A confidential, collaborative space to talk about racism and discrimination, including experiences you are still trying to put into words. Psychologists registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Psychologists, social workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), counsellors certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and supervised student therapists. In person in Edmonton and St. Albert, and virtual across Alberta.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Racism and Discrimination Counselling Is Right for You

You may be asking yourself whether what happened was really racism, or whether you are reading too much into it. Maybe someone told you it was just a joke, or that you are being too sensitive. You might also wonder whether counselling is even meant for this, since it can feel like a problem out in the world rather than something to bring to a therapist.

That kind of doubt is common. Racism and discrimination often show up in small moments that are easy for others to deny. Going over those moments again and again can leave you feeling less sure, not more.

You might catch yourself replaying a comment on the drive home, long after everyone else has moved on. You might brace yourself before walking into a meeting, a classroom, or a waiting room. Or you might feel worn down from explaining yourself, or from changing how you speak and present just to be taken seriously.

These reactions make sense. They are common ways people respond to being treated unfairly, especially when it keeps happening. They reflect how your mind and body have adapted to protect you, and they do not mean something is wrong with you. What is being looked at here is how you were treated, not who you are.

If you are considering whether speaking with someone could help, this page explains what this kind of counselling looks like, what it can and cannot do, and how to get started in Edmonton, St. Albert, or online.

Who We Help

This service may be a good fit if you:

• have faced racism, discrimination, exclusion, or unequal treatment at work, at school, in health care, in your community, or in a relationship
• are carrying the weight of repeated comments, assumptions, or stereotypes, even if each one seemed small on its own
• want space to think through questions about identity, culture, belonging, or experiences passed down in your family
• are deciding how to respond to a situation, such as whether to speak up, set a boundary, or look for other support
• are a parent or caregiver whose child or teen has faced racism or discrimination
• are supporting a partner, friend, or family member and want to understand how to help

Some people also find it useful to read about our counselling for cross-cultural issues, support for intercultural and interracial relationships, or Indigenous counselling. If most of the strain is coming from your job, our page on workplace stress may also be relevant.

This service may not be the right fit for:

• Crisis or immediate safety needs. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, please use the crisis resources below.
• Legal, forensic, or investigative needs. Counselling cannot decide whether discrimination occurred in a legal sense, gather evidence for a complaint, or represent you in a workplace, school, or human rights process. A lawyer, a union representative, or the body handling the complaint is the right place for those needs.
• Psychological assessment. Psychological assessments are a separate service and are not part of this counselling.
• Required training or mandated programs. This counselling is not a diversity, equity, or anti-racism training program, and it does not replace a program required by an employer, school, or court.

If You Need Help Right Now

Counselling is not set up for emergencies. If you are being threatened or harmed, or you are thinking about ending your life, please contact one of these services:

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

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What Racism and Discrimination Counselling Is, and What It Is Not

Racism and discrimination counselling is a confidential, collaborative space to explore what has been happening and what support may be useful. You might talk about one specific event, a pattern that has built up over years, or how these experiences are affecting your relationships, work, studies, or sense of self. Wholesome Psychology describes its approach as collaborative and client-centred, so your goals and your understanding of what happened shape the work.

Discrimination may be an important social context to discuss in counselling. International health classification treats it as part of a person's social environment, not as a diagnosis (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). Seeking counselling about discrimination does not mean you have a mental health condition, and no diagnosis is assumed.

Mental health equity is also an area of public health work in Canada. The federal government has published a community report on its Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], n.d.).

A few boundaries are worth knowing from the start:

• Counselling does not replace legal advice, workplace or school complaint processes, advocacy representation, or emergency services.
• Your therapist does not investigate what happened or decide whether a law or policy was broken. If those processes matter to you, your therapist can talk with you about how they might fit alongside counselling.
• Counselling does not place responsibility for discrimination on the person who experienced it. Racism and discrimination happen within wider social systems, and fixing them is not your job alone.
• This counselling service does not include psychological assessment. Assessments are offered separately.
• Counselling is not crisis intervention. Crisis resources are listed above.
• You set the pace. You decide what to talk about and when, and you can decline any question.

What you share is confidential, within limits set by Alberta law and professional standards. Those limits are explained in the confidentiality section below, and your clinician will go over them with you before you begin.

