A private, collaborative space to talk about pregnancy or infant loss, at a pace you set. Psychologists registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), Canadian Certified Counsellors certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), Mental Health Therapists, and supervised Student Therapists. In-person sessions in Edmonton and St. Albert, and virtual sessions across Alberta.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Perinatal Loss Counselling Is Right for You

You may be asking yourself whether your loss is "enough" to bring to a counsellor. Maybe it happened early, before many people knew you were pregnant. Maybe it was years ago, and you feel you should be past it by now. Or maybe you are the partner, and you are not sure your grief has a place in the conversation at all. The ways it shows up can be small and hard to explain. A pregnancy announcement lands on your phone and the rest of the day feels heavy. A date on the calendar means something that no one else seems to remember. You find yourself going back over appointments and conversations, looking for the moment you could have changed something. These reactions make sense after a loss like this. Grief is a normal response to perinatal loss.

Canadian national guidance notes that the way someone grieves does not depend on how far along a pregnancy was, or on how many children a family already has (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2020). There is no right or wrong way to feel. What you are carrying is not a sign that something is wrong with you. If you are trying to work out whether talking with someone could help, or you are reading this for someone you care about, the sections below explain what this counselling involves, what it does not cover, and how people usually get started.

Who We Help

Perinatal loss counselling may be a good fit if you have been affected by a loss during pregnancy or after birth, whether it happened recently or a long time ago. It may be relevant for:

• People who have experienced a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, a stillbirth, or the death of a baby after birth
• People grieving after a pregnancy ended for medical or personal reasons
• People affected by a fertility-related loss (you may also find our page on fertility struggles useful)
• Partners, including partners who have set their own grief aside to support someone else
• Couples who are finding that they grieve in different ways
• Grandparents, other family members, and close friends who are grieving too
• People who are pregnant again, or thinking about it, after a loss
• Anyone gathering information for someone they care about

Each person decides what their loss means to them. You do not need to describe it in a particular way to be welcome here.

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

• Immediate safety concerns. If you or someone else is in danger, please use the crisis resources below.
• Medical questions. Questions about physical recovery, a current pregnancy, or medication belong with your physician, your midwife, or Health Link at 811.
• Assessments and legal needs. This page describes counselling only. Formal psychological assessments, and reports for legal, insurance, or workplace purposes, are separate services and are not part of perinatal loss counselling.

If You Need Help Right Now

Counselling sessions are booked ahead of time and cannot respond to an emergency. If you are thinking about ending your life, are worried about someone else's safety, or are not safe where you are, these services are available:

• Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if there is immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Family Violence Info Line (Alberta): 310-1818 (24/7, toll-free), if you are not safe at home

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What Perinatal Loss Counselling Is

Perinatal loss counselling is talk-based support for people affected by pregnancy loss, stillbirth, neonatal loss, or a related reproductive loss. It can provide a private, collaborative space to talk about what happened, what it has meant to you, and what has changed since. Sessions may make room for grief and remembrance, shifts in relationships, practical pressures like going back to work, and conversations about future family planning. You decide what to bring and what to leave for later.

You set the pace. Your therapist will not push you into details before you are ready, and some people spend their sessions on how life feels now rather than on the events themselves. What you share is confidential within legal and ethical limits, which are explained in the confidentiality and privacy section below.

It also helps to know what this service is not:

• It is not medical or emergency care, and it does not replace your physician, midwife, obstetrician, or emergency services.
• It is not a legal service or an investigation, and it cannot determine why a loss happened.
• It is not a psychological assessment, and it does not start from a diagnosis.
• It is not crisis intervention.

Each clinician works within the scope of their registration and training. If you need something outside that scope, your therapist will talk with you about other options or a referral. You may also find our pages on grief and loss counselling, reproductive and perinatal services, and birth and postpartum support helpful.

Signs Perinatal Loss May Be Affecting You

Grief tends to touch the whole person, including the body, emotions, thinking, relationships, sense of meaning, and work (PHAC, 2020). People describe many different experiences after a perinatal loss. You may recognize some of these, none of them, or things that are not listed here:

• Waves of sadness, shock, anger, guilt, or numbness, sometimes in the same day
• Relief or mixed feelings that you worry you are not allowed to have
• Going over what happened again and again, looking for what you could have done differently
• Poor sleep, low appetite, trouble concentrating, or a tiredness that rest does not fix
• Avoiding certain places, people, or reminders because they are hard to face
• Feeling out of step with a partner who grieves differently, or noticing strain in closeness and intimacy
• Grief returning around the due date, the anniversary, Mother's Day or Father's Day, or family celebrations
• Questions about faith, identity, or meaning that did not feel urgent before
• Worry and fear during a later pregnancy

These are common reactions to a significant loss. They do not mean you are grieving the wrong way, and on their own they are not a sign that something is permanently wrong. Grief can ease with time and still return at certain moments (PHAC, 2020). Grief and depression are also not the same thing, though both can be present at once (Canadian Psychological Association [CPA], 2025).

