Seeking Professional Assistance?
1 of 2: For Therapists - Need Guidance For An Urgent Situation?
Description: ASAP immediate access. Within approximately 5 days, and often sooner, you can meet with Dawn McBride, an ethics expert, to discuss a highly urgent professional situation requiring timely professional development and educational guidance. Examples may include navigating an ethics complaint, responding to a court order, working through a complex ethical dilemma, preparing for difficult professional conversations, or addressing business, leadership, supervisory, or staffing concerns. The focus of this service is to support thoughtful professional reflection, ethical decision-making, and strategic next steps during high-pressure situations.
Great care is taken to protect your privacy. Very little background information is required unless you choose to share more, and minimal notes are recorded to help preserve confidentiality and privacy. At times, this service may be provided by a DPS-vetted expert (other than Dawn).
Fee: Our 2026 rate for this unique rapid service, for a meeting up to 60 minutes: $351.75 (includes applicable taxes).
2 of 2: For Therapists - Urgent Need To Unpack? 'Digest'?
(e.g., Impact of our work or receiving a complaint? Giving a testimony?)
Description: ASAP immediate access (ideally within 24 hours to 5 days): This rapid-response, highly confidential, trauma-informed service is designed for Alberta therapists who need to release a difficult professional experience and regain a greater sense of steadiness to continue moving forward, both professionally and personally. The EMDR Critical Incident Stress Protocol is used, and may be particularly helpful for stress related to ethical complaints, preparation for court, exposure to disturbing clinical material, or debriefing emotionally heavy or “dark” professional moments.
This service is provided by a DPS-approved Registered Psychologist (other than Dawn) who will work carefully to protect your privacy. For example, very little background information is required unless you choose to share more, and minimal notes are recorded to help preserve confidentiality and privacy.
Fee: Our 2026 fee is set at our top clinical rate for immediate access, up to 60 minutes: $315 (includes applicable taxes).
Rapid Response Assistance
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Description: This personalized service is for those seeking PD in any practice area (e.g., refining consent forms, creating personalized session note templates, and business coaching, such as setting up a private practice and developing). This service welcomes up to 3 people from the same organization.
This service can also be adapted for a one-time PD training event of 3 to 8 hours (which will require a different service agreement).
Time Frame: Since this service is not urgent, it usually has a booking time of 1-4 months and is offered by Dawn or a professional contracted by DPS, who has been vetted by Dawn. It is usually offered online on DPS's Zoom Pro.
Fee: Our 2026 fee for this PD service is $283.50 (includes applicable taxes), for up to 60 minutes.
Short-Term Assistance
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Description: This brief seminar is for companies or groups that want to use this time for professional development for their staff and is offered informally. It does not have a formal teaching component (e.g., no specific agenda or prep work on teaching slides).
Focus: Open-ended (e.g., offer a lunch and learn Q & A meeting focused on asking questions about ethics or a particular treatment modality that does not cross into specific case consultation).
Time Frame: Since this service is not urgent, it usually has a booking time of 1-4 months and is offered by Dawn or a professional contracted by DPS, who has been vetted by Dawn. It is usually offered online on DPS's Zoom Pro. This service can be offered as a regular service (e.g., monthly).
Fee: Our 2026 fee for this Q & A type meeting service: $283.50 (includes applicable taxes), for up to 60 minutes.
Q&A Service Meeting
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Description: This service is for people to have access to all services in the previous columns, provided they meet with relevant DPS staff at least twice a year. Other conditions apply, and these will be outlined in the contract. There is an extensive waiting list for this service (around 2 years). Please join the list to have access to our NETWORKING CIRCLES.
Fee: This service offers many bonuses, including a sliding-scale fee. Other bonus include: invitations to attend free networking circles, and training discounts.
Ongoing PD Assistance
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CONTACT FORM
*Please indicate the service you are inquiring about*
FYI --IT IS IMPORTANT YOU KNOW there is no guarantee of privacy of your contact information or this message due to:
(a) inherent privacy flaws when using any technology, such as email/text (e.g., security breaches);
(b) any correspondence to/from DPS staff may be kept (e.g., filed electronically via WIX) and if stored, likely for at least 11 years; your contact information may need to be released to relevant individuals/professionals if you disclose to a DPS staff member that there is a risk of potential harm to self or others (including animals), as we may need to alert others/arrange for outside help to attend to those who may be in distress or who we believe could be at risk for harm;
(c) you are not a client/customer of DPS yet, since we have not had the opportunity to put a formal agreement in place with you where we confirm everyone's understanding of what is being consented to, including your privacy limits; and
(d) you have not been briefed on the Alberta laws regarding how long client files are kept when sexual violence, work injury, or disability has been recorded in the file - so at this point, we advise you NOT to share any information related to the above (e.g., abuse /assault) until you have been informed of your privacy rights via DPS consent form/service contract.
We recognize these privacy warnings may not be relevant to why you are contacting DPS :)
Truly, we welcome your contact - thank you for reaching out.