Supportive, neutral counselling for adult children and family members navigating caregiving, role changes, and the emotional weight of a parent who is getting older. Registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. In-person in Edmonton and St. Albert, and virtual across Alberta. Trauma-informed and family-aware clinicians.

Book a Session | Match with a Therapist

You Might Be Wondering Whether This Kind of Counselling Is Right for You

You may be quietly questioning whether your situation is really "bad enough" to bring to a therapist. Nothing dramatic has happened this week. Your parent is still living in their own home, or they are not, and you are the one answering the phone at 9 p.m. again. You are not sure if what you are feeling counts as a problem someone else could help with.

You might recognize some of this. Feeling a flicker of resentment and then a wave of guilt for having felt it. Going through the motions at work while a mental checklist of appointments, medications, and sibling texts runs underneath. Pulling back from friends because explaining it all feels like more than you can do. Crying in the car for reasons that are hard to name.

These responses make sense. They are common reactions to caring about someone whose needs are changing, while the rest of your life keeps asking things of you. They do not mean you are failing, and they do not mean something is permanently wrong with you.

You may wish to read on and see whether this kind of support looks like something that could fit. There is a lot on this page, and you can take it in at your own pace.

Who We Help

This service is often a good fit for:

• Adult children supporting a parent whose health, memory, or independence is changing.
• People feeling pulled between caregiving, work, parenting, and partnership.
• Siblings trying to make shared decisions and finding it harder than expected.
• Family members carrying grief for the parent they remember while the parent is still here.
• Caregivers who feel guilty for needing space, and who want a place to think out loud.
• Adults preparing for transitions such as a move to assisted living, a diagnosis, or end-of-life care.

This service may not be the right fit if:

• You are in immediate crisis or need urgent safety support. See the crisis section below.
• You are looking for a formal cognitive or capacity assessment for your parent. Psychological assessments are a separate service and are not included in this counselling.
• You need legal, financial, or estate-planning advice. A lawyer or financial professional is a better starting point for those questions.
• You are looking for medical diagnosis or treatment for your parent's condition. That work belongs with their physician or specialist.

Crisis Guidance

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service. If you or your parent are in immediate danger, or you are worried about safety tonight, please use one of these supports:

• 911 for immediate danger or medical emergency.
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7).
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.

You can return to this page when the immediate risk has passed.

What This Service Is

Aging parents counselling at Wholesome Psychology is talk-based support for you, the adult child or family member. It is a confidential space to sort through the feelings, relationships, and decisions that come with a parent whose needs are shifting.

It is not a legal service, a medical evaluation, an investigative process, or a crisis line. It is not a formal cognitive or capacity assessment, and it does not diagnose your parent's condition. When other professionals need to be involved, your therapist can help you think about who to contact and what to ask.

The pace is set by you. You decide what to talk about, what to leave for another day, and what goals feel important. Confidentiality is explained clearly at the first session, including the specific legal limits that apply in Alberta. Those are covered in more detail further down.

Signs That Caregiving May Be Affecting You

People do not always recognize how much caregiving is weighing on them until someone asks. You may notice some of these experiences:

• Feeling tired in a way that sleep does not fix.
• A short fuse with people who have done nothing wrong, followed by guilt.
• Lying awake thinking about medications, appointments, or "what if" scenarios.
• Grief that comes in waves, sometimes for a parent who is still alive.
• Tension with siblings about who is doing what, and whose version of your parent is correct.
• Resentment toward the parent themselves, and shame about the resentment.
• Feeling like you are failing at work, parenting, or your relationship because your attention is elsewhere.
• A quiet loss of the hobbies, friendships, or plans that used to feel like yours.
• Physical tension, headaches, or stomach changes that track with stressful caregiving days.

These experiences are common reactions to a hard role, not permanent features of who you are. Structured support can give you a place to slow down, name what is happening, and think about what you want to carry and what you want to set down.

How Counselling Works Here

• Find your therapist. You can use our Match Tool, browse Our Therapists, or call our admin team at 780-904-4880 if you would like help choosing.
• Book your first session. The first session is a conversation. Your therapist will review confidentiality and consent, ask about what brought you in, and start to understand your goals. You are not expected to have it all figured out before you arrive.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist co-create a plan that fits your situation. That plan may focus on caregiver stress, family communication, grief, boundaries, decision-making, or a combination.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes long. Many people start weekly or bi-weekly and adjust as things settle. Frequency is something you and your therapist decide together.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist will revisit goals with you regularly. Plans change as your parent's situation changes, and that is expected.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Counselling is collaborative, and your voice matters at every step.

Evidence and Approaches

The research on counselling and family caregiving is broad rather than narrow. We draw on approaches that are recognized in caregiver-support literature and adapt them to each client. The summaries below use cautious language because outcomes vary by person and situation.

Psychoeducation and Structured Caregiver Support

What it helps with: Understanding common caregiver reactions and building practical coping, communication, and self-care skills.

Evidence summary: Caregiver-focused psychoeducation and structured support are recognized in dementia-care guidance and caregiver-stress literature (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], n.d.; Canadian Psychological Association [CPA], 2022). These resources describe information, skill-building, and emotional support as relevant components of care for family members of people with changing health or cognition.