Signs Racism and Discrimination May Be Affecting You

Experiences of racism and discrimination may affect wellbeing. Statistics Canada has examined self-reported discrimination among racialized people in Canada and how it relates to their wellbeing (Statistics Canada, 2025). The effects are not the same for everyone, and there is no correct way to react.

Some people notice experiences like these:

• feeling on guard in certain places or around certain people, even on good days
• second-guessing your memory of what happened, or wondering whether you "overreacted"
• anger or frustration that feels hard to express safely
• tiredness from code-switching, or from being expected to explain or educate others
• pulling back from coworkers, classmates, or activities that used to feel comfortable
• changes in sleep, energy, concentration, or confidence after difficult experiences
• questions about identity, culture, or belonging that feel louder than before
• tension in close relationships when others do not see what you see

These are common reactions to unfair treatment. They are not signs of weakness, and they are not permanent features of who you are. Talking them through with someone who takes your experience seriously may make it easier to sort out what you are carrying and what you want to do next.

How Counselling Works Here

• Find your therapist. You can use our Match with a Therapist tool or browse Our Therapists to read about each clinician's background and approach. If you have preferences about fit, including cultural background or lived experience, you can share them, although availability varies. Our admin team can also help by phone at 780-904-4880.
• Book your first session. You can book through our online booking system. In the first session, your clinician reviews confidentiality and consent, answers your questions, and talks with you about what brought you in and what you hope to get from counselling. You do not need to tell your whole story in that first meeting.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist decide together what to focus on. That might be a recent situation at work or school, the longer-term weight of repeated experiences, your relationships, or your next steps.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes. Most people meet weekly or every two weeks, and the schedule can change as your needs change.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist checks in with you regularly about what is helping and what is not. The plan adapts as you go.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Counselling is collaborative, and your voice matters at every stage. You can raise concerns about the pace or direction at any time. Our Getting Started with Therapy page has more detail on what to expect.

Evidence and Approaches

Research on counselling for the effects of racism and discrimination is still developing. The sources reviewed for this page support describing discrimination as real social context and as a factor linked with wellbeing. They do not establish how well any specific therapy works for racism-related concerns.

Canadian professional and health organizations have published resources in this area, including a fact sheet on racism (Canadian Psychological Association [CPA], 2020) and a practitioner manual on cognitive behavioural therapy for Black populations (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health [CAMH], 2024). The approaches below are described alongside what the evidence does and does not show. Your therapist can talk with you about which approaches fit your goals.

Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

What it helps with: Exploring how stressful experiences connect with thoughts, feelings, and actions, with room to bring cultural context into the conversation.

Evidence summary: CAMH has published a manual for mental health practitioners on CBT for Black populations (CAMH, 2024). The evidence reviewed for this page includes only the title of this manual, so its recommendations are not summarized here.

Limitations: No claim is made about how well culturally adapted CBT works for racism-related distress. CBT may not suit everyone, and real experiences of discrimination should never be treated as thinking errors to correct.

Context-Centred Counselling

What it helps with: Talking about discrimination as something that happened to you, rather than a problem located inside you.

Evidence summary: The ICD-11 lists being the "target of perceived adverse discrimination or persecution" among problems associated with the social or cultural environment (WHO, n.d.). This supports discussing discrimination as relevant context in health care rather than as a diagnosis.

Limitations: A classification system names categories. It does not show that any counselling approach reduces distress.

Connection-Focused Support

What it helps with: Exploring the relationships and communities that help you feel steady, and how to lean on them in ways that feel safe.

Evidence summary: Statistics Canada examined self-reported discrimination among racialized people in Canada, its association with wellbeing, and connections with family and friends as a possible buffer (Statistics Canada, 2025). Supportive connections can be an important part of how some people handle difficult experiences.

Limitations: These findings describe associations, not cause and effect, and full methods were not available for review. Social support does not erase the harm of discrimination, and this research did not test counselling.

What Results to Expect

No therapy can guarantee a particular outcome, and counselling cannot change the workplaces, schools, or systems where discrimination happens. What it can offer is time and a structured space to understand your experiences, decide what matters to you, and weigh your options. Some people notice improvements in how they feel or cope. Outcomes vary from person to person.

Progress is rarely a straight line. You may feel lighter after one session, then find that a new incident brings old feelings back. That does not mean counselling has failed.

Some people come for a small number of sessions focused on one situation. Others continue over a longer period, especially when experiences are ongoing. Things that can shape how counselling goes include:

• whether discrimination is still happening in your daily life
• the nature and history of your experiences
• your current circumstances, including stress, health, and support
• the fit between you and your therapist

Fit matters. If a therapist or approach does not feel right, you can ask to change therapists or try a different approach at any point.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in counselling is confidential. Psychologists in Alberta are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). They practise under CAP's Standards of Practice and the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists published by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). Other clinicians at the clinic follow the standards that apply to their professions.

In Alberta, personal and health information is protected under the Health Information Act (HIA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), depending on the setting. These laws set rules for how information is collected, used, stored, and shared. Your information is shared only with your consent, except where the law requires or permits disclosure.

Exceptions to confidentiality include:

• a risk of serious harm to yourself or someone else
• suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which must be reported under Alberta law
• a court order requiring records or information

Your clinician will explain these limits clearly in your first session, along with consent and record-keeping practices. You are welcome to ask questions about privacy, including how virtual sessions are kept private, before you share anything personal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe what happened in detail?

No. You decide what to share and when. Some people want to talk through a specific incident. Others would rather focus on how things are now, such as tension at work or trouble sleeping, without going back over every detail. Your therapist can work with present-day patterns and follow your lead on pace.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within limits. Counselling is confidential under Alberta's Health Information Act (HIA) and Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), along with professional standards. Exceptions include a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, and a court order. Your information is not shared with an employer or school without your consent, except where the law requires it. The Confidentiality and Privacy section has more detail.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. Some people come for a few sessions to work through one situation, such as a recent incident at work. Others prefer to keep meeting over a longer period, especially when experiences are ongoing. You and your therapist review progress regularly and adjust the plan together.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is reasonable to want a therapist you feel comfortable with. If the first person you see does not feel right, you are welcome to say so, and our admin team can help you find 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 anywhere in Alberta. The same confidentiality standards apply online as in person, and your clinician can talk with you about setting up a private space for sessions.

What if I am not sure whether what happened was really racism?

You do not need to be sure before you reach out. Counselling is not a place where you have to prove that something counts. It is a place to put experiences into words at your own pace and work out what they mean to you.

Can counselling help me decide whether to make a complaint at work or school?

Counselling can give you space to think through your options, your values, and what you need, and to cope with the stress of deciding. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace workplace, school, union, or human rights complaint processes. For questions about your rights, a lawyer or the body that handles complaints is the right source.

Can I ask for a therapist with a similar cultural background?

Yes. You can share preferences or questions about therapist fit when booking, including cultural background or lived experience. Clinicians' backgrounds and training differ, and availability changes. Our admin team or the Match with a Therapist tool can help you see which options are open right now.

Meet Your Clinicians

Our 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. 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 clinical supervision.

Clinicians' training, cultural backgrounds, and areas of focus differ, and not every clinician has specialized training in racism and discrimination. Each profile on our Our Therapists page describes that clinician's training and approach. The Match with a Therapist tool can help you narrow your options, and our admin team at 780-904-4880 can talk through fit with you.

Children and Youth

Some families reach out because a child or teen has faced racism or discrimination at school, online, in sports, or in the community. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people. Therapists who work with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches suited to the child's stage. They also work with parents and caregivers to support a steady environment at home.

If you are a parent trying to work out how to support your child, you are welcome to contact us for guidance. You can read more about our child and youth counselling and counselling for teens.

If You Would Like to Take a Next Step

If you would like to learn more or talk with someone, you can:

• Book a session online
• Match with a therapist based on your preferences
• Call our admin team at 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read Getting Started with Therapy to see what the first steps look like

You do not need the right words or a clear plan before you reach out. Starting the conversation is enough.

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

References

• Canadian Psychological Association. (2020). Racism fact sheet.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2024). CBT for Black populations: A manual for mental health practitioners.
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (n.d.). Promoting health equity: Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative community report (2018-2024).
• Statistics Canada. (2025, July 9). Softening the blow of discrimination: The role of social connections in mitigating the harms associated with racism and discrimination.
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics.