EMDR · Online · Serving Ontario
Online EMDR Therapy in Ontario
Online EMDR therapy anywhere in Ontario with Mohamad Shabib, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO. Online only: there is no office to visit. $150 per 60-minute session, with appointments 3:00 pm to midnight Eastern, seven days a week.
Free 15-minute consultation · No referral needed · Seven days a week
EMDR therapy online in Ontario, at a glance. TEO Counselling provides EMDR therapy across Ontario online, using the same eight-phase protocol as office-based EMDR, adapted for the screen. It is delivered by Mohamad Shabib, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO (#14298), with Advanced EMDR training through an EMDRIA-approved programme, in English or Arabic; Rola Shbib, a Registered Social Worker with the OCSWSSW (#866715), does not offer EMDR. Appointments run 3:00 pm to midnight Eastern, seven days a week. Individual sessions are $150 and couples sessions $175, each 60 minutes, with no intake or assessment fee. OHIP does not cover psychotherapy in private practice; every session comes with an insurance-ready receipt, and direct billing is available with Mohamad for Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans (Canada Life, Manulife). The first step is a free 15-minute consultation on a video call or a scheduled phone call, booked online, no referral needed.
EMDR online in Ontario, in plain terms
TEO Counselling Services offers EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy online to clients anywhere in Ontario. The practice is online only — there is no office to travel to. EMDR for Ontario clients is provided by Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), with sessions in English or Arabic. Individual sessions are $150 per 60-minute session, appointments run from 3:00 pm to midnight Eastern time seven days a week, and the first step is a free 15-minute consultation with no referral needed.
This page covers the Ontario practicalities — who you would see, who may provide EMDR here, what it costs, what OHIP does and does not do, and how to start. What EMDR is, how bilateral stimulation works online, what the research on online delivery shows and where EMDR sits in NICE and WHO guidance are all on our EMDR therapy page.
Not in Ontario? EMDR is also offered online in British Columbia, and with Mohamad in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador. The online EMDR therapy in Canada page covers all six provinces.
Who may provide EMDR in Ontario is worth checking. Treating a serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory with psychotherapy is a controlled act in Ontario, limited to members of six regulatory colleges: the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario, the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, the College of Nurses of Ontario, the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. It also applies to practitioners outside Ontario who see clients in Ontario online. EMDR training on its own is not one of those registrations, so look for both. Each college keeps a public register; Mohamad's registration is on the CRPO register in the Qualifying category, and our page on how counselling is regulated in each province explains the rules where you live.
Who you would be working with
Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC, founded the practice and is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO #14298, listed on the CRPO public register) — this is his own college's province. As a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) he practises with clinical supervision, an added layer of professional oversight built into your care. He has completed Advanced EMDR training through an EMDRIA-approved programme, alongside Internal Family Systems Levels 1 and 2, the Gottman Method Levels 1 and 2, CBT for Trauma, and DBT training — which matters, because EMDR is not always used on its own. Sessions in English or Arabic.
Two notes so nothing on this page misleads. Alison Shaji (MA Clinical Psychology, RCC) also offers EMDR at TEO, but she works with British Columbia clients exclusively — if you are in BC, start at our British Columbia page. And Rola Shbib, BSW (Hons), RSW, works with Ontario clients on grief, crisis and addictions but does not offer EMDR. If EMDR is what you are looking for in Ontario, Mohamad is who you would see.
What EMDR sessions look like online
EMDR online follows the same eight-phase protocol as EMDR in a room: history and preparation first, then a specific target memory, reprocessing in short sets, and a deliberate closure with grounding at the end of every session. What changes online is how the bilateral stimulation is produced, and it is set up one of three ways: tapping you administer yourself — such as the butterfly hug — with your therapist setting the pace and calling the stop; a marker moving left and right on the shared screen that you track with your eyes; or tones alternating between your left and right ear through headphones.
Sessions run on Jane, the same platform used for booking, with Zoom or Google Meet as backup. You need headphones, a private room, and a device propped on something solid — and a fallback, such as a phone call, is agreed before reprocessing starts, so a dropped connection has a plan rather than a panic.
What it costs, and where OHIP stands
Individual sessions are $150 per 60-minute session; couples counselling is $175. The free consultation is 15 minutes and needs no referral.
OHIP does not cover psychotherapy in private practice — anywhere in Ontario, for any method, EMDR included. That is the plain answer to the OHIP question. What can cover part of the fee is an extended health plan through work: coverage depends on the credentials your plan recognizes — check for Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying). One wrinkle deserves honesty here — Mohamad's registration is in the Qualifying category, and plans differ on whether that category is included. The plan's own wording decides it, so before booking, check your booklet or ask your insurer directly whether a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) is reimbursable under your plan.
Direct billing is available with Mohamad for Pacific Blue Cross and plans on the TELUS eClaims network (Canada Life and Manulife among them). Where your plan is not one we can bill, you pay per session through Jane — Interac e-Transfer or credit card — and receive an insurance-ready receipt after every session to submit yourself. Cancellation is free with 24 hours' notice; inside 24 hours, or a missed session, the full fee is charged. A small number of reduced-fee spots exist — if cost is the barrier, say so at the consultation. The full fee table is on the fees page.
Hours built for after work — 3:00 pm to midnight Eastern
Sessions run from the Pacific coast, and Ontario is three hours ahead. That puts appointments between 3:00 pm and midnight Eastern time, seven days a week.
For EMDR that shape matters more than it first appears. An evening slot means you can finish a reprocessing session, take time to ground, and not have to walk straight back into a workday. Appointments starting at nine, ten or eleven at night are ordinary here, not a special arrangement — which matters if you work shifts, or are only free once the house is quiet.
