A careful, confidential way to look at how you work, cope, and make decisions, especially when you are not sure what is going on. Psychologists registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). In-person sessions in Edmonton and St. Albert. Virtual counselling across Alberta available online.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether a Psychological Assessment Is Right for You

You may be unsure whether what you are dealing with is a real concern or just the cost of running a business. Most owners and founders are used to pushing through. That makes it hard to tell when pressure has become something worth a closer look. You might also worry that an assessment would put a label on you, or that it is meant for people who are struggling more than you are.

Maybe you lie awake running numbers long after the laptop is closed. Maybe you start projects with real energy and then lose the thread halfway through. Some people notice that the business looks fine on paper while they feel flat, scattered, or stretched thin. Others find themselves snapping at their team or their family and not quite knowing why.

These patterns are common reactions to long stretches of pressure, uncertainty, and carrying many roles at once. They do not mean something is wrong with your character. They also do not mean you are not cut out for the work. They are worth understanding, and a structured look can sometimes make them easier to sort out.

If you are trying to decide whether an assessment could help answer your questions, the sections below explain what it involves, what it cannot do, and how to find out whether it fits your situation. If you are reading on behalf of a partner, co-founder, or family member, there is information for you here as well.

Who We Help

A psychological assessment consultation may be a good fit for:

• Business owners, founders, self-employed professionals, and people in family businesses who have questions about how they handle stress, decisions, focus, or relationships at work.
• People who want structured information to support reflection and planning, rather than a verdict on their ability.
• People who have noticed a pattern for a while and want to understand it before deciding on counselling or other support.
• People who are ready to book and want to confirm availability, format, and cost first.
• Partners, co-founders, or family members gathering information for someone else. An assessment needs that person's own consent and participation, so the most useful step may be sharing this page or the admin team's number with them.

This service may not be the right fit for:

• Crisis situations. If you or someone else may not be safe, please use the crisis resources below.
• Legal or forensic needs. Assessments for court, litigation, insurance claims, or other legal decisions are outside the scope of this page. The admin team can tell you whether a separate assessment service may apply.
• Screening other people. This is not a tool for selecting employees, choosing co-founders, or vetting investment candidates.
• Proof of readiness. An assessment cannot certify leadership readiness, investment readiness, or business potential.
• Professional advice outside psychology. Legal, financial, tax, human resources, and medical questions belong with the right professional in those fields.

Crisis Guidance

If you are thinking about suicide, are worried you might not stay safe, or someone is in immediate danger, an assessment is not the right next step. Please contact one of these services instead:

• 911 or your nearest emergency department for immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8 (24/7)

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What a Psychological Assessment for Entrepreneurs Is, and What It Is Not

A psychological assessment is a structured process for answering a defined question about how you think, feel, cope, or function. Depending on the question, it may include interviews, questionnaires, a review of relevant history, and feedback. The process is shaped by the question you bring, the clinician's scope of practice, and your informed consent.

An assessment is not:

• a test of whether you are "meant" to be an entrepreneur
• a prediction of business success, investment outcomes, hiring suitability, or leadership performance
• a legal service, an investigation, or a fitness-for-work ruling
• crisis intervention
• a substitute for legal, financial, tax, human resources, medical, or business advice

An assessment also does not automatically lead to a diagnosis. If a diagnostic question is part of what you want answered, only a clinician qualified to address it can do so, within their scope of practice and through an appropriate assessment process. Business challenges on their own do not point to a mental health condition.

Availability depends on the question and on which clinicians are currently offering assessment. Before you book, the admin team can confirm whether an assessment consultation is available for your question, who would be appropriate, what format it would take, and what it is likely to cost. If you are looking for ongoing support rather than an assessment, counselling is a separate service, described on our entrepreneur mental health support page.

You set the pace. You decide what to share, you can ask why a question matters before answering it, and you can stop at any point. Choosing not to complete some parts may limit what the assessment can answer, and your clinician will be open with you about that. What you share is confidential, with some legal limits explained in the confidentiality section below.

Signs the Demands of Running a Business May Be Affecting You

You do not need a diagnosis to notice that something has shifted. You might recognize some of these:

• Your mind keeps working after the day ends, and sleep does not feel restful.
• Small decisions feel heavy, or you second-guess choices you used to make easily.
• You start projects with energy, then struggle to organize, prioritize, or follow through.
• You are short with your team, clients, or family, and regret it afterward.
• Work you once cared about now leaves you feeling flat or detached.
• Tension shows up in your body as headaches, a tight jaw, or an unsettled stomach.
• You pull back from friends or family because there is no time or energy left.
• Worry about money or the future crowds out almost everything else.
• You find it hard to tell whether you are working from your strengths or running on empty.

These are common reactions to long periods of pressure and responsibility, not permanent features of who you are. The World Health Organization's classification system lists work-related circumstances, including burnout and difficulties in relationships with people at work, among the factors that can influence health (World Health Organization [WHO], 2025). That does not make entrepreneurship a problem in itself. It does mean your work life is reasonable to talk about in a psychological consultation, and a structured look may help you sort out what kind of support, if any, would be useful.

How Assessment Works Here

• Find your clinician. You can use the Match with a Therapist tool or browse Our Therapists. You can also call the admin team at 780-904-4880 to ask whether an assessment consultation is currently available for your question.
• Book your first session. The first appointment covers confidentiality and its limits, informed consent, and your goals. For an assessment, this includes clarifying the question you want answered, how information will be used, whether anyone else will receive results, and the expected cost.
• Build your plan together. You and your clinician decide whether an assessment is the right fit and, if so, which methods make sense for your question. If an assessment is not the best option, your clinician may talk with you about alternatives such as counselling, skills-focused support, or a referral to another professional.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes. Assessment appointments are scheduled around the work your question needs. If you continue with counselling afterward, sessions are usually weekly or every two weeks and can be adjusted.
• Feedback and check-ins. Your clinician reviews what was gathered with you and discusses possible next steps. Plans can change as your needs change.

There is no fixed number of appointments. The process is collaborative, and your questions and preferences shape each stage. Our Getting Started with Therapy page explains the first steps in more detail.

Evidence and Approaches

An assessment is not a treatment, so the sections below describe the parts of the assessment process instead of therapy methods. The research available for this page is limited, and each section says what it can and cannot support.

Clinical Interview and Context Review

What it helps with: Placing your concerns in the context of your work, history, and current demands so the assessment question is clear.

Evidence summary: ICD-11 includes employment-related circumstances, such as employment conditions, relationships with people at work, and burnout, among the factors that can influence health or bring someone into contact with health services (WHO, 2025). This supports treating business pressures as relevant context in a psychological consultation.

Limitations: ICD-11 is a classification system, not research on assessment or treatment. Its listing of work factors does not mean entrepreneurship is a disorder or that business stress calls for an assessment.

Standardized Questionnaires and Validated Measures

What it helps with: Adding structured information to what you share in conversation, when a measure is relevant to your specific question.

Evidence summary: Published research has examined validity evidence for a battery measuring entrepreneurial personality dimensions (Frontiers, n.d.). Validity evidence is one reason a clinician may consider a particular measure when it fits the assessment question.

Limitations: Only the title of this study was available for this page, so no claims are made about its findings. Personality measures cannot predict business success or give a complete picture of a person, and the specific measures used depend on the question and the clinician.

Feedback and Next-Step Planning

What it helps with: Turning the information gathered into a conversation about patterns, strengths, and support options you may want to consider.

Evidence summary: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on mental wellbeing at work (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], n.d.). This places work-related wellbeing within formal health guidance. Its specific recommendations were not reviewed for this page and are not summarized here.

Limitations: No research on the outcomes of assessment feedback for entrepreneurs was available for this page. Feedback may support reflection and planning, but it cannot guarantee clarity, a diagnosis, or changes in performance.

What Results to Expect

An assessment may help clarify patterns, questions, or support needs. It cannot guarantee clarity, a diagnosis, better performance, funding, or any business outcome. No assessment or therapy can promise results.

