A private, unhurried place to talk about a loss and what it has changed, at whatever pace works for you. Care from 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), the regulatory body for psychology in Alberta. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), and Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) are regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). 50-minute sessions, in person at five Edmonton and St. Albert locations, or virtually across Alberta.

Book a Session | Match with a Therapist

You Might Be Wondering Whether Grief and Loss Counselling Is Right for You

You may be questioning whether enough time has passed that you should be managing better by now. Or whether this particular loss is the kind of loss people are supposed to get counselling for. Those questions keep a lot of people from ever picking up the phone.

Maybe you are getting through the workday and then losing whole evenings. Maybe you keep meaning to answer the messages from friends and cannot find the words, so you do not answer at all. Maybe a smell or a song in a grocery store aisle knocks the wind out of you months after everyone else seems to have moved on.

Responses like these are ordinary reactions to losing something that mattered. Grief is the normal response to losing someone, and the experience of loss is different for every person and every set of circumstances (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2020). There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and no schedule you are behind on.

If you are trying to work out whether talking with someone would help, reading on may give you a clearer sense of what this kind of counselling actually involves.

Who We Help

Grief and loss counselling at Wholesome Psychology may be a reasonable fit if you recognize yourself in any of the following.

• You are grieving the death of a partner, parent, child, sibling, friend, or someone else who mattered to you.
• Your loss was not a death. Grief also follows the end of a relationship, a job loss, a diagnosis or change in health, a move, retirement, infertility, or the death of a pet (Canadian Mental Health Association [CMHA], 2014; Sexton, 2025).
• You lost a pregnancy or a baby, and you are finding that other people do not know how to talk with you about it.
• Your relationship with the person who died was complicated, and what you feel does not look like straightforward sadness.
• You are carrying several losses at once, or losses that arrived close together.
• You are supporting someone else through a loss and you are running low yourself.
• The loss happened years ago and something recent has brought it back.

This service may not be the right fit in some situations.

• You need help right now. If you are in crisis or thinking about ending your life, please use the resources below rather than waiting for an appointment.
• You need a psychological assessment or a report. Psychological assessments are a separate service at this clinic. Counselling sessions do not include assessment, diagnosis, or a written report.
• You need documentation for a court, insurer, or legal process. Therapy is not a legal or forensic service. Please speak with the administrative team before booking so you can be pointed to the right pathway.
• You are looking for medication. Psychologists and counsellors in Alberta do not prescribe. Your family physician or a psychiatrist can advise on that.

If You Need Help Right Now

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service. We do not monitor phone, email, or web forms outside of business hours. If you need immediate support, please use one of these.

• 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, call or text 9-8-8, available across Canada.
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line, 1-877-303-2642, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741.

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What This Service Is

Grief and loss counselling is a series of scheduled conversations with a therapist about a loss and its effect on your life. You decide what to talk about and how much to say. The therapist's job is to follow your pace, not to move you through a process.

It is worth being clear about what this service is not. It is not a legal service, an investigation, or crisis intervention. It is not a psychological assessment, and it does not produce a diagnosis or a report. This page cannot determine whether any particular experience meets criteria for a mental health condition, and neither can a website form or a self-check quiz.

Sessions are confidential, within limits that Alberta law and professional standards set out. Your therapist will walk through those limits with you at the first appointment, before you share anything you would rather keep private. The confidentiality section further down explains this in more detail.

Therapists here work within their scope of practice. They do not prescribe medication, provide medical treatment, or offer legal advice. If something you bring falls outside what they can help with, they will say so and help you work out where to go instead.

Symptoms: Signs Grief May Be Affecting You

People notice grief in different places. Some of it shows up in feeling, some in thinking, some in the body, and some in how you are with other people. You may recognize some of the following and none of the rest.

