Megan Rafuse, MSW RSW

I have referred some of my weight loss clients to Megan. The clients have reported back to me that Megan has been a great help to them in dealing with stress, anxiety, which combined with my nutrition coaching, helps them eat healthier. I trust Megan to use research-based counselling techniques to help people cope with trauma and/or the stress that comes with daily life.

It took me a very long time to be able to write this review. I had seen Megan for about a year. Because I had no benefits, she had agreed to see me on a sliding scale, which was very nice. Unfortunately, even the sliding scale was challenging for me, so I sought free therapy. I was able to get into a program for 22 weeks that was totally free so I stopped seeing Megan. She and I discussed this prior to me leaving and she told me specifically that I could come back at any time for the same fee if I still did not have benefits. Once my free program ended, I did reach out to Megan. She told me she could see me again, but only on weekdays between 10 am and 2 pm. I worked at my job from 8 am to 4 pm and I was not comfortable with leaving work, having therapy and then going back to work. I saw that she had an opening with an evening appointment you could self-book online so I scheduled myself in for 6 pm. I explained my discomfort and inability to come in during the day time to her and the anxiety I had surrounding this. The thought of coming in during the day and then going back to work was pretty horrible. Megan informed me that evening appointments were reserved for patients who pay full price. I realize this is a business, but she and I had a relationship for an entire year prior and there were no outlined restrictions for me to come back once my free therapy ended. She cancelled the appointment I scheduled before even discussing this with me and offered to have me see someone else in the office. Again, I was not comfortable. I wanted to see her because of the relationship we had. I felt completely rejected, anxious and abandoned. I felt like my free therapy had ended which I always knew it would and I thought I could rely on Megan to see me again, but I guess I was wrong. I sent Megan and email outlining how horrible I felt and practically begged to her let me see her. I told her specifically how rejected and anxious this made me feel. Megan refused. I am now over what happened and I have a new incredible therapist. The irony of this is that Megan also told me she was full and couldn't accept new patients. I actually had told my family doctor about her a year prior and my doctor had been referring several patients to her. So I hope her business is doing well, but ultimately she destroyed any kind of therapy relationship I had with her. She destroyed my trust which is so important in therapy. I have discussed this with my current therapist and she also believes what happened was very, very wrong and could see how this could be very damaging to someone with anxiety like me. Ultimately, I would never see Megan again if she gave me the opportunity and I would never recommend her to anyone. If she only cares about patients being able to come when they need to because they pay full price, her priorities are mixed up. Again, I realize this is a business, but you would think care enough to honour her word and see me when I needed therapy again. Overall, completely disappointed.