Understanding yourself and making changes rarely happens in a straight line. Some people find that feedback from an assessment is enough to plan their next steps. Others go on to counselling, where some notice shifts within months and others benefit from longer-term work.

Several things can influence what you take away:

• the question you bring and how clearly it can be defined
• your current circumstances, such as workload, financial pressure, and family demands
• how much you choose to share and which parts of the process you complete
• your fit with the clinician

Fit matters. If a clinician or approach does not feel right, changing to a different clinician or approach is always an option.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share during an assessment or counselling session is confidential. Psychologists in Alberta 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).

Two Alberta privacy laws are relevant. The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) generally governs how private clinics in Alberta collect, use, and disclose personal information, and it gives you the right to request access to your own information. The Health Information Act (HIA) governs health information held by custodians such as Alberta Health Services, and it can apply when a clinician works for or with a custodian.

There are legal limits to confidentiality. A clinician may need to share information without your consent when there is:

• a risk of serious harm to you or to someone else
• suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which must be reported under Alberta law
• a court order or another legal requirement

Entrepreneurs sometimes ask about results going to a business partner, investor, insurer, lawyer, or employer. If anyone else is to receive a report, the purpose, who will see it, and what it will contain are discussed and agreed with you in advance. Information is not released without your consent, except where the law requires it.

Your clinician explains these limits in your first session. You are welcome to ask questions about privacy before you share anything personal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe everything that has happened in detail?

No. An assessment needs enough information to answer your question, but you decide what you share and when. You can ask why something is being asked before you answer. Many questions focus on how things are going now, such as your workload, sleep, decisions, and relationships, rather than a detailed account of the past.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, with some legal limits. Information may need to be shared without your consent if there is a risk of serious harm, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, or a court order. Your clinician explains these limits before you begin, and the confidentiality section above has more detail.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no fixed number. It depends on the question you bring, the methods that fit it, and whether a written report is needed. Your clinician can give you an idea of the likely number of appointments early on, and the plan is reviewed with you as things move along.

What if the clinician is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is fine to say so. If a clinician does not feel right, or their assessment focus does not match your question, the admin team at 780-904-4880 can help you find someone else. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I do this online?

Virtual counselling is available across Alberta, and the same confidentiality standards apply online as in person. For assessments, whether a virtual format works depends on the type of assessment, the measures involved, and the clinician. Please confirm the format with the admin team before booking.

Can an assessment tell me whether I will succeed in business?

No. A psychological assessment cannot predict or determine business success. It may give you structured information to support reflection and planning. Business outcomes depend on many factors that no assessment can measure.

Is an assessment the same as counselling?

Not quite. Counselling focuses on ongoing support over time, while an assessment is a structured process for answering a defined question. Some people benefit from one, some from both, and some from another kind of support. If you are not sure which fits, the admin team or your clinician can talk it through with you.

Can I book an assessment for my business partner or a family member?

You can share information and help them find a starting point, but the person being assessed needs to agree and take part themselves. Informed consent is a core part of any assessment. If you are worried about someone's safety, the crisis resources above are the right place to start.

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 at Wholesome Psychology 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).

Not every clinician offers assessment, and areas of training differ from person to person. Each profile on Our Therapists describes that clinician's focus, and the Match with a Therapist tool can help narrow your options. If you would rather talk it through, the admin team at 780-904-4880 can tell you who is currently offering assessment consultations.

Children and Youth

This page is about assessment for adults who run or co-own a business. Business pressure can still reach the people at home, including children and teens in family businesses. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people, and clinicians who work with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches. They also work with parents and caregivers to support the child's home environment. Assessment for young people is a separate service, described on our child and youth assessment services page.

If You Would Like to Learn More

You can take the next step in whatever way feels manageable:

• Book a first appointment online
• Use the Match with a Therapist tool
• Call the admin team at 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read Getting Started with Therapy

Assessment availability, format, and cost are confirmed with you before anything is booked. Starting the conversation is enough.

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

References

• Frontiers. (n.d.). Assessment of eight entrepreneurial personality dimensions.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (n.d.). Mental wellbeing at work.
• World Health Organization. (2025). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics.