PSHCP and therapy: how federal employees can use their benefits

About one in four Ottawa residents works for the federal government. If you are one of them, the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) already covers most of your therapy costs — and most people we meet have not used the benefit because they did not know they could.

The short version

• Coverage. PSHCP reimburses 80% of psychotherapy costs after a small deductible, up to $5,000 per calendar year per person.
• Eligible providers. Registered Psychotherapists, Psychologists, and Social Workers are all covered.
• Referral. No physician referral is required. No diagnosis is required.
• Confidentiality. Your employer never sees what your sessions are about. PSHCP processes the claim through Canada Life; only the date, amount, and provider type appear on the receipt.

How it actually works in practice

You attend a session. You pay our office the full fee at the session (most therapists at Auren are $175). You receive a receipt with your therapist's license number. You submit the receipt to Canada Life through the PSHCP portal, the Canada Life app, or by mail. Canada Life reimburses 80% within a few business days.

The first $300 of mental-health care each year is the deductible — covered by you in full. After that, the 80% reimbursement kicks in until you reach the annual cap.

If money is still tight

Many federal employees also have a secondary plan through a spouse (Sun Life, Manulife, etc.). Coordination of benefits often brings the out-of-pocket cost close to zero. Ask us before your first session and we can walk through the math with you.

Auren also offers sliding-scale spots through our fair-fee program for people who need additional flexibility. The application is short.

What therapy is good for at this stage of a career

The federal workforce sees a lot of: workload spikes around fiscal year-end, burnout that nobody mentions, security-clearance stress, lateral moves that look like promotions but are not, parents who got promoted into management without any actual training, the slow grind of a 10-year acting position. None of this is small. It is also not weakness to talk about.

Booking a consult

The next step is a free 15-minute consultation. We will ask about what you are looking for, talk briefly about cost and coverage, and — if it feels like a fit — book a first session. If we are not the right team, we will say so and point you somewhere that is.

This article reflects PSHCP coverage as of May 2026. Plans change — confirm specifics through your Canada Life account.