A private, practical place to check in on how your work is sitting with you, whether or not anything feels wrong right now. Registered Psychologists and Registered Provisional Psychologists registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Counsellors certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), social workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW) and therapists at several fee levels. In-person sessions in Edmonton and St. Albert, and virtual sessions across Alberta.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Wellness Counselling Is Right for You

You may be wondering whether counselling is really meant for someone in your position. You are still showing up for every shift. Nothing dramatic has happened. Talking to someone can feel like it belongs to people who are struggling more than you are.

You might also be unsure what booking would mean. Would it look like you are not coping? Would it find its way back to your workplace? Those are fair questions, and this page answers them plainly further down.

Maybe you have noticed smaller things. Sleep that does not quite reset after a run of shifts. Being shorter with the people at home than you mean to be, then replaying it later. Days off that go to recovering instead of living.

These are understandable responses to work built on shift schedules, responsibility and staying ready. They do not mean something is wrong with you. They can be a sign that a demanding job and the rest of your life are drawing on the same reserves.

If you are curious about what this kind of support looks like, the sections below explain what wellness counselling is, what it is not, and how starting works. You can read at your own pace and decide what, if anything, fits.

Who We Help

Wellness counselling may be worth exploring if you work, or have worked, in a uniformed role. That includes military members, Veterans, first responders, public-safety and corrections personnel, and others whose work involves a uniform, shift work, operational demands or public-facing responsibility.

It may be a good fit if you would like support with:

• keeping routines around shift work, rest and personal time
• setting boundaries between work and home
• adjusting to a new role, promotion, relocation, leave, return to work or retirement
• communication with a partner, family member, colleague or supervisor
• questions about values, identity, purpose or life outside work
• planning ahead for a busy or uncertain stretch, without waiting for a crisis

You do not need a diagnosis or a specific problem to begin.

If you are reading this for someone else, such as a partner, adult child or friend in a uniformed role, you are welcome to pass this page along. Our page on support for families of uniformed personnel and first responders describes options for family members themselves.

This service may not be the right fit if:

• You are in crisis or worried about your immediate safety. Please use the crisis resources below.
• You need a fitness-for-duty evaluation, operational clearance, a workplace investigation, a legal or forensic opinion, or a report for your employer. These needs sit outside this counselling service. Psychological assessments are a separate service, and the admin team can tell you what is available.
• Your main concern is a specific traumatic event or ongoing trauma-related distress. Trauma-focused counselling is described on our military-related trauma counselling and PTSD in first responders pages.
• You need medical care or medication. Your family physician or another medical provider is the right starting point for that.

If You Need Help Right Now

Counselling at Wholesome Psychology happens by appointment, so it cannot respond quickly in an emergency. If you or someone else needs help now:

• Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.
• Call or text 9-8-8 at any time if you are thinking about suicide or are worried about someone else.
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7), for confidential support, information and referrals.
• Family Violence Info Line (Alberta): 310-1818 (24/7, toll-free), if home does not feel safe for you or someone in your family.

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What Wellness and Prevention Counselling Is

Wellness and prevention counselling is a confidential, collaborative space to look at how work and the rest of life are fitting together. You and your therapist talk about what is going well, what is wearing on you, and what practical changes might help. The goals are yours, and they can change as your work changes.

It is a counselling service. It is not:

• emergency or crisis care
• a legal service, workplace investigation or other investigative process
• a fitness-for-duty evaluation, operational clearance or report to your employer
• a psychological assessment, which is a separate service
• medical treatment or medication management

You set the pace. You decide what to talk about and when, and you can decline any topic. What you share is confidential within limits your therapist explains in the first session, and the confidentiality section below covers them in full.

Each clinician works within the scope of their own registration or credential. If something you need falls outside that scope, they will tell you and help you think through where to go next.

Signs the Demands of Uniformed Work May Be Affecting You

You do not need a label for what you are noticing. Some people describe patterns like these:

• sleep that never quite resets after a run of shifts
• finding it hard to switch off, still running through the day long after it ends
• feeling short-tempered or flat with the people closest to you
• days off that get swallowed by recovery, with less room for things you used to enjoy
• missing family events or routines because of your schedule, and feeling the strain of it
• feeling unsettled by a change, such as a new posting, promotion, relocation, leave or retirement
• wondering who you are outside the uniform
• feeling worn down in your body in ways that seem to follow your work schedule

Having some of these experiences does not mean something is permanently wrong. They are understandable responses to demanding work, not fixed features of who you are. Counselling offers a structured place to notice these patterns early and decide what, if anything, you want to change.

How Counselling Works Here

• Find your therapist. Use the Match with a Therapist tool or browse Our Therapists. If you would rather talk it through, the admin team can help at 780-904-4880.
• Book your first session. You can book through our online booking system. Your first session covers informed consent, confidentiality and its limits, and what you would like to get out of counselling.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist shape a plan around your goals, schedule and preferences. Nothing is decided for you.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly or every two weeks. Frequency can be adjusted around rotations, deployments or a busy season.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist reviews progress with you regularly, and the plan adapts as your needs change.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Some people come for a handful of appointments around a specific change. Others prefer regular check-ins over a longer period. Your voice guides those decisions at every stage.

For more detail, see Getting Started with Therapy and what to expect from therapy.

Evidence and Approaches

The sources reviewed for this page support a careful, prevention-focused description of counselling. They do not include studies that measure how well wellness counselling works for uniformed personnel. Each summary below says what the sources support and where they stop.

Collaborative Wellness Planning

What it helps with: Setting personal goals around routines, rest, boundaries and relationships, and revisiting them as work demands change.

Evidence summary: Canada's Federal Framework on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder centres on recognition, collaboration and support (Government of Canada, 2023). It offers Canadian context for seeking support proactively, with needs that vary from person to person (Government of Canada, 2023).

Limitations: The framework is a federal policy document, not a treatment study. It does not show that wellness counselling prevents any specific condition.

Counselling Informed by Your Work Context

What it helps with: Making sense of how shifts, operational demands, transitions and public-facing responsibility affect life outside work.

Evidence summary: Statistics Canada has reported on a 2018 follow-up survey focused on the mental health of Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans (Statistics Canada, 2019). The Federal Framework on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder also addresses recognition and support related to occupational stress and trauma exposure (Government of Canada, 2023).

Limitations: These sources describe Canadian context rather than treatment results, and no survey statistics are used here. Clinician experience with specific uniformed roles varies, so it is worth confirming fit.

Trauma-Focused Care, When It Is Needed

What it helps with: Concerns linked to a specific distressing or traumatic experience, which go beyond the scope of wellness and prevention counselling.

Evidence summary: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes a clinical guideline on post-traumatic stress disorder (NICE, n.d.). The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) publishes a public fact sheet on the same topic (CPA, 2020). This page does not summarize their treatment content; trauma-focused counselling is described on our related trauma pages.

Limitations: Wellness counselling is not a substitute for trauma-focused treatment. Guidance on post-traumatic stress does not mean that people in uniformed roles have experienced trauma, and needs differ from person to person.

What Results to Expect

Progress is rarely a straight line. Some weeks feel steadier than others, especially when schedules or workloads shift.

Some people notice small shifts within a few months, such as steadier routines or easier conversations at home. Others find longer-term check-ins more useful. Outcomes vary from person to person.

Several things can shape how counselling goes:

• what you are dealing with, and how long it has been building
• your current circumstances, including your schedule, workload and support at home
• the fit between you and your therapist

No form of counselling can guarantee results. Wellness counselling cannot promise to prevent any specific condition. If the fit with your therapist 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. Counselling does not automatically involve your employer, supervisor, unit, family or insurer. Information is shared with another party only with your consent, or where the law requires or permits disclosure.

