A structured, non-judgmental place to talk about suicidal thoughts with a registered clinician, at a pace you set. Registered Psychologists regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). In-person 50-minute sessions in Edmonton and St. Albert. Virtual sessions available across Alberta.

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If you might act on suicidal thoughts now, call or text 9-8-8 or call 911. See more crisis options below.

You Might Be Wondering Whether Counselling for Suicidal Thoughts Is Right for You

You may not be sure your thoughts are serious enough to bring to a counsellor. Maybe they come and go. Maybe they feel more like wanting everything to stop than wanting to die, and you are not sure that counts. You might also worry that saying them out loud will make someone panic or change how people see you.

Some people describe getting through work or school as usual while carrying thoughts nobody around them knows about. Others notice a quiet sense that people would be better off without them, or a tiredness that sleep does not fix. Some find themselves pulling back from friends because explaining how they feel seems like too much.

Thoughts like these can make sense when pain has gone on longer than anyone should have to carry it alone. They are a sign that something hurts. They do not mean something is permanently wrong with you.

You might also be here because you are worried about someone else, or because you have already decided to reach out and want to know what to expect. If you are wondering whether talking with someone could help, you may wish to read on and see what this kind of support looks like here.

Who We Help

This service may be a good fit for:

• People who have thoughts of suicide or of not wanting to be alive, whether those thoughts are occasional or have been there a long time
• People who are not sure their experience "counts" and want to talk it through with someone trained to hear it
• People who are not in immediate danger and are looking for scheduled, ongoing counselling
• Family members, partners, and friends who are worried about someone and want support for themselves
• Parents and caregivers of a child or teen who has talked about suicide (see Children and Youth below)

This service may not be the right fit for:

• Immediate danger or crisis right now. Scheduled counselling cannot respond in the moment. Please use the crisis resources below.
• Medical or hospital care, including medication. These are outside what our clinicians provide. A family doctor, walk-in clinic, or emergency department can help.
• Forensic or legal needs, such as court reports or legal opinions. These are outside this therapy service. Psychological assessments are a separate service with their own process.

If you have lost someone to suicide, our page on counselling after losing someone to suicide may be closer to what you are looking for.

If You Need Help Right Now

Wholesome Psychology appointments are booked in advance and are not monitored around the clock. If you are thinking about acting on suicidal thoughts, or you are worried someone else might, these services are available now:

• 911 or your nearest emergency department if there is immediate danger
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8, 24/7, anywhere in Canada
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• Kids Help Phone (for young people): call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868 (24/7)

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What Suicidal Thoughts Counselling Is, and What It Is Not

Suicidal thoughts counselling is a structured space to talk openly about thoughts of suicide and the things connected to them, such as stress, loss, relationships, or a long stretch of feeling low. ICD-11, the international classification system, lists suicidal ideation under symptoms or signs involving the content of thought, not as a diagnosis on its own (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). In counselling, the focus is on understanding your experience, not on putting a label on you.

A few clear boundaries:

• It is not crisis intervention. Counselling appointments are not an emergency response service.
• It is not a legal service or an investigation. Your clinician's role is to support you, not to gather evidence or make legal findings.
• It does not include a psychological assessment. Assessments are a separate service.
• It does not include medical care, medication, or hospital-level care.
• You set the pace. Your clinician will not push you to share more than you are ready to.
• What you share is confidential, with some limits. Your clinician explains these before you begin. See Confidentiality and Privacy below.
• Clinicians work within their scope of practice. If another type or level of care might suit you better, they can talk with you about options and referrals.

Signs Suicidal Thoughts May Be Affecting You

Suicidal thoughts do not look the same for everyone. Some people describe them as constant. Others notice them only on the hardest days. You might recognize some of these experiences:

• Thinking that life is not worth living, or wishing you could go to sleep and not wake up
• Feeling like a burden to the people around you
• Feeling trapped, as if there is no way out of a situation
• Thoughts about death or suicide that arrive without warning and are hard to push away
• Pulling away from friends, family, or things that used to matter to you
• Feeling numb, empty, or flat for long stretches
• Changes in sleep, appetite, or energy that make ordinary days harder
• Being much harder on yourself than you would be on anyone else
• Hiding how you feel because you do not want to worry anyone

These experiences are human responses to pain, not character flaws. Having them does not mean something is permanently wrong with you. Suicide is treated as a public health concern in Canada, with a national suicide prevention action plan covering 2024 to 2027 (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], n.d.) and national reporting on mental health and suicidal thoughts (Statistics Canada, n.d.). Structured support can give these thoughts a place to be heard and understood.

You may also find our pages on depression counselling and self-harm counselling helpful.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. You can use the Match with a Therapist tool or browse our therapist profiles. Our admin team can also help you choose at 780-904-4880.
• Book your first session. You can book online through our booking system. In the first session, your clinician reviews informed consent, confidentiality and its limits, and what you would like from counselling. You may also talk about what has been happening, the supports you have, and what next steps make sense. You decide how much to share.
• Build your plan together. Your plan is shaped with you, not handed to you. Depending on your needs, it may include coping resources, people you can lean on, and referrals or coordination with other services where appropriate and with your consent.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly or every two weeks. The frequency can change as your needs change.
• Progress check-ins. Your clinician reviews with you how things are going and adjusts the plan along the way.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Counselling is collaborative, and your sense of what is helping matters at every stage. You can read more on our Getting Started with Therapy page.

Evidence and Approaches

Clinicians draw on different approaches depending on the person, so not every clinician works the same way. The approaches below describe what counselling for suicidal thoughts may include here. We have kept evidence claims on this page deliberately modest, because the sources reviewed for it do not support statements about which specific therapies work best.

Collaborative Counselling Conversations

What it helps with: Giving you a structured, non-judgmental place to talk about suicidal thoughts and the stress, loss, or relationships connected to them.

Evidence summary: ICD-11 lists suicidal ideation under symptoms or signs involving the content of thought, rather than as a stand-alone diagnosis (WHO, n.d.). This supports approaching these thoughts as an experience to understand in context, without assuming a particular condition.

Limitations: ICD-11 is a classification system and does not measure whether counselling helps. Outcome research for this approach was not part of the sources reviewed for this page.

Coping and Support Planning

What it helps with: Planning ahead for harder moments by identifying coping resources, people you can reach out to, and where to turn if more support is needed.

Evidence summary: Research comparing psychosocial and behavioural interventions for suicidal thoughts and behaviour is an active field, including a 2026 network meta-analysis (Nguyen et al., 2026). The findings of that review were not available in the sources prepared for this page, so we do not describe which approaches performed better.

Limitations: Planning depends on your needs, your consent, and the clinician's scope, and it does not replace crisis services. How useful it feels varies from person to person.

Referral and Care Coordination

What it helps with: Connecting you with other services, such as your family doctor or crisis supports, when a different or additional level of care may help.

Evidence summary: Clinical guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) covers the assessment, management, and prevention of recurrence of self-harm (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], n.d.). This page does not summarize that guidance's recommendations.

Limitations: NICE guidance is written for the United Kingdom health system and focuses on self-harm rather than suicidal thoughts specifically. Referral options in Alberta also depend on local availability and wait times.

What Results to Expect

Counselling for suicidal thoughts rarely follows a straight line. Some weeks may feel lighter and others heavier, and a hard week does not mean counselling has failed. Some people notice changes over weeks or months. Others find that longer-term support suits them better.

What you experience may depend on:

• What you are dealing with in your life right now
• The supports around you
• Other care you may be receiving
• How well you and your clinician work together

No therapy can guarantee a particular outcome, and counselling cannot promise to remove suicidal thoughts. Fit matters a great deal. If something is not working, you can ask to try a different approach or a different clinician 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) and follow the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Other clinicians at the clinic follow the standards of their own professional bodies.

Your personal and health information is protected under Alberta privacy law. Depending on the setting, this includes the Health Information Act (HIA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Your clinician can explain how your records are kept and who can access them.

Talking about suicidal thoughts is what this service is for, and clinicians expect to hear about them. Having or describing these thoughts is not, on its own, a reason your information would be shared. Confidentiality does have legal and professional limits, including:

• A serious risk of 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 testimony

Your clinician will explain these limits in your first session, before you share anything personal. You can ask how they would apply to situations you are worried about. If you would like to ask questions before booking, you can call 780-904-4880 or email info@wholesomepsychology.ca.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe my thoughts, or what led to them, in detail?

No. You decide what to share and when. Many people start with what day-to-day life feels like right now rather than going back through everything that led there. Your clinician may ask some direct questions about how you are doing and what support you have, so they can understand your situation. You can always say when something feels like too much.

If I talk about suicidal thoughts, will my therapist have to tell someone?

What you share is confidential, and describing suicidal thoughts is not, by itself, a reason to share your information. There are limits, such as a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, suspected child abuse or neglect, or a court order. Your clinician explains these in your first session. You can read more in the Confidentiality and Privacy section above.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. Some people come for a shorter stretch of focused support, while others find longer-term work more helpful. You and your clinician review progress regularly and decide together how to continue.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, especially when you are talking about something this personal. If a clinician does not feel right, our admin team can help you find someone else, and you do not need to explain why. 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 across Alberta, and the same confidentiality standards apply. Before virtual sessions begin, you can expect your clinician to talk with you about how urgent situations would be handled. Whether virtual sessions suit you can depend on your needs, so it is worth discussing at the start. Learn more about online counselling.

Do I need a diagnosis to get counselling for suicidal thoughts?

No. Suicidal thoughts are not, on their own, a diagnosis. Counselling can focus on your current experience, concerns, supports, and goals without assuming a particular condition.

I am worried about someone I care about. What can I do?

If you think they are in immediate danger, call 911. If not, you can call or text 9-8-8 for guidance. You can also book counselling for yourself to talk through how to support them and how to look after your own wellbeing while you do.

What if I need support between sessions?

Counselling appointments are not an emergency service. If you need help between sessions, call or text 9-8-8, call the Alberta Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642, or call 911 if there is immediate danger. Your clinician can also work with you on a plan for harder moments.

Meet Your Clinicians

Our team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Canadian Certified Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists, who are master's-level practicum students. 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).

Each clinician's profile lists their areas of focus. You can browse Our Therapists or use the Match with a Therapist tool. If you would like help finding someone with experience supporting people with suicidal thoughts, the admin team can guide you at 780-904-4880.

Children and Youth

Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people. Therapists who work with younger clients use approaches suited to the young person's age and stage of development.

Clinicians also work with parents and caregivers to help build support around the young person. Your clinician can explain how confidentiality works for young people, including what caregivers will and will not be told. If a young person needs to talk to someone right away, Kids Help Phone is listed in the crisis resources above.

You can learn more on our child and youth mental health and teen mental health pages.

When You Feel Ready

If you would like to talk with someone, you can take the next step in whichever way feels easiest:

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

If you need help right now, call or text 9-8-8 or call 911.

Starting the conversation is enough.

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

References

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (n.d.). Self-harm: Assessment, management and preventing recurrence.
• Nguyen et al. (2026). Comparative effects of psychosocial and behavioral interventions to prevent or reduce suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior: A network meta-analysis.
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (n.d.). The National Suicide Prevention Action Plan (2024 to 2027).
• Statistics Canada. (n.d.). Mental health characteristics and suicidal thoughts.
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics: MB26.A Suicidal ideation.