Yes — counselling and therapy are at the core of what Viewpoint Calgary does. Our Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, and Registered Social Workers work with individuals, couples, and families on concerns such as depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, and other everyday struggles. This is a separate service from our psychological assessments, and most clients come to us for one or the other, though some benefit from both.

Absolutely! Couples counselling is one of our main services at Viewpoint Calgary. Many of our therapists have completed higher levels of training in the Gottman Method, a well-researched approach to improving communication, working through recurring conflict, and rebuilding trust and connection between partners. Whether you’re working through a specific rough patch, considering separation, or simply want to strengthen your relationship, a couples-trained therapist can help you build healthier patterns together.

Our therapists draw on a range of evidence-based approaches for individuals, couples, and families. Couples work is a particular focus at Viewpoint Calgary, and many of our therapists have completed Level II or Level III Gottman Method training. For individual therapy, therapists usually provide services in an integrative way, using multiple methods including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), EMDR, and other modalities. Your therapist’s approach will be matched to what you neednrather than a one-size-fits-all method. You and your therapist will talk through which approach fits your concerns and preferences during your free consultation or first session.

Your first session is an intake appointment focused on getting oriented, not diving straight into deep work. Your therapist will walk you through informed consent, your privacy rights under Alberta’s Health Information Act, and office policies, so you know exactly where you stand. From there, you’ll talk through what brought you in, your background, and what you’re hoping to work on, and together you’ll sketch out an initial, evidence-based plan that fits your goals, schedule, and financial situation.

A psychological assessment is a structured evaluation that measures how someone thinks, learns, and processes information, using standardized tests, interviews, and questionnaires. At Viewpoint Calgary, an assessment can help you to turn the vague sense that "something isn’t adding up" into a clear, evidence-based picture of your or your child’strengths and challenges, along with practical recommendations for school, work, and everyday life. This is a distinct service from our counselling and couples work, aimed at answering a specific diagnostic or learning question.

Viewpoint Calgary offers four core assessment types:

• Psychoeducational assessments for children and teens who are struggling in school, or who parents suspect may have a learning difference

• ADHD assessments for children and adolescents

• ADHD assessments for adults

• Giftedness and GATE assessments, including cognitive testing for gifted programs and school applications such as Westmount and Calgary’s GATE program

Each assessment page on this site outlines who it’s for, what’s involved, and current pricing.

These are three distinct, separately regulated professions. A Registered Psychologist or Registered Provisional Psychologist has a graduate degree in psychology and specialized training in psychological testing and therapy, but cannot prescribe medication. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in mental health, and can prescribe and manage medication, but doesn’t typically carry out in-depth psychometric testing. A Registered Social Worker generally holds a social work degree and is well qualified to provide counselling and connect clients with community resources, though formal psychometric assessment falls outside their scope of practice. Viewpoint Calgary’s team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, and Registered Social Workers, so while any of our clinicians can provide counselling and therapy, formal psychological assessments are always carried out by our psychologists. Each assessment page has more detail on our clinicians’ specific credentials and testing standards.

A counselling session with a Registered Psychologist or Registered Social Worker ranges from $235 for a 60-minute session to $352.50 for a 90-minute session. These rates follow the fee schedule recommended by the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta (PAA). Because we believe ongoing therapy is a meaningful investment in your well-being, select clinicians also offer sliding-scale rates based on their qualifications and your individual financial circumstances. You can simply raise this with your therapist during your initial consultation.

Assessment pricing varies by type, since scope and testing time differ — the dedicated page for each assessment lists current rates. If a clinician identifies the need for additional testing partway through an assessment, this will always be discussed with you, including the added cost, before proceeding.

No. Alberta Health Care (AHCIP) does not cover private psychology or counselling services; it only funds mental health care delivered by physicians, such as a family doctor or psychiatrist, or through Alberta Health Services public programs. Most clients instead pay through extended health benefits, an employee assistance program, or out of pocket. Out-of-pocket fees paid to a Registered Psychologist can also be claimed as a medical expense on your Canadian income tax return.

Yes. Viewpoint Calgary offers direct billing to most major Canadian extended health benefit providers, including Alberta Blue Cross, Medavie Blue Cross, Sun Life, Canada Life, Manulife, Green Shield Canada, and providers on the Telus eClaims network, which reduces what you need to pay upfront. If your plan isn’t set up for direct billing or requires you to submit your own claim, we’ll give you a detailed receipt showing your therapist’s professional registration number right after your session, so reimbursement is straightforward.

The easiest way is to call your provider before your first appointment and ask a few specific questions:

• Does my plan cover services from a Registered Psychologist (R.Psych), or other specific designations?

• What is my annual maximum benefit, and when does it renew?

• Is coverage capped at a percentage per session (for example, 80%) or a flat dollar amount per visit?

• Does my plan require a doctor’s referral to be reimbursed?

Most extended health plans include an annual mental health allowance, often somewhere between $500 and $2,500 or more, though exact terms depend entirely on your specific policy and employer.

You can book online any time through our Jane App booking portal, call our office directly, or request a free 15- minute consultation first. No doctor’s referral is needed for any of our services. When you book, you’ll choose a specific clinician or ask our Client Care Team for a matching recommendation, provide your contact details, and place a credit card on file to hold your appointment time.

Yes. We offer a free 15-minute phone or video consultation with all of our clinicians. It’s a low-pressure way to talk through your goals, ask about a therapist’s approach or a psychologist’s assessment experience, and check that the therapist you are meeting feels like a good fit before booking a full appointment.

That’s completely okay, and more common than you might think. Fit matters — it’s one of the biggest factors in whether therapy feels valuable and even enjoyable, not just effective. If your first therapist doesn’t feel like the right match, just let us know and we’ll happily set you up with a consultation with another member of our team. There’s no awkwardness and no extra hoops — we’d rather you find the right person than settle for the first one.

We ask for at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule any appointment. Because that time is held exclusively for you in your clinician’s schedule, cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice, or missed appointments, are billed at the full session fee to the card on file.