Calgary Institute of Counselling

The Calgary Institute of Counselling was established to bring true healing to people and relationships. Many people, including founder Jenn Betts, have been told by Doctors, Psychiatrists and even Psychologists that this is the way things will be for them. They have been told that they will have to get used to their anxiety, depression, OCD etc… Their difficulties will not necessarily go away. This is not true. People can get better. People can recover from their difficulties in life. This was Jenn’s desire when she established the Calgary Institute of Counselling. She has seen many clients recover from the brinks of divorce, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, OCD etc…
Counselling is available in person, online or via telephone. To make counselling easily accessible we provide mornings, afternoons and evenings. We work with children, teens, adults, couples and families of all races, religions, and lifestyles. We are a safe and welcoming environment for all including the LGBQT2+ population. We are free of judgement as we all have our own stories and struggles. We want to honour people’s stories and the circumstances that bring them in.
Research has taught us that the most important factor in counselling for healing is the relationship between the Psychologist and client. Therefore, we provide 20 minute free consultations for all new clients if they so choose. Our clients see us both in person and/or online. Founder, Jenn Betts, believes that it is imperative that people get in for counselling as quickly as possible. Therefore, there is no waitlist to access counselling. We save appointment times for new clients throughout the week so that people can receive the help they so desperately need.
There are a variety of ways that we help people heal from their current difficulties. The analogy we use at the Calgary Institute of Counselling is: “Say you slam your hand in the car door and it really hurts. You take some Advil or Tylenol to make the pain go away. Yet, you wake up the next morning and you still cannot move your fingers. So, you go to the Doctor, get an x-ray and see that you have a broken finger.” That is what we do with counselling. We start with symptoms treatment. One must bring down the symptoms of anxiety, depression, relationship stress. However, one cannot stop there. We must find the root of the current difficulty. There is always a root cause. Babies are not born anxious nor depressed. It comes from somewhere. This is how we help people find true and lasting healing.
Each client and each difficulty are different. Therefore, we use a variety of different theories of counselling to find the best fit for each client. We pull from a variety of different counselling theories. Predominantly we use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Solution Focused Therapy, Mindfulness therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. For couples counselling we use Gottman and Emotion Focused Therapy. All of these are research evidenced based forms of therapy that have been proven to help people heal.
Our world does not stay stagnant. Nor do our clients’ difficulties. Therefore, to provide the best and most effective counselling for clients, staff are regularly enrolled in trainings and seminars to stay relevant in the field. Psychology is a quickly evolving science. It is crucial to stay up to date on current research and interventions for clients.
Mental health and relational struggles are difficult. But we do not have to stay in that place. We can change, we can heal. We can help you find the right therapist for you. We can help alleviate your symptoms. We can help you uncover the root of your current difficulties. It can be frightening reaching out for counselling. Know that we have all been there too. We all go through counselling ourselves. We honor you and your story and look forward to helping you journey towards change and wholeness.