Confidential counselling for people who work in healthcare, offered in person in Edmonton and St. Albert and virtually across Alberta. Registered Psychologists at Wholesome Psychology are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). The team also includes Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Certified Canadian Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. Sessions are 50 minutes, in person or virtual.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Counselling for Healthcare Workers Is Right for You

You may be questioning whether what you are carrying is bad enough to take up a therapist's hour. You spend your shifts around people who, by any measure you would apply at work, are having a much worse time than you are. Compared to them, tired and short-tempered does not feel like a reason to book anything.

Some of what brings people in looks small from the outside. Sitting in the car in the driveway for ten minutes before going inside, because the house needs a version of you that you do not have left. Being sharp with someone at home who did nothing to earn it. Lying awake after a night shift with a particular face or conversation running on a loop. Feeling flat during things that used to matter, or checking the schedule with a low dread that starts days early.

These are common reactions to sustained demand, not evidence that you are weak or that you chose the wrong career. Healthcare work involves long or irregular hours, shifting responsibilities, emotionally significant contact with patients and families, and team dynamics that can be complicated. Responses to that kind of work make sense in context.

You do not need to have decided anything to keep reading. The rest of this page describes what this service is, what it is not, what the research does and does not tell us, and what it costs, so you can decide for yourself whether it seems relevant.

Who We Help

This service is for adults working in healthcare in any role. That includes nurses, physicians, paramedics, technologists, allied health professionals, health care aides, unit clerks, housekeeping and support staff, students and residents, and people who have recently left a healthcare role.

Counselling here may be a reasonable fit if you are:

• Finding that work demands are affecting your sleep, mood, patience, or relationships
• Struggling with boundaries between work, home, and time off
• Adjusting to a new role, unit, schedule, or stage of your career
• Dealing with conflict or strain in professional or personal relationships
• Sitting with grief, guilt, or difficult experiences connected to work
• Questioning your relationship to the work, including meaning, values, and whether to stay
• Wanting a private place to think out loud that is not your manager, your union, or a colleague
• Looking into options on behalf of a partner, adult child, or coworker who works in healthcare

This service may not be the right fit if:

• You are in crisis or immediate danger. Please use the resources in the next block. Wholesome Psychology does not provide emergency or crisis response.
• You need a psychological assessment or a report. Psychological assessments are a separate service at this clinic, with their own process and fees. Counselling sessions do not produce an assessment, a diagnosis, or a report. If you need documentation, contact the administrative team to discuss purpose and scope before booking.
• You need a legal, forensic, occupational health, disability, or professional-college process handled. Therapy is not part of those processes. Speak with the clinic first if you think documentation may be requested later.
• You need medical care. Counselling does not replace care from a physician, nurse practitioner, or psychiatrist, and psychologists in Alberta do not prescribe medication.

If You Need Help Right Now

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service. Sessions are scheduled in advance and clinicians are not available between appointments. If you need immediate support, please use one of the following:

• 911 if there is an immediate risk of harm, or go to your nearest emergency department
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What This Service Is

This is regular talk therapy with a registered clinician, focused on work-related concerns and the parts of your life connected to them. You meet for 50 minutes, in person or by secure video, and you decide what gets talked about. The pace is set by you, not by the therapist.

Some people arrive using the word burnout. In the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision, burnout is listed among factors influencing health status related to employment, rather than as a medical condition in its own right (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). That distinction matters here in a practical way. A therapist can explore what the word means for you and what sits underneath it, without treating it as a diagnosis you have been handed.

Help-seeking among healthcare workers has been studied in this country. Statistics Canada has surveyed the experiences of health care workers in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic (Statistics Canada, 2022), and Canadian research has examined mental health treatment self-referrals among healthcare workers in Ontario during that period (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2025). The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) has also published public guidance on the challenges faced by frontline health care providers (CPA, 2020). Reaching out is a well-travelled path in this workforce.

What this service is not: it is not a legal service, an investigation, a fitness-to-practise process, a crisis line, or medical care. Clinicians work within their scope of practice and will tell you plainly when something falls outside it, including referring you elsewhere. What you share is confidential within specific legal limits, which are set out in full further down this page and reviewed with you at the start of care.

Signs Work-Related Strain May Be Affecting You

People notice this in different places. You do not need all of these, and none of them is a diagnosis. They are patterns readers often recognize:

• Sleep that does not restore you, or trouble winding down after a shift
• Irritability that shows up at home more than at work
• Feeling emotionally flat or distant from patients, colleagues, or family
• Dread before shifts, or relief when a shift is cancelled that feels out of proportion
• Replaying specific interactions, decisions, or outcomes
• Physical signs such as headaches, jaw tension, stomach trouble, or getting sick more often
• Doing less of what used to restore you, including exercise, hobbies, and time with people
• Drinking, scrolling, or working more than you would like in order to switch off
• Wondering whether you can keep doing this for another five years

Experiences like these are common responses to demanding conditions. They do not mean something is permanently wrong with you, and they do not commit you to any particular explanation. A structured conversation with someone outside your workplace can be a reasonable way to look at what is going on and decide what, if anything, you want to change.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. Use the Match with a Therapist tool, browse Our Therapists, or call the administrative team at 780-904-4880 if you would rather talk it through with a person.
• Book your first session. The first appointment covers consent, how confidentiality works and where its limits are, and what you would like support with. You can ask questions before you share anything personal.
• Build your plan together. Goals, focus, and approach are discussed rather than assigned. If something is not working for you, saying so is part of the process.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes, typically weekly or every second week, and adjusted around your schedule and what you need.
• Progress check-ins. Your clinician reviews with you how things are going and whether the plan should change.

There is no fixed number of sessions and no set curriculum. Some people come for a specific problem and stop when it settles. Others use therapy over a longer stretch. Your voice matters at every stage, including the decision to pause or stop. For more on what the process looks like, see Getting Started with Therapy and what to expect from therapy.

Evidence and Approaches

Here is an honest account of the evidence base for this page. The research reviewed covers supports for healthcare workers as a group. It does not establish that one therapy model works best for any individual, and this page does not claim otherwise. Your clinician will draw on approaches that fit their training and your goals, and will explain their reasoning.

Individual Talking Therapy for Work-Related Concerns

What it helps with: A private, structured place to work through workload, relationships, sleep, boundaries, and the meaning you attach to your work.

Evidence summary: An umbrella review of systematic reviews examined interventions intended to support the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare workers, drawing on 14 eligible systematic reviews (Mohd Nadzir et al., 2026). The review grouped supports into eight categories, including cognitive and behavioural approaches, mindfulness and mind-body approaches, peer and relational support, and organizational interventions.

Limitations: The review reported substantial variation across intervention design, delivery, and outcome measures, so group-level findings do not predict what will help a particular person. It also does not speak to Alberta settings specifically.

Cognitive and Behavioural Approaches

What it helps with: Working with patterns of thinking, avoidance, and routine that build up around shift work, workload, and difficult events.

Evidence summary: Cognitive and behavioural interventions were one of the eight categories of support identified in the umbrella review of healthcare-worker mental health interventions (Mohd Nadzir et al., 2026). Research in this area exists and continues to develop.

Limitations: The materials reviewed for this page do not support a claim that this approach outperforms others for healthcare workers, and comparative effectiveness has not been established here. Individual responses vary.

Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches

What it helps with: Practical skills for winding down, managing physical tension, and creating some separation between work and the rest of life.

Evidence summary: Mindfulness-based and mind-body interventions were also among the eight categories of support examined in the umbrella review (Mohd Nadzir et al., 2026). They appear in the literature as one option among several rather than as a single recommended pathway.

Limitations: Evidence quality across this category varies, and these approaches do not suit everyone. Some people find them unhelpful or difficult, which is a reasonable thing to say to your therapist.

Workplace and Organizational Context

What it helps with: Naming the parts of the problem that sit in the working conditions rather than in you, and deciding what is and is not within your control.

Evidence summary: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on mental wellbeing at work that addresses workplace-level approaches (NICE, 2022). The umbrella review reached a similar emphasis, concluding that individual supports are most durable when paired with organizational and system-level change (Mohd Nadzir et al., 2026).

Limitations: NICE guidance is developed for the United Kingdom and does not map directly onto Alberta employers or systems. Therapy cannot change your workplace, and this page makes no claim that it will.

What Results to Expect

Nothing here is guaranteed. No therapy guarantees an outcome, and any clinician who promises one is overstating what the evidence supports.

What is reasonable to expect is variability. Progress is rarely a clean upward line. People often report a good stretch, then a hard week after a bad shift, and that pattern is normal rather than a sign that therapy is failing. Some people notice shifts within a short course of sessions. Others find longer-term work more useful, particularly when the concerns are long-standing.

Several things influence how it goes:

• What you are dealing with and how long it has been going on
• Your current circumstances, including your workload, schedule, and support at home
• How much of the difficulty sits in working conditions that therapy cannot change directly
• The fit between you and your therapist, which matters more than most people expect

If the fit is not right, changing therapist or changing approach is always an option, and asking for that is not a setback. The administrative team can help with the switch.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in therapy is confidential. Psychologists at Wholesome Psychology are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and practise under the CAP Standards of Practice (CAP, 2023) and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (CPA, 2017).

Privacy of your information is governed by Alberta legislation, including the Health Information Act (HIA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). CAP publishes an interpretive guide explaining how this legislation applies to psychological practice in Alberta (CAP, 2026).

Confidentiality has limits that are set in law and professional standards. Your clinician may be required or permitted to disclose information in situations including:

• Reasonable grounds to believe disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent and grave harm to you, to another person, or to public safety
• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which carries a mandatory reporting duty under Alberta law
• A court order or another legal requirement

Your clinician will explain these limits clearly during the informed consent discussion in your first session, before you share anything you would rather not. You can ask questions about records, storage, and who has access at any point.

