DBT-informed counselling that may help with building skills for coping with distress, navigating emotions, and strengthening relationships. Registered Psychologists regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP), Certified Canadian Counsellors regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychological Association (CCPA), and Registered Social Workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), In-person in Edmonton and St. Albert, Virtual across Alberta.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether DBT Is Right for You

You may be unsure whether what you are experiencing is the kind of thing that therapy can actually help with. Maybe you have been told you are "too sensitive," or you have noticed that your reactions feel out of proportion to what is happening around you, and you are not sure what to make of that. That uncertainty is common, and it is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing.

Perhaps you find yourself caught in cycles: reacting quickly when emotions spike, pulling away from people you care about, or feeling unable to sit with discomfort without doing something you later regret. These patterns can be exhausting. They can make daily life feel unpredictable, even when outwardly things look fine.

These responses are not signs that something is permanently broken. They often reflect habits your mind developed to cope with situations that felt overwhelming. Many people who experience these patterns find that structured support can help them build steadier ways of responding.

If you are considering whether DBT-informed counselling might be relevant to what you are going through, this page may be a useful starting point. You can read at your own pace and see whether the approach feels like a fit.

Who We Help

DBT-informed counselling at Wholesome Psychology may be a good fit for people who are experiencing:

• Intense emotional responses that feel difficult to manage or slow down
• Recurring conflict in relationships, at work, or at home
• Stress that leads to impulsive reactions they want to understand
• Difficulty sitting with uncomfortable feelings without acting on them
• A sense that the same patterns keep repeating despite wanting things to change
• Interest in building practical coping skills for daily life

This service may not be the right fit for everyone. Some situations call for a different kind of support:

• If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact emergency services or the crisis resources listed below.
• If you need a forensic assessment, court-ordered evaluation, or legal documentation, these needs fall outside the scope of this counselling service. Psychological assessments are a separate service.
• If you are looking for a perpetrator intervention programme, the admin team may be able to suggest an appropriate referral pathway.

Crisis Guidance

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service. If you or someone you know needs immediate help:

• Call 911 for immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• Canada Suicide Prevention Service: call or text 9-8-8 (24/7)

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What DBT-Informed Counselling Is

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a structured psychotherapy approach commonly described as balancing acceptance and change. In practice, this means working with a therapist to both acknowledge your current experience without judgement and develop new skills to shift patterns that are not serving you well.

At Wholesome Psychology, DBT-informed counselling is offered within a collaborative therapeutic process. The exact format may vary depending on your clinician, your goals, and what feels workable. This page does not describe a full-fidelity DBT programme. If you are looking for specific components such as group skills training or between-session phone coaching, please confirm availability with the admin team at 780-904-4880 before booking.

Some important scope boundaries to keep in mind:

• Counselling is not a legal service, investigative process, or crisis intervention.
• This service does not include psychological assessments. Assessments are a separate service at the clinic.
• The pace of therapy is set by you, not the therapist.
• What you share in sessions is confidential, with some legal exceptions explained during your first session. More detail appears in the Confidentiality and Privacy section below.

Signs That Emotional Patterns May Be Affecting You

You do not need a diagnosis to explore whether DBT-informed counselling might help. Many people recognize one or more of the following experiences:

• Emotions that arrive quickly and with high intensity, making it hard to think clearly
• Reacting in ways that feel automatic, then regretting it afterwards
• Difficulty calming down once you feel upset, angry, or anxious
• Avoiding situations or people because you worry about how you will react
• Feeling like you swing between wanting closeness and pushing people away
• Using food, substances, spending, or other behaviours to cope with distress
• A sense of emptiness or numbness that sits underneath the intensity
• Trouble staying present or grounded when stress increases

Having these experiences does not mean something is permanently wrong with you. These are common responses to stress, difficult life circumstances, or past experiences that shaped how your nervous system learned to respond. Structured support can help you build different ways of relating to these patterns.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. Use the Match with a Therapist tool, browse therapist profiles, or call the admin team at 780-904-4880 for guidance on finding a clinician whose approach fits what you are looking for.
• Book your first session. Your first session covers confidentiality, consent, and a discussion of your goals and relevant history. You and your therapist will talk about whether DBT-informed work feels like the right fit for the work ahead.
• Build your plan together. Therapy goals are co-created. Your therapist will work with you to identify the patterns you most want to address and the skills that may be most useful.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are typically 50 minutes, scheduled weekly or bi-weekly depending on your needs. Frequency can be adjusted as you progress.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist reviews progress regularly and adjusts the plan as your needs change. There is no fixed number of sessions. Therapy is collaborative, and your voice matters at every stage.

Evidence and Approaches

DBT-informed counselling draws on a range of skills and strategies. Below is a summary of what the available evidence says about the approaches that may be part of your work.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

What it helps with: DBT is a structured approach that may help people build skills for managing intense emotions, tolerating distress, and improving interpersonal communication.

Evidence summary: A rapid review published by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) examined the clinical effectiveness of DBT for adults with mental illness, finding that the approach has an established evidence base across multiple conditions (Peprah & Argáez, 2017). Separately, a Cochrane systematic review of psychological therapies for borderline personality disorder found that several structured therapies, including DBT, may reduce symptoms associated with that condition, though confidence in the evidence varied across outcomes (Cochrane, 2020).

Limitations: The CADTH review noted variability in study quality and populations studied. The Cochrane review found that evidence confidence ranged from low to moderate across different outcomes, and most trials were conducted with specific clinical populations that may not reflect all people seeking DBT-informed support.

Mindfulness-Based Skills

What it helps with: Mindfulness practices within DBT may help people become more aware of their thoughts, emotions, and body signals without reacting automatically.

Evidence summary: Mindfulness is a core component of the DBT model. The CADTH review described mindfulness as one of four skill modules within standard DBT, contributing to the broader effectiveness findings for the approach (Peprah & Argáez, 2017).

Limitations: Research on mindfulness as a standalone component within DBT is limited. Most evidence evaluates the full DBT package rather than individual modules in isolation.

Distress Tolerance Skills

What it helps with: Distress tolerance training may help people manage crisis moments without making situations worse, using practical strategies for sitting with discomfort.

Evidence summary: Distress tolerance is one of the four core skill areas in the standard DBT model. The CADTH review noted that DBT skills training, including distress tolerance, contributed to the overall clinical effectiveness findings reported across studies (Peprah & Argáez, 2017).

Limitations: As with mindfulness, evidence for distress tolerance as a distinct skill module is embedded within broader DBT outcome research rather than studied independently in most trials.

What Results to Expect

Recovery and growth are not linear. Some people notice meaningful shifts within the first few sessions, while others benefit from longer-term work. There is no single timeline that applies to everyone.

Some people find relief from just 2-3 sessions, particularly when they are focused on building a specific skill or coping strategy. Others find that sustained, weekly sessions over several months help them make deeper changes in long-standing patterns.

Several factors influence outcomes, including the nature of what you are working through, your current life circumstances, and how well the therapeutic relationship fits. No therapy guarantees outcomes, and results vary from person to person.

If you feel that your therapist or the approach is not the right fit, that is worth discussing openly. Changing therapists or trying a different approach is always an option, and the admin team can help with that process.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in therapy is confidential. Your therapist is bound by the ethical standards of their applicable regulating body or professional association, including the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) for Registered Psychologists, the Canadian Counselling and Psychological Association (CCPA) for Certified Canadian Counsellors, and the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW) for Registered Social Workers, as well as Alberta's Health Information Act (HIA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

There are legal exceptions to confidentiality that your clinician will explain clearly during your first session:

• Risk of serious harm to yourself or others
• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child (mandatory reporting under Alberta law)
• A court order requiring disclosure

You are welcome to ask questions about how your information is protected before sharing anything personal. Your therapist will review these limits with you at the start of care and again any time questions arise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe painful experiences in detail?

No. You set the pace of what you share and when. DBT-informed counselling often focuses on present-day patterns, such as how you respond to stress, rather than requiring you to recount past experiences in detail. Your therapist will follow your lead and will not push you to disclose anything before you are ready.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes. Counselling sessions are confidential. There are limited legal exceptions, including risk of serious harm to yourself or others, suspected child abuse or neglect, and court orders. Your therapist will explain these exceptions during your first session. For more detail, see the Confidentiality and Privacy section above.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed number. Some people benefit from focused, short-term work on a specific skill. Others find that longer-term sessions help them address more complex patterns. Your therapist will review progress regularly and the plan will be adjusted together based on what is working.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Therapeutic fit matters, and it is something you and your therapist can discuss openly. If the match does not feel right, the admin team at 780-904-4880 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 for clients anywhere in Alberta. The same confidentiality standards apply whether you attend in-person or online.

Is DBT only for one diagnosis?

No. While DBT was originally developed in the context of specific clinical presentations, it is now understood as a broader therapy approach. Clinicians may draw on DBT principles when someone wants help with emotion regulation, coping with distress, communication, or relationship patterns. A diagnosis is not required and will not be assumed from a webpage. Fit is worked out in conversation with your therapist.

Do I need a referral?

No referral is needed. You can book directly through the online booking system or call 780-904-4880.

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

Many clinicians at the practice have training in areas relevant to DBT-informed work, including emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills. Because the therapist roster changes, individual profiles are maintained on the Our Therapists page.

If you would like help finding a clinician whose approach fits what you are looking for, you can use the Match with a Therapist tool or call the admin team at 780-904-4880.

Children and Youth

Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people. Therapists working with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches and often involve caregivers in the support process to strengthen the recovery environment at home.

If you are exploring DBT-informed support for a child or adolescent, please confirm the availability of age-appropriate DBT work with the admin team before booking, as specific formats may vary by clinician.

Getting Started

If you are considering whether DBT-informed counselling might help, the next step is to connect with a therapist who can explore that question with you.

• Book a session online
• Match with a therapist
• Call: 780-904-4880
• Email: info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Learn more: Getting Started with Therapy

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

Starting the conversation is enough.

References

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (n.d.). Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). Retrieved May 5, 2026, from https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/dialectical-behaviour-therapy
• Canadian Mental Health Association. (n.d.). Borderline personality disorder. Retrieved May 5, 2026, from https://bc.cmha.ca/documents/borderline-personality-disorder-2/
• Cochrane. (2020). Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder (Cochrane Evidence, CD012955). https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD012955_psychological-therapies-people-borderline-personality-disorder
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2009). Borderline personality disorder: Recognition and management (NICE Clinical Guideline CG78). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg78
• Peprah, K., & Argáez, C. (2017). Dialectical behavioral therapy for adults with mental illness: A review of clinical effectiveness and guidelines. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525629/
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (2023). Suicide: Risks and prevention. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/suicide-prevention/suicide-risks-prevention.html