Calgary Psychologists
Living Well Counselling Services is an experienced team of experienced therapists which include Registered Psychologists, Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers and Certified Professional Counsellors with a wide range of expertise to help clients live more meaningful and satisfying lives. Living Well has been serving Calgarians for over 15 years with a strong reputation of high quality therapy from knowledgable Psychologists with hundreds of five star ratings on Google, Yelp and benefits websites such as SunLife to help you to live a meaningful life. Living Well has stood the test of time through putting client’s needs first, highly selective hiring, quality training and strong leadership with a focus on excellent care for our clients and our clinicians. We do this through a variety of internal practices that keep our team strong and our therapy offerings consistent.
The team is led by Jennifer Dawn Watts who is an expert in change and in addition to her work as an experienced therapist has become a popular speaker, retreat leader and podcast host. Jennifer has over 14,000 followers on Twitter and seeks to use her knowledge by volunteering her time to help leaders in various non-profit organizations that are striving to create change on larger scales. Jennifer’s passion for helping people develop and grow started simply as a client herself in need of help. Because she knows what it’s like to need help, she created a space of a high degree of empathy for clients, an agency of non-judgment and authenticity where all clients having the courage to seek support will be treated with respect. She and Steven Ngu, the Clinic Director have high standards in hiring and have chosen to hire those that show the most strength in offering what Living Well hopes to offer to Calgarians. Although Living Well could have grown significantly over the last 15 years we have chosen to keep smaller locations for our clients and to focus on quality over quantity.
Therapy Services
Our Knowledgable Psychologists and therapists offer a wide range of research proven methods and offer Individual Therapy, Couples Therapy, Family Counselling ,Psychology and Counselling for Children and Adolescents depending on what you need most. We understand many of our clients can lead a busy life so we offer appointments in person and online weekdays, weekends and in the evenings for a wide range of options at both our North and South locations.
Areas we can help include Depression Therapy, Anxiety Therapy, Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Building Healthy Relationships, Behavioural Difficulties, Couples Therapy, Life Challenges, Family Counselling, Therapy for Children and Many Others. Our Experience in Counselling as well as our warm and inviting offices are set up to maximize your opportunity to heal and grow for healthy relationships, overcoming difficult emotions and for greater meaning and freedom to live more satisfying lives.
A Few Examples of Kind Words from Past Living Well Clients
I’ve been going to Living Well since late 2020 and it has been nothing but a pleasure since the start. My experience with Heather Nolin has been that she is very professional, an excellent listener, and always helps steer me in the right direction. I have a habit of doing a lot of talking and she has a way of directing my self-monologue in a direction that leads to a lot of self-discovery which we then discuss and help reinforce the good behaviours I have been able to develop. I really could not recommend an organization as highly as I do Living Well. ~ B.R.
Let me start off with how my condition was before I had my sessions with my therapist Beverly. I was pretty down in the dumps, spiraling into depression due to self esteem and work issues. My progress with Beverly was steady and I consistently worked with her on my problems, how to address them and what homework I could do to make improvement. It took a lot work and consistency, but Beverly does made it easy on my journey to fixing my mindset and learning how to deal with conflicts. If you believe you need counseling or just need to improve your mental health, I would definitely recommend Beverly! ~D.Y.
Working with Katherine has been such a gift. I reached out to Living Well about six months ago for help with anxiety. I have probably been experiencing some level of anxiety all my life but by December it had become clear to me that it was affecting my quality of life. I was functioning, but I wanted to do better than just function. I wanted to experience happiness and wellbeing. I reached out to Living Well and was paired with Katherine.
It’s difficult for me to put into words how grateful I am for the experience. From our first session Katherine was warm, compassionate, caring and an incredible listener. She taught me some wonderfully effective techniques for managing my thought processes and physiological responses to stress that have significantly reduced my anxiety. Now, when anxious feelings arise, I have the tools to examine them, take the necessary steps to address them and/or let them go.
Of course, applying these techniques has and will continue to be an ongoing learning process, but it truly feels as though what I have learned from Katherine has given me my life back. I now experience moments of peace and happiness unlike I had ever experienced before.
Even through the Covid-19 pandemic, Katherine and I have continued to meet online. The online platform has been great and the meetings have been just as effective as they would have been in person.
Thank you so much to Katherine and Living Well. ♥ – E.T.
I had utilized Living Well when I found myself hopeless and struggling to cope with sadness and anxiety. I was encouraged throughout my sessions while teasing apart the issues and triggers to my situation. My councillor was patient, and kind while guiding attention to some of the roots deeper down. I felt blessed to have this encouragement and perspective. – K.W.