Limitations: Guideline content in the source pack was not available in full text, and individual response varies. Psychoeducation is supportive, not a substitute for medical or specialist care.

Cognitive Behavioural Approaches for Caregiver Stress

What it helps with: Noticing unhelpful thought patterns, reducing rumination, and working with the stress that builds up around caregiving demands.

Evidence summary: Research on non-pharmacological caregiver interventions, including cognitive behavioural elements, has been examined in meta-analyses in the context of dementia caregiving (source identified in evidence pack; specific effect sizes not available). Cautious reading suggests some caregiver-focused psychological supports may be helpful in certain contexts.

Limitations: Effect sizes were not readable in the available source text, and findings from dementia-caregiver research do not automatically generalize to all aging-parent situations.

Grief and Adjustment Counselling

What it helps with: Anticipatory grief, ambiguous loss, and the adjustment that comes with changing roles when a parent is aging or unwell.

Evidence summary: Mental health in later life and the wellbeing of people around an aging adult are framed as important by international public health sources (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). Caregiver stress resources acknowledge grief and emotional strain as common features of the caregiving role (CPA, 2022).

Limitations: Grief research is wide-ranging, and responses to anticipatory and ambiguous loss differ substantially across families and cultures.

Family-Focused Counselling

What it helps with: Communication between adult children, siblings, and a parent, especially around care decisions, living arrangements, and role changes.

Evidence summary: Support for family members is recognized as part of caregiver-relevant guidance, and Canadian public health framing treats family caregiving as a recognized social and health concern (Statistics Canada, 2018; Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], n.d.; NICE, n.d.).

Limitations: The evidence base for family-focused counselling in aging-parent contexts is descriptive rather than protocol-driven, and outcomes depend on family circumstances and willingness to participate.

What Results to Expect

Counselling can help, and it is honest to say that results vary. Some people find relief from just 2-3 sessions once they have a place to speak openly. Others benefit from longer work, especially when caregiving demands keep shifting or when grief is layered.

What you get from counselling is shaped by the nature of your situation, your current circumstances, and the fit between you and your therapist. Progress is rarely linear. A settled week can be followed by a hospital call that changes everything.

No therapy guarantees a particular outcome. What counselling offers is a structured, confidential space to make sense of what is happening, think through choices, and take care of yourself while you are taking care of someone else. If the fit with your therapist does not feel right, you can change therapists or approaches at any time.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in therapy is confidential. Your therapist's records and communications are protected under Alberta's Health Information Act (HIA) and Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), and psychologists at Wholesome Psychology practise under the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Code of Ethics.

There are specific legal exceptions to confidentiality that your therapist will explain at the start of your first session:

• Risk of serious harm to yourself or another person.
• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which triggers mandatory reporting under Alberta law.
• A court order requiring disclosure of records.

You are welcome to ask questions about confidentiality before you share anything personal. Understanding the limits in advance is part of informed consent, and clinicians expect these questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe everything about my parent's situation in detail?

No. You set the pace. Some people want to lay out the whole story in the first session, and some prefer to stay with present-day patterns like sleep, work, family tension, or a specific decision. Your therapist will follow your lead and will not push you into detail you are not ready to share.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within the legal limits described in the Confidentiality and Privacy section above. Your therapist will walk through those limits with you at the first session, and you can ask questions before sharing anything personal.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed answer. Some people find relief from just 2-3 sessions, especially when they mainly need a structured place to think out loud. Others prefer longer-term work when caregiving demands keep changing or when grief and family dynamics are layered. Your therapist will review progress with you regularly and adjust as needed.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is okay to change. If the first therapist is not the right match, our admin team can help you move to a different clinician without starting the whole process over. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I access therapy online?

Yes. Virtual counselling is available across Alberta, and the same confidentiality standards apply as for in-person sessions. Many caregivers find virtual sessions easier to fit into a schedule that is already stretched.

Can I bring a sibling or my partner to a session?

Sometimes, yes. Some people do individual counselling and occasionally bring a family member. Others use a family-focused format from the start. You can talk with your therapist about what would work best for the goals you have in mind.

What if I am gathering information for my parent rather than myself?

That is a common reason people land on a page like this. Counselling at Wholesome Psychology is for adults who are affected by what is happening, which includes adult children and family members. If your parent wants their own support, we can talk about options for them separately.

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. Psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist, consistent with CAP standards. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). Certified Canadian Counsellors are regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA).

Many of our clinicians have training and experience relevant to caregiver stress, grief, family communication, and adjustment in later life. You can review individual bios on the Our Therapists page, or use the Match Tool if you would like help narrowing down. If you would rather have a person help you think it through, call our admin team at 780-904-4880.

Next Steps

If reading this has given you a sense that counselling might help, here are the ways to take a next step:

• Book a session online.
• Match with a therapist.
• Call our admin team at 780-904-4880.
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca.
• Learn more 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

• Canadian Psychological Association. (2022). Caregiver stress [Fact sheet]. https://cpa.ca/
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (n.d.). Dementia: Assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers. https://www.nice.org.uk/
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (n.d.). Dementia projects funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html
• Statistics Canada. (2018). Caregivers in Canada, 2018. Government of Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). Mental health of older adults. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/
• College of Alberta Psychologists. (n.d.). Standards of practice. https://www.cap.ab.ca/