The honest limit: mornings are not available. Nothing starts before 3:00 pm your time, and if the only hour you can protect is before lunch, this is not the right practice for you.
Common questions
Can I do EMDR therapy online in Ontario?
Yes. TEO Counselling is online only, so EMDR is delivered entirely online to clients anywhere in Ontario — Toronto, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, or a town with no trauma therapist at all. It follows the same eight-phase protocol as office-based EMDR, with the bilateral stimulation adapted for the screen, and it is provided by Mohamad Shabib, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation, and no referral is needed.
Is EMDR covered by OHIP?
No. OHIP does not cover psychotherapy in private practice anywhere in Ontario, whatever the method. Some extended health plans reimburse part of the fee, but plans differ on whether the Qualifying category of Registered Psychotherapist is included — the plan's own wording decides it, so check your booklet or ask your insurer before booking. You receive an insurance-ready receipt after every session.
How much does online EMDR therapy cost in Ontario?
At TEO Counselling, online EMDR for Ontario clients is $150 for a 60-minute individual session with Mohamad Shabib, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the CRPO. There is no intake or assessment fee, and the first step is a free 15-minute consultation with no referral needed. Direct billing is available with Mohamad for Pacific Blue Cross and TELUS eClaims plans such as Canada Life and Manulife; otherwise you pay per session through Jane and receive an insurance-ready receipt.
Can you get EMDR therapy for free in Ontario?
Sometimes. OHIP pays for psychotherapy from physicians, and some hospital and community trauma programs may offer EMDR, usually by referral and often with a wait. Ontario Structured Psychotherapy is free for adults 18 and over, but it is built around cognitive behavioural therapy, so ask before assuming EMDR is offered. ConnexOntario (1-866-531-2600, 24/7) can point you to free services. If you are looking for EMDR after a violent crime, Ontario's Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+) can pay for short-term counselling in the immediate aftermath of the crime, as a program of last resort when no personal, private or public source covers it; a local Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario agency checks eligibility and submits the application for you, so ask that agency which counsellors it can pay before you book anywhere. Privately, online EMDR here is $150 per 60-minute session.
Can you do EMDR by yourself?
No — EMDR is a clinician-guided therapy, not a technique you run on yourself. The left-right movements are the easy part; the therapy is the preparation before them, the choice of target, the pacing during sets, and the deliberate closure afterwards, and those are the clinician's job. Apps and videos that play alternating tones or a moving dot are not EMDR therapy — EMDRIA, the association that sets EMDR training standards, says plainly that it does not support do-it-yourself virtual EMDR.
Is EMDR effective when done online?
EMDR can be delivered online, using the same eight-phase protocol with the bilateral stimulation adapted — self-tapping, an on-screen moving target, or alternating tones. On evidence, the honest answer is that research on remote delivery is smaller and more recent than research on EMDR as a whole: it is widely practised with encouraging early findings, which is not the same as proven identical to office-based delivery. Pacing online is a matter of attention rather than proximity — your therapist watches your face, breathing and voice, and checks in after every set.
Who would I be working with?
Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC — a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. He has completed Advanced EMDR training through an EMDRIA-approved programme, and works in English or Arabic. Alison Shaji, TEO's other EMDR-trained clinician, sees British Columbia clients only, and Rola Shbib, TEO's Registered Social Worker, does not offer EMDR — so in Ontario, EMDR means working with Mohamad.
How do I start?
Book a free 15-minute consultation — no referral needed — online through Jane or by texting (519) 760-5211. You describe what you are dealing with, and you get a straight answer about whether EMDR looks like a reasonable fit, what preparation would likely involve, and which appointment times work in Eastern time. If another approach, or another practice, makes more sense, you will be told so.
Who is a bad candidate for EMDR, and what are the downsides?
EMDR is not the right first move for someone in an ongoing crisis — an abusive situation, heavy substance use, a loss so recent it has not settled — or who dissociates heavily; stabilization comes first, and reprocessing waits. Where nothing is anchored to a memory, EMDR has nothing to target. The downsides are after-effects: some people notice vivid dreams, tiredness or a stirred-up feeling in the days after a reprocessing session, which is why each session ends with a closure exercise.
Source for the EMDRIA position on do-it-yourself EMDR: emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy.
Ontario mental health resources
Therapy is not a crisis service. These run around the clock when it cannot wait for an appointment:
- · 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8 (Canada, 24/7)
- · ConnexOntario — free, 24/7 mental health & addictions navigation: 1-866-531-2600
- · Kids Help Phone (for young people): 1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868
- · Hope for Wellness Help Line: 1-855-242-3310
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
Related pages
- Online EMDR therapy — the full explainer: what EMDR is and how it works
- Online therapy in Ontario — the whole practice in Ontario, beyond EMDR
- Trauma therapy — when EMDR is one option among several
- PTSD & CPTSD therapy — post-traumatic stress in more depth
- Fees & insurance — the full fee table and receipt details
- Free and low-cost counselling in Ontario — Ontario Structured Psychotherapy, BounceBack Ontario, Good2Talk, Ottawa walk-in counselling and VQRP+, with who qualifies for each
- Does OHIP cover therapy? — what Ontario pays for, and what it does not
Book a free 15-minute consultation
It is a chance for both of us to see whether EMDR is a reasonable fit for what you are carrying — no pressure, no commitment.
Book Free ConsultationOr text (519) 760-5211
Where we work in Ontario
EMDR here is delivered online, so where you are in Ontario changes nothing about access. Clients book from Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Mississauga, Burlington, Oakville, Guelph, London, Windsor and Sudbury, and from every community in between.
The province-wide picture is on the Ontario therapy page, and which plans can be billed on your behalf is set out on direct billing.