internship is the final supervised year of a doctoral programme in clinical psychology, after the practicum placements are complete. At CITC the doctoral intern is Sami Harb, supervised by Dr. Carolina McBride and Dr. Leah Enns, and his session fee sits above the practicum level.
How long does a practicum placement last?
Placement length depends on the student’s programme, so ask the Clinical Coordinator before your first appointment if continuity matters to you. It is a reasonable question and it is better answered at the start than partway through.
Can a practicum student give my child a formal diagnosis?
No. Under Ontario’s Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, communicating a diagnosis is a controlled act, and at CITC formal psychological assessment and diagnosis sit with Clinical Psychologists. Assessment work at the practicum and graduate-student fee levels is supervised, and the Clinical Coordinator can confirm who would conduct a given assessment and who supervises it.
Are practicum appointments available virtually?
Yes. Elssa Toumeh and Kaja Bakken each see clients in person at CITC’s Midtown Toronto office and virtually. Virtual services are provided throughout Ontario, and not in other provinces.
Is therapy at CITC covered by OHIP?
No. Private therapy at CITC is not covered by OHIP. Receipts can be submitted by clients to an extended health plan for reimbursement where the plan covers the service and the provider designation, and direct billing is available for some payers where eligible.
If the fee has been the obstacle, the next step is a phone call rather than more reading. CITC’s Clinical Coordinator can tell you whether Elssa or Kaja is a reasonable fit for what you are dealing with, what a first appointment and ongoing sessions would cost, and whether in person in Midtown Toronto or virtual anywhere in Ontario suits you better.