Many Canadian families go through this. Canadian guidance estimates that about 15% to 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage (PHAC, 2020). In 2024, Statistics Canada recorded 2,123 perinatal deaths, meaning stillbirths at 28 weeks or later and deaths of babies in their first week of life (Statistics Canada, 2026). The 2024 figure is preliminary. If these experiences are making daily life harder, or you simply want somewhere to talk, structured support may help.

How Counselling Works Here

• Find your therapist. Use our Match Tool or browse therapist profiles. Our admin team can also help you choose at 780-904-4880.
• Book your first session. You can book an appointment online. The first session covers confidentiality and its limits, consent, and what you would like from counselling. You can ask about approach, scheduling, fees, and in-person or virtual options, and you do not need to tell your whole story.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist decide together what to focus on. That might be an upcoming date, a decision, a relationship, or simply time and space to grieve.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes. Follow-up appointments are often weekly or bi-weekly and can be adjusted as needed.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist will review with you how things are going, and the plan can change as your needs change.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Some people prefer brief support around a particular date or decision, and others choose ongoing sessions. Your voice shapes the work at every stage. You can read more on our getting started with therapy page.

Evidence and Approaches

Most grief does not call for a specific therapy model. The CPA describes grief as a normal response, not an illness. It notes that formal psychological treatment is usually kept for grief that becomes prolonged, or for times when safety is a concern (CPA, 2025). The ICD-11 classification does include a category called prolonged grief disorder (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). Counselling here does not start from a diagnosis, and this page cannot tell you whether any diagnosis applies to you.

Canadian guidance recommends offering ongoing support to bereaved parents. It notes that peer support groups do not meet every family's needs, and that individual counselling can be one part of that support (PHAC, 2020). Approaches are chosen with you, based on your goals and preferences. Not every clinician offers every approach, so the admin team can tell you who currently does. You can also read more about cognitive behavioural therapy and psychodynamic therapy.

Client-Led Grief Counselling

What it helps with: Making room to talk about the loss, the feelings around it, and what has changed, at your own pace.

Evidence summary: Canadian guidance on perinatal loss describes grief as a normal response with no right or wrong way to grieve. It calls for care that listens, accepts each person's feelings, and makes no assumptions about how intense or long-lasting grief will be (PHAC, 2020). The CPA notes that early grief support can offer comfort and reassurance when provided carefully (CPA, 2025).

Limitations: The CPA reports that early grief interventions appear to have a mostly temporary effect, with little evidence of lasting benefit (CPA, 2025). Neither source reports outcome trials of individual counselling after perinatal loss.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Grief-Related Avoidance

What it helps with: Gradually returning to places, people, or reminders that have become hard to face because they bring back painful memories of the loss.

Evidence summary: The CPA lists CBT that targets grief avoidance among the psychotherapies used when grief becomes prolonged and is not easing (CPA, 2025). The same source reports that psychological treatment for prolonged grief has evidence of moderate but lasting benefit (CPA, 2025).

Limitations: This evidence comes mainly from adult bereavement in general rather than perinatal loss, and the CPA advises approaching grief treatment with caution (CPA, 2025). CBT is not needed for most grief, and not every clinician offers it.

Brief Psychodynamic Therapy

What it helps with: Understanding how the loss connects with your sense of self, earlier experiences, and relationships, including feelings of regret, guilt, or anger.

Evidence summary: The CPA names brief psychodynamic therapy among the approaches that can help a person think about and understand the impact of a loss when grief becomes prolonged (CPA, 2025). It also notes that, in therapy for prolonged grief, revisiting regrets, anger, and guilt can be useful (CPA, 2025).

Limitations: The CPA fact sheet does not report results specific to psychodynamic therapy, and the evidence it summarizes is not specific to perinatal loss. Availability varies by clinician.