One point specific to healthcare workers: this page does not claim that therapy records are automatically invisible to employers, insurers, regulatory colleges, or other third parties. Those situations depend on the circumstances, on what you consent to, and on how you pay. If that is a concern for you, raise it with the administrative team before booking and with your clinician during consent, and get a clear answer before you start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe specific cases or incidents in detail?

No. You set the pace and you decide what to bring. Plenty of useful work happens by looking at present-day patterns such as sleep, irritability, avoidance, and boundaries, without going through an incident in detail. If a specific event is part of what you want to address, it can be approached gradually and on your terms. You also do not need to breach your own patients' confidentiality to describe what a shift is like for you.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within limits set by law and professional standards. The exceptions include risk of imminent and grave harm, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, and legal requirements such as a court order. Your clinician reviews all of this with you during informed consent in the first session. See the confidentiality section above for the full explanation, including the Alberta legislation involved.

Will my employer, my insurer, or my professional college find out?

This is a fair question and it deserves a straight answer rather than blanket reassurance. Wholesome Psychology does not report your attendance to your employer or your regulatory college as a matter of course. However, this page cannot promise that records are automatically hidden from every third party in every circumstance, because that depends on what you consent to, how you pay, and the situation. Direct billing, employer-funded programs, and disability or licensing processes can each involve some information sharing. Ask the administrative team about your specific situation before you book, and raise it again with your clinician during consent.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed answer, and anyone giving you a number before meeting you is guessing. Some people come with a specific concern and finish when it settles. Others find a longer course of work more useful. Progress is reviewed with you regularly, and stopping or pausing is a decision you are part of.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is not rude to say the fit is off. Tell your therapist or contact the administrative team at 780-904-4880, and they 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 and are subject to the same confidentiality standards as in-person appointments. Many people working shifts find virtual easier to schedule. You will need a private space and a reliable connection.

Can I book around shift work?

Appointments run Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 9 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PM, so early, late, and weekend times exist. Availability depends on the individual clinician, so mention your schedule when you call or when you use the matching tool, and mention it again if the 24-hour cancellation policy could be difficult with rotating shifts.

What is the difference between a psychologist and a counsellor?

They are different regulated or certified credentials with different training paths and different fees. Registered Psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registered Provisional Psychologists have completed their graduate training and practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), and Certified Canadian Counsellors (CCCs) are regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), not CAP. The clinic also has Mental Health Therapists and Student Therapists, at lower fee tiers. If you are not sure which is right for you, the administrative team can talk it through, and the Match with a Therapist tool can narrow it down.

Meet Your Clinicians

Wholesome Psychology's team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Certified Canadian Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. All psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP), Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), and Certified Canadian Counsellors (CCCs) are regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), not CAP. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist.

Every clinician works within their own scope of practice and training. This page does not publish healthcare-worker-specific training details for individual clinicians, because that information has not been verified for this page. If experience with occupational and work-related concerns matters to you, ask the administrative team at 780-904-4880 before booking, and ask your clinician directly in the first session.

You can read individual profiles on the Our Therapists page, or use the Match with a Therapist tool if you would rather be pointed in a direction.

Children and Youth

Some readers arrive here looking for support for a family member rather than themselves. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people alongside adult services.

• Therapists working with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches suited to the child's stage of development.
• Clinicians work with caregivers to support the environment around the child, not only the child in the room.
• Related pages include child and youth counselling and adolescent mental health.

If you are a healthcare worker considering support for someone at home as well as yourself, the administrative team can help you sort out who sees whom.

Taking a Next Step

If this page seems relevant, there are a few ways forward, and none of them commits you to a course of therapy.

• Book a session online
• Match with a therapist if you would like help choosing
• Call the administrative team at 780-904-4880 with questions about fees, direct billing, scheduling, or privacy
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read Getting Started with Therapy if you would like to know more about the process first

Related pages that may be closer to what you are looking for include compassion fatigue, workplace stress, front-line workers' mental health, and workplace psychological health and safety.

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

Starting the conversation is enough.

References

• Canadian Psychological Association. (2017). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (4th ed.).
• Canadian Psychological Association. (2020). "Psychology Works" fact sheet: Emotional and psychological challenges faced by frontline health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• College of Alberta Psychologists. (2023). Standards of practice (May 31, 2023).
• College of Alberta Psychologists. (2026). Interpretive guide: Privacy legislation in Alberta (revised January 23, 2026).
• Mohd Nadzir, A. Y. B., Gopinath, D., Rajiah, K., Fang, C. M., & Maharajan, M. K. (2026). Effectiveness of interventions to support healthcare workers' mental health and well-being: An umbrella review of systematic reviews. Public Health, 258, 106392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2026.106392
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2022). Mental wellbeing at work.
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (2025). Ontario healthcare workers who sought treatment for their mental health during the first five waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: A snapshot of self-referrals across the province. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 45(2). https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-45-no-2-2025/ontario-healthcare-workers-treatment-mental-health-covid-19-pandemic-snapshot-self-referrals-across-province.html
• Statistics Canada. (2022). Experiences of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, September to November 2021. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220603/dq220603a-eng.htm
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics.