Accessibility Statement

Last updated: October 2026

1. Commitment to Accessibility

Soothing Souls Counselling believes that mental health care must be accessible, dignified, and inclusive. We strive to adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA standards, ensuring our digital services are operable, perceivable, understandable, and robust for visitors using assistive technologies.

2. Accessibility Features on This Site

• Keyboard Navigation: All interactive elements — including navigation dropdowns, booking buttons, accordions, and forms — are fully navigable using keyboard tab controls without getting trapped.
• Visible Focus Indicators: High-contrast focus rings (teal `#2F6F73`) clearly indicate keyboard focus.
• Skip to Content Link: A direct keyboard skip link allows screen reader and keyboard users to bypass navigation menus and jump immediately to primary page content.
• Color Contrast: Text colors have been strictly audited to exceed the minimum WCAG 4.5:1 contrast ratio against background surfaces.
• Motion Sensitivity: The site respects the operating system preference prefers-reduced-motion. Interactive breathing guides include an explicit pause/stop button, and non-essential animations are disabled when reduced motion is preferred.
• Semantic Structure: Pages are authored with proper semantic HTML5 landmarks (<header>, <nav>, <main>, <footer>) and hierarchical heading structures (H1 through H3).
• Alternative Text: Informative images include descriptive alt attributes; purely decorative visual elements are tagged appropriately with empty alt attributes.

3. Clinical Virtual Accommodations

In addition to web accessibility, we provide accommodations for virtual counselling sessions:

• Closed captioning support available within our secure video conferencing platform.
• Flexibility to transition video sessions to phone appointments if video fatigue or visual sensitivities occur.
• Written intake paperwork formatted for readability, with options to review materials verbally during session time.

4. Feedback and Assistance

We continually monitor and improve our website's accessibility. If you encounter any digital barrier, have difficulty accessing any portion of our site, or require assistance scheduling an appointment, please contact us:

We strive to respond to accessibility inquiries within 1–2 business days.