Lauren Shaps Coaching&Counselling

Lauren Shaps Coaching&Counselling is a counselling practice reachable at 613-866-4437, listed under Clinics in the Ottawa area of Ontario. The practice is oriented toward one-on-one talk-based support, offered through virtual sessions rather than a walk-in storefront experience.

What the practice offers

A counselling and coaching format built around private sessions

The core of the service is straightforward: individual counselling and coaching sessions arranged directly between a client and the practice, conducted virtually rather than in a shared waiting room. That format shapes the whole client experience — there is no lobby, no intake desk, and no overlap with other visitors, which suits people who would rather not be seen entering a mental-health office in person.

A first phone conversation is offered as a way to check fit before committing to ongoing sessions. For anyone unfamiliar with counselling, this lowers the barrier considerably: instead of guessing whether a particular approach or style will feel comfortable, a short call lets a prospective client ask questions and get a sense of how sessions are structured before booking anything further. In a field where the relationship between client and counsellor matters as much as any technique, this initial screening step is a meaningful part of the overall experience rather than a formality.

Because everything runs virtually, geography becomes less of a factor than it would be for a traditional office visit — clients across Ottawa and the wider National Capital Region can connect without factoring in parking, transit, or winter driving conditions, which in an Ottawa February is not a small consideration.

Choosing a counselling practice: what actually matters

Comfort, privacy, and ease of first contact are the deciding factors

When people look for support of this kind, the decision rarely comes down to credentials alone. What tends to matter most is whether reaching out feels safe and low-pressure, whether the first contact is easy to initiate, and whether the format (in person versus virtual) fits a person's daily routine and comfort level. A virtual-only practice removes some friction points — no commute, no need to arrange time off for travel — while placing more weight on having a reliable phone line and a private space at home to talk.

Privacy is a particularly local consideration in a city the size of Ottawa, where professional and personal circles can overlap. Being able to schedule a session without stepping into a public waiting area, and to have that first exploratory phone call before any commitment, addresses a concern that many prospective clients carry but rarely state outright. The option to simply pick up the phone, described plainly on the practice's own contact channel, reflects an approach that treats the first step — reaching out at all — as the hardest part to get right.

Consistency of contact also matters: having one phone number and one point of contact, rather than navigating a general intake line or a rotating roster, gives clients a clearer sense of what to expect session to session.

Local context: Ottawa and access to virtual care

A virtual model fits Ottawa's spread-out neighbourhoods and seasonal realities

Ottawa is a city of distinct neighbourhoods spread across a wide geographic area, from the urban core to suburban communities further out, connected by a transit system that can be affected by winter weather for a good part of the year. A counselling practice that operates virtually sidesteps a lot of that friction: a session in January does not depend on road conditions or bus schedules, and someone living well outside the downtown core has the same access as someone nearby.

The practice's listed address places it in a professional office setting in the western part of the city, near the Queensview corridor, though with sessions held virtually the physical location functions more as an administrative point of contact than a place clients need to visit. For a resident weighing options across the region, that distinction — an address on file versus where the actual sessions happen — is worth understanding upfront, since it changes what "convenient location" even means for this kind of service.

Ottawa residents also tend to value practices that are easy to reach by phone during the workday, given the mix of public-sector, tech, and hybrid-schedule jobs common in the region; a direct phone line for an initial conversation lines up with that expectation.

Frequently asked questions

Are sessions held in person or virtually?

Sessions are currently held virtually rather than at a physical office location.

Is there a way to check fit before booking a full session?

Yes — a free phone session is offered as a first step to see whether the format is a good match.

How can someone get in touch?

By calling 613-866-4437, the phone number on file for the practice.

Does the virtual format limit who can access the service?

No — because sessions are held virtually, clients across Ottawa and the surrounding region can connect without needing to travel to a physical office.