What Results to Expect

Grief after a perinatal loss rarely moves in a straight line. Its intensity can ease over time and then return around certain dates or events (PHAC, 2020). Counselling is not about forgetting your loss or "getting over" it. The CPA describes moments of grief at anniversaries as normal, even after someone has adjusted well, and as an expression of an ongoing bond (CPA, 2025).

Some people notice a shift over weeks or months. Others find longer-term support more useful. How things unfold can depend on the circumstances of the loss, earlier losses, your life experiences, and the support around you (PHAC, 2020). The fit between you and your therapist matters too.

No form of counselling can guarantee a particular outcome, and results vary from person to person. If the fit does not feel right, you can change therapists or try a different approach at any point.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in counselling is confidential. Our psychologists are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and follow the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, published by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). Our Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW).

Alberta privacy law also applies. As a private clinic, we collect, use, and disclose personal information under Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), which generally requires your consent. Alberta's Health Information Act (HIA) sets the rules for health information held by custodians in the health system, such as Alberta Health Services, hospitals, and physicians. Your therapist can explain which rules apply to your records.

There are a few situations where a clinician may have to share information without your consent:

• When there is a risk of serious harm to you or someone else
• When a child may be experiencing abuse or neglect, which Alberta law requires clinicians to report
• When a court orders the release of records
• When another law requires disclosure

Your therapist will explain these limits clearly in your first session. If a partner or family member joins any sessions, you will talk together about how information shared in those sessions is handled. You are welcome to ask questions about privacy before you share anything personal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe what happened in detail?

No. You decide how much to share and when. Some people want to talk through the loss itself, and others would rather focus on how things feel now, such as sleep, work, a relationship, or an upcoming date. Your therapist will follow your lead and check in with you about pace.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within legal and ethical limits. Those limits include a risk of serious harm, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, and a court order. The confidentiality and privacy section above explains more, and your therapist will go through it with you in the first session.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. Some people come for brief support around a particular date, decision, or transition. Others find ongoing sessions more useful. You and your therapist will review how things are going and adjust the plan together.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is fine to say so. You can raise it with your therapist directly, or contact the admin team at 780-904-4880 to be matched with someone else. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I have sessions online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available anywhere in Alberta, and the same confidentiality standards apply. You can choose whichever format feels more manageable, and you can switch later if your needs change.

Is it too soon, or too late, to reach out?

There is no required timeline for grief, and no deadline for asking for support. You can reach out within days of a loss or many years later, for example around a new pregnancy, an anniversary, or another life change. Either is fine.

Can my partner or a family member come to sessions with me?

In many cases, yes. Partners can grieve the same loss in very different ways, and a loss can strain a relationship or bring people closer (PHAC, 2020). Individual, couple, or family sessions can be discussed based on what you need, everyone's consent, and therapist availability. No one has to attend, or grieve, in the same way. You may also want to read about couples counselling.

Can I get support during a pregnancy after a loss?

Yes. Worry during a later pregnancy is common after a perinatal loss, and Canadian guidance recommends that support be available during a subsequent pregnancy and after the birth of another baby (PHAC, 2020). Counselling can sit alongside your medical care without replacing it. Our pregnancy support page has more information.

Meet Your Clinicians

Our 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. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist, and Student Therapists work under clinical supervision.

Each clinician's profile describes their training and areas of focus, so you can look for someone whose experience includes grief, loss, or perinatal concerns. You can read our therapists' profiles, use the Match Tool, or call the admin team at 780-904-4880 for help choosing.

Children and Youth

A perinatal loss can affect the children in a family too. Children are often deeply affected when their parents are grieving. Their reactions depend on their age, personality, and how the family is coping, and many express grief through play (PHAC, 2020). Canadian guidance recommends giving children clear explanations suited to their stage of development, rather than trying to shield them from the loss entirely (PHAC, 2020).

We offer counselling for children, adolescents, and young people. Therapists who work with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches and work alongside parents and caregivers to support the child at home. You can learn more about our child and youth counselling.

When You Want to Talk

If you would like to take a next step, you can:

• Book a session online
• Match with a therapist
• Call 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read about getting started with therapy

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. (2025). Psychology Works fact sheet: Grief in adults. https://cpa.ca/psychologyfactsheets
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (2020). Family-centred maternity and newborn care: National guidelines. Chapter 7: Loss and grief. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/maternity-newborn-care-guidelines-chapter-7.html
• Statistics Canada. (2026). Perinatal mortality (late fetal deaths and early neonatal deaths) [Data table]. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310071401
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics.