A private, collaborative space to look at how work is affecting you and what kind of support could be useful. Registered Psychologists and Registered Provisional Psychologists regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Also Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), Registered Social Workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), Mental Health Therapists, and supervised Student Therapists. In person in Edmonton and St. Albert, or virtual anywhere in Alberta. 50-minute sessions, with clinic hours seven days a week.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Workplace Stress Counselling Is Right for You

You may be asking yourself whether work stress is a real enough reason to talk to someone. You are still getting up and going in. You are still meeting most of your deadlines. Plenty of people have demanding jobs, so it can feel like you should be able to handle this on your own.

And yet work may be taking up more of your life than it used to. Maybe you lie awake replaying a conversation with your manager, or feel a knot in your stomach on Sunday evenings. Maybe you have less patience at home than you would like, or you check messages late at night because not checking feels worse.

These reactions make sense. When pressure stays high for a long stretch, it can be hard to switch off, even at home. That is a common human response to a heavy load. It is not a sign that you are weak or bad at your job.

If you are trying to work out whether speaking with someone could help, this page may be a useful starting point. It explains what workplace stress counselling looks like here, what it can and cannot do, and how the practical side works.

Who We Help

Workplace stress counselling may be a good fit if you:

• feel stretched by workload, long hours, or the expectation of always being reachable
• are dealing with tension with a manager, coworker, or team (our page on stress from difficult people covers this in more depth)
• are going through a change at work, such as a new role, a restructuring, or uncertainty about your job
• have recently lost a job and are sorting out what comes next (see counselling for loss of employment)
• are getting ready to go back after a leave (see returning to work support)
• are questioning whether your job still fits your values or the life you want
• run your own business and find it hard to separate work from everything else (see stress management for entrepreneurs)

Some readers are here for someone else. If a partner, family member, or friend is struggling with work, you can share this page with them. If their stress is affecting you too, counselling for yourself is also an option.

This service may not be the right fit on its own, or another service may suit you better, if:

• You are in crisis or worried about your immediate safety. Please use the crisis resources below.
• You need help with a legal or employment dispute, a human resources complaint, a workplace investigation, or a claim. Those needs sit outside counselling. An employment lawyer, union representative, or HR department may be better placed to help.
• You need a formal evaluation, such as documentation for a disability claim or a fitness-for-work report. This counselling service does not include psychological assessment. Psychological assessments are a separate service.
• A specific traumatic or violent event happened at work. Our workplace trauma counselling page may describe a closer match.
• You are an employer or manager looking for support at the team or organization level. Our page on workplace psychological health and safety may be more relevant.

If you are being harassed or threatened at work, your safety comes first. Counselling can sit alongside other steps, such as reporting through your workplace or getting advice from outside it.

If You Need Help Right Now

Counselling appointments are not set up for emergencies. If you are thinking about suicide, feel unable to stay safe, or someone else is at risk, please contact one of these services:

• 911 if you or someone else is in immediate danger
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8, anywhere in Canada
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What This Service Is

Workplace stress counselling is a series of conversations with a trained clinician about how work is affecting you. Together, you look at what is weighing on you most and what you would like to be different. Sessions may explore boundaries, communication, workload expectations, daily routines, values, or a job change you are weighing. You and your clinician choose the focus together, so it is not a fixed program.

Workplace stress is not automatically a diagnosis. Your clinician will not diagnose you based on a single concern or on anything you read here, and you do not need a diagnosis to start.

It also helps to be clear about what counselling is not:

• It is not a human resources service, performance management, or a workplace investigation.
• It is not legal advice or part of a legal process.
• It is not medical care. If you have physical health concerns or questions about medication, your family doctor is the right person to ask.
• It is not crisis intervention. The crisis resources above are there if you need immediate help.
• It does not include a psychological assessment. Assessments are a separate service.

You set the pace. Your clinician will not push you to talk about anything before you are ready, and you can say when something feels like too much. What you share is confidential, with some legal limits that are explained in the confidentiality and privacy section below and in your first session.

Counselling has limits too. It cannot change your employer's decisions, your workload, or how other people behave. Each clinician works within their own training and professional regulation, and may suggest other support if your needs fall outside what they offer.

Signs Workplace Stress May Be Affecting You

Work stress does not always look the way people expect. Some of the patterns people describe include:

• lying awake running through tomorrow's to-do list or replaying something a coworker said
• a heavy, dreading feeling on Sunday evenings or the night before a shift
• checking email or messages after hours because not checking feels worse
• shorter patience with a partner, children, or friends at the end of the day
• trouble focusing on tasks you used to handle without much thought
• feeling flat or detached about work that used to matter to you
• physical tension, such as tight shoulders or a knot in your stomach before certain meetings
• dropping friends, hobbies, or exercise because there is nothing left after work
• second-guessing whether you are good at your job, even when the feedback is fine

Noticing a few of these does not mean something is permanently wrong with you. They are common reactions to sustained pressure, and they can shift as circumstances or support change. Having a structured space to look at them, one at a time, is one option some people find useful.

If any of this includes thoughts of not wanting to be alive, please contact one of the crisis resources above rather than waiting for an appointment.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. The Match with a Therapist tool can help you narrow down your options. You can also read clinician profiles on our Our Therapists page, or call our admin team at 780-904-4880 for help choosing.
• Book your first session. Your first appointment includes a conversation about consent, confidentiality, and your goals. You can talk about what brought you in and ask any questions about how counselling works.
• Build your plan together. You and your clinician shape a plan around what matters to you. Your input guides the focus, and you can change it as you go.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes. Follow-up appointments are typically weekly or every two weeks, then adjusted as needed.
• Progress check-ins. Your clinician checks in regularly about what is helping and what is not. The plan can change as your work situation or your needs change.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Counselling is collaborative, and your voice matters at every stage. For more on what to expect, see Getting Started with Therapy.

Evidence and Approaches

Workplace stress counselling here is collaborative rather than one set method. The research reviewed for this page supports describing work-related pressures carefully. It did not include findings showing that any particular counselling approach works best for workplace stress, so this section sets out what the available sources show and where they stop.

Your clinician may draw on different therapy approaches depending on their training and your goals. You are welcome to ask why they are suggesting a particular approach.

Understanding Work Pressures Without Assuming a Diagnosis

What it helps with: Making sense of how job-related circumstances are affecting you, without starting from a label.

Evidence summary: The World Health Organization's ICD-11 classification lists employment-related circumstances, including employment conditions, relationships with people at work, change of job, threat of job loss, and burnout, among factors influencing health status or contact with health services (World Health Organization [WHO], 2025). This supports treating workplace stress as a work-related concern that is not automatically a mental health diagnosis.

Limitations: ICD-11 is a classification system, not a treatment study. It does not show whether counselling, or any specific approach, reduces workplace stress.

Looking at Workload and Work-Life Boundaries

What it helps with: Exploring how demands, hours, availability, and the line between work and home are shaping your days.

Evidence summary: Statistics Canada has highlighted heavy workloads and balancing work with personal life as commonly reported contributors to work-related stress among employed Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2023). Employment and Social Development Canada has also published a guideline on psychological health in the workplace (Employment and Social Development Canada [ESDC], 2016).

Limitations: These sources describe what workers report and the wider workplace context. They do not measure whether counselling changes workload-related stress.

Research on Work-Focused Stress Prevention

What it helps with: This area of research asks whether early, work-focused support can prevent stress complaints from building.

Evidence summary: A 2024 systematic review examined interventions delivered by occupational health professionals to prevent work-related stress complaints (Orhan Pees et al., 2024). The detailed findings were not available in the material reviewed for this page, so no conclusion about effectiveness is drawn here.

Limitations: The review looked at interventions delivered by occupational health professionals, not counselling in a private clinic. Its results may not apply to individual counselling.

What Results to Expect

Change in counselling is rarely a straight line. You might have a week where things feel clearer, then a hard stretch at work that brings old patterns back. That is a normal part of the process, not a sign that it is failing.

Some people notice shifts within a few months. Others find that longer-term work suits them better, especially when stress has been building for years or several parts of life are under strain at once.

Several things can influence how counselling goes:

• what is happening at work, and how much of it is within your control
• how long the stress has been building
• other pressures, such as health, finances, or caregiving
• the support you have outside of work
• how well you and your clinician work together

No therapy can guarantee a particular result, and outcomes vary from person to person. Counselling may help you explore what is affecting you and what support could be useful. Fit matters as well. If the match does not feel right, you can change therapists or try a different approach at any point.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in counselling is confidential. Clinicians follow the professional standards set by their regulators. Psychologists in Alberta are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and follow the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists.

Alberta privacy law also applies. For private clinics, the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) generally governs how personal information is collected, used, and shared. The Health Information Act (HIA) applies to health information held by health custodians, such as Alberta Health Services, and by affiliates who work for or with them. Your clinician can explain which rules apply to your care.

In a few situations, a clinician may be required or permitted by law to share information without your consent:

• when there is a risk of serious harm to you or someone else
• when there is reason to suspect a child is being abused or neglected, which must be reported under Alberta law
• when a court orders the release of records or information

Your clinician will go over these limits clearly in your first session, as part of informed consent. If you plan to use workplace benefits or direct billing, or you need a note for work, ask what information would be shared and with whom. Privacy, consent, and any requests to share information can be discussed with your clinician. You are welcome to ask questions about privacy before you share anything personal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe everything that happened at work in detail?

No. You decide how much to share and when. Many people start with what is happening now, such as how they feel heading into the week or what keeps them up at night, rather than a full history. Your clinician can work with present-day patterns, and you can always say you would rather not go into something yet.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, with some legal limits. Information is generally not shared without your consent, except where there is a risk of serious harm, a reason to suspect a child is being abused or neglected, or a court order. Your clinician will explain these limits in your first session. The confidentiality and privacy section above has more detail, including how PIPA and the HIA apply.

Will my employer find out that I am seeing someone?

Counselling is not the same as an employer program, an HR process, or a workplace investigation. Privacy, consent, and any requests to share information can be discussed with your clinician. If you plan to use workplace benefits or direct billing, or you need a note for work, ask what information would go to whom before you decide.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed number. Some people come for a shorter stretch around a specific situation, such as a job change or a difficult period with a manager. Others prefer longer-term support. You and your clinician will review progress regularly and decide together whether to continue, change the focus, or wrap up.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is reasonable to want a different match. You can tell your clinician directly, or contact our admin team at 780-904-4880 for help finding someone else. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I access counselling online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available anywhere in Alberta, which can make counselling easier to fit around a work schedule. The same confidentiality standards apply as for in-person sessions. You can read more on our online counselling page.

Is workplace stress a diagnosis?

Not on its own. Workplace stress is a work-related concern, and it is not automatically a diagnosis. Counselling can focus on how work pressures are affecting you and what support you want, without starting from a label. If you need a formal evaluation for another purpose, psychological assessment is a separate service.

Can counselling help if my workplace does not change?

Counselling cannot control workplace policies, workload decisions, other people's behaviour, or employment outcomes. What it can offer is a space to look at the impact of the situation, clarify what matters to you, and think through possible ways of responding. For some people, that means staying and setting different limits. For others, it means planning a move.

Meet Your Clinicians

Our team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Canadian Certified Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. All psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), and Student Therapists are master's-level practicum students who see clients under supervision.

Training and areas of focus differ from one clinician to the next. Many list stress, work concerns, or life transitions among their areas of practice, and the profiles on our Our Therapists page describe each person's background. If you would like help choosing, try the Match with a Therapist tool or call our admin team at 780-904-4880.

Taking the Next Step

If you would like to learn more or book a time, you can take the next step in whichever way feels easiest:

• Book a session online
• Match with a therapist
• Call 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read Getting Started with Therapy to see what the first steps look like

Starting the conversation is enough.

New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

References

• Employment and Social Development Canada. (2016). Psychological health in the workplace. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/health-safety/reports/psychological-health.html
• Orhan Pees, S., van Oostrom, S., Lettinga, H., Schaafsma, F., & Proper, K. (2024). Effects of interventions implemented by occupational health professionals to prevent work-related stress complaints: A systematic review. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 81(6), 321-328. https://oem.bmj.com/content/81/6/321
• Statistics Canada. (2023, June 19). Work-related stress most often caused by heavy workloads and work-life balance. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230619/dq230619c-eng.htm
• World Health Organization. (2025). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics. https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en