Private counselling for people affected by harmful, controlling, or frightening patterns in an intimate, family, or household relationship, at a pace you set. Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Canadian Certified Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. Psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) are certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), a non-statutory self-regulating body. In-person in Edmonton and St. Albert, and virtual across Alberta, 50-minute sessions, days, evenings, and weekends sessions available.

Book a Session | Match with a Therapist

You Might Be Wondering Whether Domestic Abuse Counselling Is Right for You

You may be questioning whether what happened to you counts. Maybe there was no injury, or it only happened a few times, or it stopped years ago. Maybe you keep landing on the thought that other people have had it worse, so you should be able to manage this on your own.

Many people do not use the word abuse for their own situation. Guidance for Canadian practitioners suggests that the language a person uses for their own relationship is often different from clinical or legal terms, and that starting from the person's own description is usually more useful than a label (Wright, 2024). You do not need a word for it before you talk about it.

Some of what you are living with may be familiar:

• Rehearsing conversations in your head before you have them, so nothing sets anything off
• Second-guessing your own memory of events, or checking your phone to confirm what was actually said
• Feeling calm on the surface and exhausted underneath, without a clear reason you can point to
• Pulling back from friends or family because explaining it feels harder than staying quiet

These are ordinary responses to circumstances where a person has had to stay alert. They are the ways a mind and body adapt to protect someone, not evidence of weakness or of something permanently wrong. Naming them does not commit you to a decision about your relationship or to any particular next step.

The rest of this page describes what counselling of this kind involves, what it does not involve, what the research does and does not show, and what it costs. You may wish to read on and see whether it sounds relevant to your situation.

Who We Help

This service may be a good fit if you are:

• Living with, or recovering from, patterns of control, criticism, intimidation, monitoring, or isolation in a relationship
• Unsure whether your experience qualifies as abuse and want a private place to think it through
• Affected by financial, emotional, verbal, sexual, or physical harm in an intimate, family, or household relationship
• Adjusting after a separation, a change in contact, or a change in living arrangements
• Carrying effects from a relationship that ended some time ago
• Supporting a child or another family member and noticing the strain on yourself
• Gathering information on behalf of someone you care about, and wanting to understand what therapy would involve before you raise it with them

This service may not be the right fit in the following situations:

• You are in immediate danger. Therapy appointments are scheduled in advance and are not a crisis response. The resources below are available now.
• You need legal or forensic support. Counselling is not legal advice, and it does not produce court documentation, custody recommendations, or forensic opinions. Psychological assessments are a separate service at this clinic and are not part of counselling.
• You are seeking a programme for your own use of harmful behaviour. Clinical guidance recommends that people who disclose that they are causing harm be offered referral to specialist services designed for that purpose (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2016). Our administrative team can point you toward general community options.
• You are looking for relationship or couples work. Joint counselling may not be appropriate in every relationship context involving abuse, and suitability needs careful discussion with a qualified professional before anything is booked.
• You need shelter placement, advocacy, or emergency housing. These are specialized services provided by other organizations.

If You Need Help Right Now

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service. If there is immediate danger or an urgent risk of harm, use these instead of waiting for an appointment.

• 911 for immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• Family Violence Info Line (Alberta): 310-1818 (24/7, toll-free, over 170 languages)
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741

If you are having thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 9-8-8 anywhere in Canada at any time.

What Domestic Abuse Counselling Is

Domestic abuse counselling is a series of private conversations with a regulated mental health professional about experiences in an intimate, family, or household relationship and how those experiences are affecting you now. Sessions are 50 minutes. What you talk about, and in what order, is decided together rather than set by a fixed programme.

Counselling can offer space to look at the effects of what has happened, to think about boundaries and coping, and to consider next steps that are meaningful to you. It does not require you to reach a particular conclusion about your relationship. A therapist does not tell you to stay or to leave.

There are clear limits to what this service is. Counselling is not emergency response, police service, legal advice, medical care, shelter placement, or crisis intervention. It is also not a psychological assessment; assessments are a separate service with a separate process. Where it would be useful, and with your consent, a therapist may talk with you about community, health, legal, or advocacy resources, but that conversation supports your own decision-making and does not replace those specialized services.

Conversations are generally confidential, with legal and ethical limits that your therapist will explain before you share anything personal. The confidentiality section below sets out those limits in detail.

Signs Domestic Abuse May Be Affecting You

People are affected differently, and there is no single expected response. Clinical guidance lists a broad range of experiences that can be associated with domestic violence and abuse, including low mood, anxiety, post-traumatic stress responses, sleep problems, self-harm, substance use, and unexplained or persistent physical pain (NICE, 2016). In plainer terms, the patterns people describe often include:

• Difficulty sleeping, or waking with a jolt at small sounds
• Feeling on edge in ordinary situations, then flat and tired afterward
• Trouble concentrating at work or losing track of conversations
• Doubting your own judgement, or apologizing before you have done anything
• Physical symptoms without a clear medical explanation, such as headaches, stomach trouble, or ongoing pain
• Avoiding certain places, topics, or people
• Drinking or using substances more than you intend to, in order to take the edge off
• Feeling numb toward people you care about, including your children
• Changes in confidence that show up in decisions as small as what to order or what to wear

These are common reactions to harmful experiences rather than permanent features of who you are. Noticing several of them does not mean you have a disorder, and nothing on this page is a diagnosis. Structured support gives these responses a place to be examined rather than managed alone.

How Counselling Works Here

• Find your therapist. You can use the Match with a Therapist tool, read individual profiles on Our Therapists, or call our administrative team at 780-904-4880 for booking guidance. The administrative team can answer questions about appointments, locations, and availability.
• Book your first session. The first appointment covers consent, privacy practices, and the limits of confidentiality, then moves to what brings you in and what you would like from counselling. You set how much detail you give. Booking is available through our online booking system.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist agree on the focus. Goals can be broad, such as sleeping better, or specific, such as preparing for a difficult conversation.
• Ongoing sessions. Follow-up appointments are commonly weekly or bi-weekly, and timing can be adjusted around your needs, preferences, and appointment availability. Sessions are 50 minutes, in person or virtual.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist reviews with you whether the work is helping and what should change. Plans are revised as needs change.

There is no fixed number of sessions. The plan belongs to you as much as to your therapist, and you can raise a concern about the approach at any point. More detail about the process is on the Getting Started with Therapy page.

Evidence and Approaches

The strongest available synthesis on this topic is a Cochrane systematic review of psychological therapies for women who have experienced intimate partner violence, covering 33 trials and 5,517 women (Hameed et al., 2020). It analysed therapies as a group rather than ranking one against another, so the sections below describe approaches that were represented in that body of research and state honestly what the review could and could not establish.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

What it helps with: Patterns of thinking and behaviour that keep low mood, worry, and self-blame in place after harmful relationship experiences.

Evidence summary: In a Cochrane review of psychological therapies for women who experienced intimate partner violence, therapies as a group probably reduced depression at six to twelve month follow-up, based on moderate-certainty evidence (Hameed et al., 2020). Six of the included trials used cognitive behavioural therapy. The review also found that therapies may reduce anxiety symptoms in the shorter term, with low-certainty evidence.

Limitations: The review pooled several therapy types, so it does not show that CBT outperforms other approaches. Trials were conducted with women, most in high-income countries, and individual responses vary.

Third-Wave Cognitive and Mindfulness-Based Approaches

What it helps with: Building tolerance for distressing thoughts and physical sensations without avoiding them, and reconnecting with what matters to you.

Evidence summary: Four trials of third-wave cognitive behavioural therapies were included in the Cochrane review of psychological therapies in the context of intimate partner violence (Hameed et al., 2020). These contributed to the overall finding that therapy probably reduces depression and may reduce anxiety. The review did not report separate effect estimates for this group of therapies.

Limitations: The number of third-wave trials was small, and their results were not analysed separately, so the evidence for this specific family of approaches is weaker than the overall finding suggests.

Humanistic and Person-Centred Counselling

What it helps with: Making sense of your own experience at your own pace, in a setting where you direct the focus rather than following a set protocol.

Evidence summary: Nine humanistic therapy trials were included in the Cochrane review, making this one of the larger categories in the evidence base for this population (Hameed et al., 2020). Therapies overall were associated with probable reductions in depression. Trials were delivered by a mix of practitioners, including social workers, nurses, psychologists, and community health workers.

Limitations: Effects for this category were not reported separately. Trial quality varied, and only about a third of trials described reliable procedures for concealing group allocation.

Trauma-Focused and Integrative Approaches

What it helps with: Post-traumatic responses such as intrusive memories, hypervigilance, and avoidance that persist after the situation has changed.

Evidence summary: Integrative therapies made up the largest group in the Cochrane review, with 11 trials (Hameed et al., 2020). The review found uncertain evidence for post-traumatic stress outcomes, and its authors identified a need for more interventions with a trauma focus and for more rigorous trials.

Limitations: Evidence for post-traumatic stress symptoms in this population was low certainty and did not show a clear difference between groups. Improvement in emotional health does not necessarily address the wider needs a person may have.

Safety-Aware and Choice-Centred Practice

What it helps with: Keeping decisions about disclosure, pace, and referral in your hands throughout counselling.

Evidence summary: Quality standards for domestic violence and abuse describe asking about experiences in a private discussion, responding through appropriately trained staff, and offering referral to specialist support services (NICE, 2016). This describes how a service should be organized around a person's safety and choices.

Limitations: This is a description of a way of working rather than a treatment with measured outcomes, and it is not a clinic-wide credential. Training and areas of focus vary between individual clinicians.

What Results to Expect

Recovery is not linear. People often describe stretches of steady progress followed by weeks where old responses return, particularly around anniversaries, court dates, or contact with the other person. That pattern is not a sign that counselling has failed.

Some people find relief from just 2-3 sessions, often because having a private place to say something out loud changes how much room it takes up. Others work over a longer period, particularly where experiences accumulated over years. In the research base for this population, the number of sessions in individual trials ranged from two to fifty (Hameed et al., 2020).

What the evidence supports is cautious. Psychological therapies probably reduce depression and may reduce anxiety for women who have experienced intimate partner violence (Hameed et al., 2020). Effects on post-traumatic stress symptoms, self-efficacy, safety planning, and further exposure to violence were uncertain in that review. Counselling does not make anyone safe, end abuse, or prevent future harm, and no therapy guarantees an outcome.

Several things influence how it goes: the nature and duration of what you experienced, your current circumstances and supports, whether you are still in the situation, and how well you and your therapist work together. Therapeutic fit matters, and changing therapist or approach is always an option.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in counselling is generally confidential. Your therapist will review privacy practices, informed consent, and the limits of confidentiality at the start of care, and you can ask questions before you share anything personal.

Psychologists at this clinic are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and practise under its Standards of Practice and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) are certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), a non-statutory self-regulating body. Alberta has more than one privacy statute. The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) generally governs private organizations in Alberta, including private psychology clinics. The Health Information Act (HIA) governs health information held by custodians defined in that Act, such as public health bodies. Your therapist can tell you which applies to your file and how your records are held.

Confidentiality is not absolute. Information may be disclosed without your consent in limited circumstances, including:

• Risk of serious harm to you or to another person
• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which carries a mandatory reporting duty under Alberta law
• A court order or other legal requirement

One practical point matters for this topic. The clinic cannot guarantee privacy outside the therapy setting. Shared devices, shared email accounts, browser history, insurance plans that report to a policy holder, mailed receipts, and shared living arrangements are all outside our control. If privacy at home is a concern, you can tell the administrative team how you would prefer to be contacted, and you can raise billing and receipt questions before your first appointment.

Common Questions

Do I have to describe what happened in detail?

No. You decide how much detail to give and when. Some people never give a full account of events and still get a great deal from counselling, because much of the work involves present-day patterns such as sleep, concentration, boundaries, and how you respond to reminders. If your therapist asks something you would rather not answer, saying so is a normal and useful part of the process.

Is what I share kept private?

Counselling conversations are generally confidential, with limited legal exceptions: risk of serious harm to you or someone else, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, and court orders. Your therapist explains these limits at the first session before you share anything personal. The confidentiality section above sets out the regulatory bodies and Alberta legislation involved, and notes what the clinic cannot control, such as shared devices and insurance paperwork.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed answer. Some people come for a short series of sessions with a specific focus, and others work over a longer period. In research on therapy for people who have experienced intimate partner violence, the number of sessions used in individual trials ranged from two to fifty (Hameed et al., 2020). Your therapist reviews progress with you regularly, and the plan is adjusted rather than fixed at the start.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit is a practical matter, not a judgement about you or the clinician. If the match is not working, you can tell your therapist directly or contact our administrative team at 780-904-4880, and we can help you move to a different clinician. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I access therapy online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available across Alberta, with the same confidentiality standards that apply in person. Some people choose virtual appointments for privacy or travel reasons; others find that a room away from home is easier. You can discuss with the administrative team which format suits your situation, and you can switch later.

What if I am still in the relationship or still in an unsafe situation?

You can attend counselling while you are still in a relationship, and you are not required to make any decision about it. Counselling is not a crisis service, so if there is immediate danger, use the resources listed above rather than waiting for an appointment. If it would be useful, and with your consent, your therapist may discuss what community, health, legal, or advocacy services exist, without assuming which path is right for you.

I am not sure what I experienced counts as abuse. Should I still book?

Uncertainty is a common reason people come in, and you do not need a definition or a label to book an appointment. A first session can be used simply to describe what has been happening in your own words and to consider whether counselling seems useful. Nobody will require you to categorize your experience before you speak.

I am looking for information for someone else. What can I do?

You can read this page, share it, or call 780-904-4880 with general questions about how appointments and booking work. Because of confidentiality, we cannot discuss whether a specific person is a client, and an adult needs to book their own appointment. If you are supporting someone, your own counselling is also an option, and the strain of supporting a person in this situation is a legitimate reason to seek support.

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 (CAP), the regulatory body responsible for setting standards of practice and handling complaints in Alberta. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) are certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), a non-statutory self-regulating body. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist.

Training, experience, and areas of focus vary between individual clinicians, including experience relevant to abuse, trauma, and family violence. Rather than describing the team as a whole, we list what each person works with on their profile. You can read individual profiles on Our Therapists, use the Match with a Therapist tool, or call the administrative team at 780-904-4880 to talk through options and current availability.

Children and Youth

Domestic abuse affects households, and children often notice more than adults expect. We offer counselling for children, adolescents, and young people, with approaches adapted to a child's age and stage rather than delivered as a shorter version of adult therapy. Younger children may work through play and activity; teenagers usually work through conversation.

Clinicians working with young people also work with caregivers, since a child's recovery environment matters as much as the sessions themselves. That can include understanding a child's behaviour differently, planning for contact arrangements, or thinking about what and when to explain. Related pages include Child and Youth Stress and Trauma and Child and Youth Counselling.

Please note that suspected abuse or neglect of a child carries a mandatory reporting duty under Alberta law. Your therapist will explain how this works before you begin.

Related Support

• Abuse Counselling
• Emotional Abuse Counselling
• Family Violence Counselling
• Trauma Therapy
• Divorce or Separation Counselling

Taking a Next Step

If counselling sounds like it might be useful, you can book a session online, use the Match with a Therapist tool, or call 780-904-4880 to speak with the administrative team about appointments, locations, and formats. You can also email info@wholesomepsychology.ca, or read more about the process on the Getting Started with Therapy page.

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

Starting the conversation is enough.

References

• Hameed, M., O'Doherty, L., Gilchrist, G., Tirado-Muñoz, J., Taft, A., Chondros, P., Feder, G., Tan, M., & Hegarty, K. (2020). Psychological therapies for women who experience intimate partner violence. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 7(7), CD013017. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013017.pub2
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2016). Domestic violence and abuse (NICE Quality Standard QS116). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs116
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (2016). The Chief Public Health Officer's report on the state of public health in Canada 2016: A focus on family violence in Canada.
• Statistics Canada. (n.d.). Section 3: Police-reported intimate partner violence.
• Wright, V. (2024). Question and answer: Supporting clients in domestic abuse situations. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Project newsletter.