Psychologists at Wholesome Psychology are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists and follow its Standards of Practice. They are also guided by the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists from the Canadian Psychological Association. Other clinicians work within the professional standards that apply to their own credentials.

Two Alberta privacy laws are relevant here. As a private clinic, Wholesome Psychology is generally subject to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), which sets rules for how personal information is collected, used, disclosed and kept. The Health Information Act (HIA) governs health information held by health custodians, such as Alberta Health Services and hospitals. Psychologists in private practice are not currently custodians under the HIA, so if your care also involves a public health provider, that provider's records follow the HIA.

Confidentiality has limits. They include:

• a risk of serious harm to yourself or someone else
• suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which must be reported under Alberta law
• a court order or subpoena requiring records
• other situations where disclosure is required or permitted by law

Your clinician will explain these limits clearly in your first session. You are welcome to ask about privacy, records and who can see what before you share anything personal.

If an employer program, insurer or another organization is paying for or arranging your sessions, ask before you start what information, if any, they will receive. Your clinician can walk through that with you as part of informed consent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe difficult incidents or what happened in detail?

No. You decide what to share and when. Wellness counselling can focus entirely on present-day patterns, such as sleep, routines, boundaries or relationships, without going into the details of specific events. If you ever want to talk about something difficult, your therapist will work at a pace you choose.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within limits set by law and professional standards. Counselling does not automatically involve your employer or anyone else. Limits include a risk of serious harm, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, and court orders. Your clinician reviews these in your first session, and the confidentiality and privacy section above has more detail.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. Some people come for a few sessions around a specific change, such as a new posting or an upcoming retirement. Others prefer regular check-ins over a longer time. You and your therapist review progress together and adjust the plan as you go.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is fine to say so. You can tell your therapist directly or contact the admin team at 780-904-4880, and they 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 counselling online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available to people located anywhere in Alberta, subject to clinician availability. The same confidentiality standards apply as for in-person sessions. Our online therapy page explains how virtual sessions work.

Will my employer find out that I am attending counselling?

Counselling does not automatically involve an employer or supervisor. Information is shared only with your consent, or where the law requires or permits it. If a third party is involved in payment, documentation or communication, ask about the process and privacy considerations before you begin.

Do I need to be struggling or have a diagnosis to book?

No. Some people choose counselling as a planned space to reflect, build routines or talk through a transition before it becomes more disruptive. A first session can help you decide whether the approach and the therapist feel like a fit.

I am asking for a partner or family member. Can they get support too?

Yes. Family members can book counselling for themselves, whether or not the person in uniform attends. Our pages on support for families of uniformed personnel and couples counselling describe those options. If you are worried about someone's immediate safety, please use the crisis resources listed earlier on this page.

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.

Areas of practice vary between clinicians, and each profile on Our Therapists describes that person's training and focus. If experience with a particular uniformed role matters to you, the Match with a Therapist tool or a call to the admin team at 780-904-4880 can help you check before booking.

Children and Youth

Uniformed work can shape family life through shift schedules, relocations or time away. When a parent or caregiver works in a uniformed role, some families want support for a child or teen as well.

Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents and young people. Therapists who work with younger clients use approaches suited to the child's age and stage. They also work with parents and caregivers to support the child's environment at home. Our child and youth counselling page has more information.

If You Would Like to Take a Next Step

You can read more, ask a question, or book when it suits you. Any of these is a reasonable place to start:

• Book a session through our online booking system
• Use the Match with a Therapist tool
• Call the admin team at 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read 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. (2020). Posttraumatic stress disorder [Fact sheet].
• Government of Canada. (2023). Federal framework on posttraumatic stress disorder: Recognition, collaboration and support. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/federal-framework-post-traumatic-stress-disorder.html
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (n.d.). Post-traumatic stress disorder [Clinical guideline].
• Statistics Canada. (2019). Canadian Armed Forces members and Veteran Mental Health Follow-up Survey, 2018. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190423/dq190423d-eng.htm