For more testimonials check out our website, Google Reviews or Google your therapist of choice specifically for reviews on websites such as SunLife. Many clients don’t leave reviews but we can assure you we are very selective in hiring and only attract the most sincere, skilled and non-judgemental clinicians that will help you achieve a wide range of client goals.
To ensure a strong therapeutic relationship for life transitions, relationship issues, anxiety therapy, depression therapy, personal growth, difficult emotions or mood disorders our Intake Director can help you find the right therapy types that you want to have used in your sessions to build a strong relationship with your therapist. All Living Well therapists are experienced Psychologists and Counsellors that specialize in individual therapy, couples therapy and therapy for children and adolescents. They will draw from a wide range of research based therapy types including Solution Focused Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Family Counselling, Couples Therapy, Art Therapies and Psychological Treatment. Sometimes they will combine complimentary therapy approaches for an Integrative Approach or an Eclectic Approach. You will know within a couple of sessions if this works for you and you feel the capacity to build a strong relationship or clinically called a Therapeutic Alliance over time. Your experience in counselling, although sometimes anxiety provoking to start at first, should be a positive one and if it’s not and you need an alternative fit, we’re here to bridge the gap for you and have a wide range of options. Our Intake Director is always here for you to support you in your journey.
How Can I Find the Therapist that is Right for Me?
A great place to start is by contacting the Intake Department at Living Well. With three locations to serve Calgarians as well as options for online counselling for greater convenience, we have many knowledgeable psychologists to help you get excellent results. At Living Well we feel it’s important to invest in you right from the start, therefore if you submit an Appointment Request you will be contacted directly by Steven Ngu, our Clinic Director a Competent Psychologist with a wealth of knowledge. Steven is aware of each of our therapists’ extensive experience, therapy types offered and availability and will work with you to ensure you find the best fit possible. Additionally, to ensure a great match, Living Well doesn’t make you pay for an initial session to meet your Counsellor or Clinical Psychologist instead we offer a free 20 minute consultation to ensure you feel comfortable proceeding with the person you choose to work with. You can do this consultation in person, via online counselling or by telephone and this is a good opportunity for you to share what you’re hoping for in therapy and to get a good sense of your therapist’s approach to treatment and well as what to expect in the process. You know you best. So we want to make sure you have the greatest of care in identifying the professional you want to work with.
Where are Living Well Psychologists, Therapists and Certified Counsellors located?
The majority of our therapists are all based in Calgary, Alberta with the exception of a few who offer online services only. Each offers a wide range of therapy types to serve you best.
We know that proximity to your experienced therapist can be helpful in greater convenience so Living Well offers three locations in Calgary as opposed to one large agency. The other benefit to this is privacy. We keep our offices smaller in locations with greater confidentiality so that you don’t need to experience the uncomfortable feeling of sitting in a waiting room with a large group of people.
Our Living Well North location is in the beautiful community of Kensington. Our North location is in an incredible character home originally built in 1919. Previously used by a team of doctors, the owner/retired doctor has renovated the house which is his pride and joy. This location is warm, inviting and ideal for North Calgary residents. It currently has Registered Psychologists, Provisional Psychologists and Certified Professional Counsellors. This location currently has daytime, evening and weekend appointments available.
Our Living Well South location is in the heart of Douglasdale. We know our South clients love the South! And so do our Southern Calgary Psychologists and Counsellors that work there. You will find us located on the upper level of the smaller building next to the Douglasdale Professional Centre with tastefully decorated offices and a warm welcoming feel. This location currently offers daytime, evening and weekend appointments.
Our Living Well Central location is in the fun and trending community of Inglewood. It is our smallest office with the greatest amount of privacy and is in the SowBow building. This location currently has two Psychologists and one Certified Counsellor and is currently available for daytime only appointments Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm.
How Do I Choose which Therapist I Want to Work With?
We understand that it can feel overwhelming in looking for the right person to help. Therefore we have a few options to serve you best.
One option is to fill out our Intake Form by clicking on the upper right hand button on the top of each page or by calling our main office at 403.695.7911 and leaving us a voicemail. Once you’ve reached out to us your request will go straight to our Clinic Director, Steven Ngu, who is a fully Registered Psychologist. It is important to us at Living Well that you get to speak to a competent Psychologist, so instead of reaching reception or an Intake Center with volunteers, we pay a Registered Psychologist to speak with you from the beginning to assist you in connecting with the help you need.
Another meaningful way to choose a Psychologist, Counsellor or Social Worker is based on how you feel about a person’s profile. If you click on the Our Therapists page you can see each person’s picture and if you get a strong feeling toward one therapist or another. Sometimes this intuition can be helpful. If so, you can click on their profile to see what areas they specialize in and if this suits what you’re looking for. It can help to have a few options since the therapist of your choice may be full and too long of a wait, but this can still be an additional way that clients find the person they are looking for.
A third way to choose may be based on Location (North, South or Central) or the preference for Online Counselling.
Here are our where our therapists are located:
Living Well North Calgary
Shezlina Haji – Senior Registered Psychologist
Jodi Kunz – Senior Certified Professional Counsellor
Beverly Reed – Senior Registered Psychologist
Anya Stang – Registered Psychologist
Melissa Cavanagh – Registered Provisional Psychologist
Anne Sureshkumar – Registered Social Worker
Carol Dizon – Certifed Professional Counsellor
Megan Duffy – Registered Provisional Psychologist
Marissa Whalley – Registered Provisional Psychologist
Living Well South Calgary
Heather Nolin – Senior Registered Psychologist
Brianna Matchett – Senior Certified Professional Counsellor
Carrie Lee Gibson – Senior Certified Professional Counsellor
Natalie Draycott – Registered Provisional Psychologist
Celeste Rodrigues-Forbes – Registered Social Worker
Anne Sureshkumar – Registered Social Worker
Daria Nechaieva – Registered Provisional Psychologist
Living Well Central Calgary
Karla Reimer – Senior Registered Psychologist
Heather Nolin – Senior Registered Psychologist
Brianna Matchett – Senior Certified Professional Counsellor
Multiple Locations – Clinic Directors
Steven Ngu – Senior Registered Psychologist
Kaylee Garside – Senior Registered Psychologist
All therapists above offer online counselling in addition to in office appointments.
Online Counselling Only
Aziza Giga-Hirji – Senior Registered Social Worker
Katherine Jarrell – Senior Registered Social Worker
Shannon Baustad – Registered Psychologist
Kaitlyn Barnett – Registered Provisional Psychologist
Which Type of Therapist is Right for Me?
Research has shown there is one factor that is more important than anything else in choosing which type of therapist is right for you. It is not therapy types they offer. It is the one you feel most comfortable working with and can build a strong relationship with. A major reason why people improve in therapy is based upon the Therapeutic Relationship or Therapeutic Alliance a person has with their Counsellor or Psychologist. Even if the therapist you choose to work with has great training, experience and techniques, or uses something proven to be effective such as Solution Focused Therapy, if you don’t feel comfortable with them will be nearly impossible to open up and to share, or to collaborate on your goals. That’s why we ensure we offer a free initial session to anyone seeking our services. By looking at your therapists profile, understanding their areas of strength and then taking the time to meet with them, you should get a good sense as to whether this is someone you feel comfortable working on your goals with. If for any reason your therapist is not a fit, we will find you someone else that you can connect with – whether it is inside or out of our practice. The most important thing to us is that you get the best possible help for your needs.
What Can Living Well Therapists Help With?
Living Well therapists work in a wide range of areas including life transitions, relationship issues, personal growth, mental health services, quality of life concerns, circumstantial difficulties, domestic violence, life challenges, mood disorders, attention difficulties and behavioural difficulties.
What Type of Therapy Does Living Well Use?
Many Living Well therapists use an Integrative Approach or Eclectic Approach to treatment. The type of therapy will depend on whether they are offering Individual Therapy, Couples Sessions, Family Counselling or Therapy for Children. There are a variety of therapy types for each and often an Integrative Approach, or some may describe this as an Eclectic Approach, is best.
For Individual Therapy therapists will use one type of therapy such as Solution Focused Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Behavioural Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Art Therapies, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and EMDR amongst several others.
For Couples Therapy we may use another, such as one of the top three highly recognized and research based forms of treatment for solving relationship issues and for increased quality of life. These include The Gottman Method, Emotional Focused Therapy and Imago Therapy.
For Children one of our Experienced Psychologists may use one of the forms of Art Therapies or Play Therapy. From Children to Adults Living Well offers an eclectic approach of the best therapeutic techniques from non-judgmental experienced therapists to serve Calgary and the surrounding area.
What is the Difference Between a Psychologist, a Therapist, A Counsellor and a Social Worker?
The term therapist is a term that is not governed by a regulating body and is used to describe all of our counselling professionals at Living Well including Clinical Psychologists, Counsellors and Social Workers. Another common catch all phrase is the term clinician.
That said, there is a difference in the degrees and governing bodies that oversee Psychologists, Counsellors and Social Workers. Psychologists get Masters degrees in Psychology or Counselling Psychology. Their training and testing is the most rigorous in which they must complete 1600 supervised hours, multiple exams including the oral exam, the LEAP and the EPPPs. The EPPPs are the most difficult and they are often not passed on the first or even second attempt by even the best Psychologists. This test would be comparable to passing the bar in law school. Psychologists can fulfill a variety of professions including research, education and counselling in a psychology practice.
Certified Counsellors are professionals that have completed a Masters as well, often in Counselling or Counselling Psychology. Counsellors then often completed an internship and/or residency where they fulfill hours of supervised practice. While Certified Counsellors may not have the same level of testing and supervised hours before becoming registered professionals, their education was solely focused on Counselling itself. Unlike Psychologists that may go into a variety of professions, Counsellors become Counsellors only.
Registered Social Workers are those that work in the Social Work field and receive a Bachelors or Masters in Social Work. They go on to a variety of helping professions often seeking to make the community a better place. Social Workers are some of the hardest working, self sacrificing people that can work in difficult jobs such as the foster care system or supervising parental visits of those with significant challenges. Living Well chooses Social Workers that specialize in Counselling. Due the their wide variety of experience helping people that are often under resourced, our Social Workers are extremely skilled in helping you with tools that will help you reach your goals.
Is In Person Therapy or Online Therapy Better for Me?
The majority of our therapists offer both online therapy or in person apart from those listed above. What it comes down to is person choice.
The Benefits of In Person Therapy
In person therapy means that you will meet your Clinical Psychologist, Counsellor or Social Worker at one of our Calgary offices. These sessions are in our smaller clinics which are in locations that are carefully selected for client privacy and comfort. At Living Well we have chosen to avoid large clinic spaces for increased comfort and confidentiality, as well as professional office spaces that have comforting decor as opposed to a more clinical or medical feel. We invest a great deal in choosing the space for you to meet with your therapist and we get feedback from countless clients of how nice our offices are decorated. These are all done by our owner, along with Karen McNeil, a long time friend and very talented and loving soul. Our space itself is healing for many people.
Additionally by meeting in person this helps free many clients from the isolation of our community starved lives. Especially after the pandemic it can be beneficial to meet your therapist face to face and to share a room with their empathy and compassion. Even the smallest steps out of the house to move toward your goals are powerful in creating change. Many people feel better after doing so.
The Benefits of Online Therapy
For some clients, online therapy is what is needed. This can be for a variety of reasons including:
Time – Many of our clients are very pressed for time. Online therapy can be a convenient way to take a break for one hour, often using benefits that were going unused and could be invested for increased well being. Clients will meet us on their lunch break or after work as a way of bettering themselves without it feeling like too heavy of an additional commitment. It’s a great way to get started when leaving the house or adding more to your plate feels like too much.
Childcare concerns – for single parents without additional support or couples seeking house, online counselling can be a great tool of support. In these cases we often suggest waiting until the children are in bed for scheduling sessions or if they are older making sure you have a private and quiet space to meet. This allows for the best results.
Distance – Some clients live further from our offices and it can be difficult to drive in especially during the winter. Or we do have some clinicians, like our Founder, that work with clients all over the world. There are times when a local therapist isn’t enough to meet the needs of the client in some difficult cases and online therapy is an incredible tool to bring the skilled professional to the person in need.
Whether you choose In Person or Online Counselling you will have access to Experienced Psychologists, Counsellors and Social Workers that use research based therapy types including solution focused therapy, CBT, ACT and others to build healthy relationships and to lead more satisfying lives.
Is Every Therapist at Living Well Counselling Calgary Registered?
Yes. Every Clinical Psychologist, Social Worker and Counsellor at Living Well is Registered with a Governing Body. It is important to us to offer quality over quantity so we have chosen not to grow into a training centre and strictly work with professionals who are already registered and come with experience in their chosen designation. If you are hoping for benefits coverage with a registered professional, please refer to your specific benefits package to take not of whether you are covered with Registered Psychologists, Social Workers or Counsellors.
What are my Next Steps to booking with a Living Well Psychologist, Social Worker or Counsellor?
To schedule a free 20 minutes Initial Session or to receive help choosing a therapist that may be right for you, please click on our Appointment Request Form on the top right hand corner of the page. Please make note of whether you are requesting Couples Therapy, Therapy for Children, or Individual Therapy. We strive to respond to all requests within one business day. It is very important to us that you have excellent care from your initial contact. Should you have any concerns, or if there is a problem with form submission, Steven Ngu our Clinic Director can be reached on our main line by leaving a message at 403.695.7911. From Children to Adults, we are here to help and offer a wide range of therapy types from our Experienced Team to help you live a more meaningful life.
Living Well Counselling Services
4803 Centre St NW #4, Calgary, AB T2E 2Z6
403-695-7911