• Waves of sadness, anger, fear, or guilt that arrive without warning and then recede.
• Feeling numb, flat, or oddly nothing at all, which can be just as unsettling as crying.
• Relief mixed in with the grief, especially after a long illness, followed by guilt about the relief.
• Trouble sleeping, low appetite, fatigue, or a sense of physical heaviness.
• Losing track of conversations, rereading the same paragraph, forgetting why you walked into a room.
• Avoiding places, photographs, dates, or people that bring the loss too close.
• Pulling back from work, friendships, or things you used to care about.
• Preoccupation with how the death happened, or with what you did or did not do.
• Waves of grief returning at anniversaries, holidays, and family events, sometimes for years.

Experiences like these are described in Canadian public education material on grief as common reactions to loss rather than signs that something has gone wrong with you (CMHA, 2014). Many people find that grief becomes more manageable over months with the support of people around them, and that occasional waves at anniversaries continue even after life has settled (Sexton, 2025). Having a hard time does not mean something is permanently broken. It does mean that structured support may be worth considering, particularly if the loss is affecting your safety, your health, or your ability to get through daily life.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. You can use the Match with a Therapist tool, read individual profiles on the Our Therapists page, or call the administrative team at 780-904-4880 and describe what you are looking for. Availability changes, so the admin team is often the fastest route.
• Book your first session. The first appointment covers consent, how confidentiality works and where its limits are, and what brought you in. You do not need a prepared account of what happened. Questions about how therapy works are a normal use of that first hour.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist decide what to focus on. That might be sleep, or getting back to work, or the relationship with the person who died, or something you have not been able to say out loud yet. The plan belongs to you and can change.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions run 50 minutes and are commonly weekly or every second week at the start, then spaced out as it makes sense. Frequency is a conversation, not a rule.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist will check in periodically about what is helping, what is not, and whether your goals have shifted. If something is not working, saying so is useful information rather than a setback.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Some people come for a short stretch and stop. Some return a year later around an anniversary. Your voice matters at every stage of this, including the decision to pause or finish.

Evidence and Approaches

Therapists here draw on several approaches depending on what you are dealing with and what you want from counselling. The evidence base for grief has an important feature worth stating plainly at the start: grief itself is a normal response and does not usually require psychological treatment, and formal grief interventions have the clearest support when grief has become persistent and disabling rather than in the weeks right after a loss (Sexton, 2025).

Supportive Counselling Soon After a Loss

What it helps with: Having somewhere to put the immediate shock, practical disruption, and isolation of a recent loss.

Evidence summary: Canadian professional guidance notes that early bereavement support can offer useful social contact and reassurance, but that preventive interventions delivered soon after a death have not shown evidence of lasting effect (Sexton, 2025). Public health guidance emphasizes compassionate listening, clear information, and giving people a sense of control over what happens next (PHAC, 2020).

Limitations: The same guidance warns that early grief support can be unhelpful, and occasionally harmful, if it implies a person is grieving wrongly or pushes emotional processing they are not seeking (Sexton, 2025).

Cognitive Behavioural Approaches for Grief

What it helps with: Patterns of avoidance that have narrowed your life, such as staying away from places, people, or reminders connected to the loss.

Evidence summary: Canadian professional guidance describes cognitive behavioural therapy aimed at grief-related avoidance as one option when grief has become prolonged, helping a person gradually return to situations they have been steering around (Sexton, 2025). A recent systematic review and network meta-analysis of prolonged grief disorder treatments reported that interventions performing better tended to include a cognitive behavioural component (Pleshka et al., 2025).

Limitations: That review pooled varied interventions and populations, and its authors noted a lack of data on children and on medication. Individual response differs.

Grief-Focused and Exposure-Based Therapy

What it helps with: Grief that has stayed intense and preoccupying long after the loss, with continued avoidance of reminders.

Evidence summary: Canadian professional guidance notes that psychological intervention for prolonged grief has evidence of moderate but lasting benefit, and names complicated grief treatment among the approaches used (Sexton, 2025). A 2025 systematic review and network meta-analysis of 40 randomized trials involving 4,566 participants found that better-performing treatments tended to share elements including exposure and narrative reconstruction (Pleshka et al., 2025).

Limitations: Trials in this area vary in quality and comparison groups, and shared ingredients are not the same as a ranking of named therapies. Outcomes vary between people.

Interpersonal Approaches

What it helps with: Losses tangled up in a difficult, unresolved, or estranged relationship, and the regret, anger, or guilt that can come with them.

Evidence summary: Canadian professional guidance lists interpersonal psychotherapy among approaches used for prolonged grief, and describes work on unresolved relationship material, including past hurts and regrets, as a relevant focus (Sexton, 2025). Social support was also among the elements shared by better-performing interventions in a recent network meta-analysis (Pleshka et al., 2025).

Limitations: The evidence pack assembled for this page does not contain trial-level data specific to interpersonal therapy for grief, so this is described as an available option rather than a comparatively stronger one.

Narrative and Expressive Approaches

What it helps with: Finding a way to hold on to a relationship with the person who died while building a life that has room for other things.

Evidence summary: A 2025 systematic review and network meta-analysis reported that interventions performing better for prolonged grief tended to include narrative reconstruction and artistic expression alongside other elements (Pleshka et al., 2025). Canadian professional guidance describes an enduring connection with the person who died, rather than getting over them, as a reasonable aim of grieving (Sexton, 2025).

Limitations: These elements were identified within mixed intervention packages, so their separate contribution is uncertain. Cultural and personal preferences shape whether this way of working suits someone.

What Results to Expect

Grief does not move in a straight line. Many people notice a stretch of increased sadness, anxiety, or anger somewhere around four to six months after a death, which commonly eases with time, though roughly half of people do not go through a low phase like that at all (Sexton, 2025). Neither pattern is a sign of doing it right or wrong.

Most people move through grief with support from the people around them and without therapy. Research summarized in a 2025 review estimates that a minority of bereaved people, in the range of about seven to ten percent, go on to develop the persistent, disabling pattern that the World Health Organization classifies as prolonged grief disorder (Pleshka et al., 2025; World Health Organization [WHO], 2026). Only a qualified clinician can consider whether that applies to a particular person, and a service page cannot.

Several things influence how counselling goes: the nature of the loss and the circumstances around it, what else is happening in your life, the support you have outside sessions, and how well you and your therapist work together. No therapy guarantees an outcome, and nobody can tell you in advance how long this will take.

Some people find relief from just 2-3 sessions. Others prefer to keep going for longer, or to come back at difficult points in the year. If the fit with your therapist is not right, changing therapist or changing approach is always an option and does not mean starting over.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you say in session stays between you and your therapist, with a small number of legal exceptions. Psychologists at Wholesome Psychology are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and work under its Standards of Practice and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists.

Two pieces of Alberta legislation are relevant to how your information is handled. The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) sets the rules for collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information by private organizations in Alberta, and it is the legislation that generally applies to a private psychology clinic. The Health Information Act (HIA) is Alberta's health information legislation and applies to custodians such as hospitals and provincial health agencies, so records about you held in those settings fall under the HIA rather than PIPA.

There are limits to confidentiality. Your therapist may be required to disclose information when:

• there is a risk of serious harm to you or to someone else;
• there is suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which carries a duty to report under Alberta law; or
• a court orders the release of records.

Your therapist will explain these limits clearly at the first session, as part of the consent process, and you can ask questions before you share anything personal. You are also welcome to ask how records are stored and who has access to them.

One practical note: please do not send urgent or highly sensitive personal details through general email or the website contact form. Those channels are not monitored continuously and are not the right place for anything time-critical.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe the death or the loss in detail?

No. You decide what you talk about and when. Some people want to tell the whole story early on and find that useful. Others would rather work on what is happening now, such as sleep, work, or how to get through a family gathering, and never go through a detailed account. Both are legitimate ways to use counselling, and your therapist should follow your lead rather than press for detail.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within limits set by Alberta law and professional standards. The exceptions are a risk of serious harm to you or someone else, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, and a court order. Your therapist will go through this with you at the first session before you share anything personal. The confidentiality section above sets out the applicable legislation and regulatory bodies.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed answer, and anyone who gives you a firm number in advance is guessing. Some people come for a short stretch and stop. Others prefer longer-term work, or return around anniversaries and holidays. Your therapist will review progress with you regularly, and you can change the plan at any point.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is not always clear until you have met. If it is not working, you can say so, and the administrative team can help you move to a different clinician. Nothing about that counts against you. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I access grief counselling online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available across Alberta, and the same confidentiality standards apply as for in-person appointments. Many people find virtual sessions easier in the early weeks after a loss, when leaving the house is more than they can manage.

My loss was not a death. Does that still count?

Yes. Canadian public education material on grief describes grief as a response to any significant loss, including the end of a relationship, a job loss, a diagnosis, or the death of a pet (CMHA, 2014). Canadian professional guidance similarly describes grief around retirement, divorce, changes in health, and children leaving home (Sexton, 2025). You do not have to justify the loss to book a session.

I am gathering information for someone else. Can I book on their behalf?

An adult books their own appointment, but you can help. You can read therapist profiles, use the Match tool, or call the administrative team at 780-904-4880 with questions before passing anything along. If you are supporting someone through a loss, the Supporting Someone Who Is Grieving page may also be useful. Supporting a grieving person while carrying your own loss is a common reason people book for themselves.

Does this include a psychological assessment?

No. Counselling sessions do not include psychological assessment, testing, diagnosis, or a written report. Assessments are a separate service with a separate process and fee structure. If you are unsure which you need, the administrative team can talk it through with you.

Meet Your Clinicians

Wholesome Psychology's 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, which sets standards of practice and handles complaints about psychologists in the province. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), and Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) are regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). Registered Provisional Psychologists have completed their graduate training and practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist while completing registration requirements.

Many clinicians here have training in grief and bereavement, trauma-informed practice, and related areas such as perinatal loss, chronic illness, and family transitions. Areas of focus differ between clinicians, and availability changes, so it is worth checking current profiles rather than assuming.

You can read individual profiles on the Our Therapists page, use the Match with a Therapist tool, or call the administrative team at 780-904-4880 if you would rather talk it through with a person. More about how the clinic works is on the Our Unique Approach page.

Children and Youth

Grief affects families, not just individuals, and children often grieve in ways adults do not immediately recognize, such as changes in play, school performance, sleep, or behaviour. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people alongside adult services.

Therapists working with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches rather than adult talk therapy scaled down. Clinicians also work with parents and caregivers, since the support a child has at home shapes how they cope. That can include help with what to say about a death, how to handle questions, and how to manage anniversaries and school.

One honest caveat: the treatment research for prolonged grief is largely adult research. The 2025 systematic review and network meta-analysis noted insufficient data on treatments for children (Pleshka et al., 2025). Work with children and young people therefore relies more on clinical judgement and developmental practice than on trial evidence.

Where to Go From Here

If you would like to get started, you can book a session online, use the Match with a Therapist tool, or call 780-904-4880 to talk with the administrative team. You can also email info@wholesomepsychology.ca, or read the Getting Started with Therapy page if you would like a fuller picture of the process first.

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

Starting the conversation is enough.

References

• Canadian Mental Health Association. (2014). Grieving: Not the same for everyone. https://www.cmha.ca/
• Pleshka, A., Crawford, S., Wellsby, M., Bahji, A., O'Connor, C., Trieu, J., Beck, A., Faqiri, M., & Devoe, D. (2025). Treatments for prolonged grief disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228251364716
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (2020). Chapter 7: Loss and grief. In Family-Centred Maternity and Newborn Care: National Guidelines (F. Morin, Lead Author). https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/maternity-newborn-care-guidelines-chapter-7.html
• Sexton, L. (2025). Psychology Works fact sheet: Grief in adults. Canadian Psychological Association. https://cpa.ca/psychologyfactsheets
• World Health Organization. (2026). ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (Version 2026-01), 6B42 Prolonged grief disorder. https://icd.who.int/browse11