Calgary Family
Counselling
Curio Counselling provides family counselling in Calgary for parents, children, teens, and families experiencing conflict, communication difficulties, or changes at home. Family therapy is available in person at our Beltline office at 1414 8 St SW, Suite 200, and online across Alberta.
Our family counselling team includes Registered Psychologists regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists and Canadian Certified Counsellors certified by the CCPA. Curio Counselling uses family systems therapy, attachment-based approaches, emotionally focused therapy, and developmentally appropriate play and art therapy to help families improve communication, strengthen relationships, and work through recurring patterns of conflict.
New clients can book a free 20-minute consultation to discuss their family’s concerns, treatment options, and which therapist may be the best fit.
The Best Therapy for Families
Family counselling aims to improve relationships within families by addressing underlying issues and enhancing communication.
Whether you’re dealing with conflict, navigating major life changes, or seeking to strengthen familial bonds, our experienced therapists can provide guidance and support.
What Happens During Family Counselling?
Each family is unique, and our counselling approach is tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of your family. Family counselling can encompass a wide range of topics and concerns, including:
- Dealing with Divorce or Separation: Helping families navigate the emotional challenges and practical adjustments associated with divorce or separation.
- Managing Problematic Behavior: Assisting parents in addressing behavioral issues in children and adolescents, such as defiance, aggression, or substance abuse.
- Parenting Skills: Providing parents with tools and strategies to foster positive parent-child relationships, set boundaries, and promote healthy development.
- Resolving Conflicts: Facilitating constructive communication and conflict resolution strategies to address disagreements and improve family dynamics.
- Setting Boundaries: Assisting families in establishing clear boundaries and expectations to promote mutual respect and understanding.
- Other Matters of Relationship Development and Management: Supporting families through transitions, grief, trauma, and other challenges impacting family dynamics.
Family counselling in Calgary offers a collaborative approach to addressing challenges and fostering positive change within the family dynamic. Rather than placing blame or pointing fingers, it provides a safe and supportive space for all family members to express themselves openly and honestly. Through guided discussions, interactive exercises, and therapeutic interventions, families can explore underlying issues, improve communication, and develop effective coping strategies.
During family counselling sessions, our experienced therapists work closely with each family member to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. By understanding each individual’s perspective and experiences, we can tailor our approach to meet the unique needs of the family as a whole. Whether the goal is to navigate a specific crisis, improve relationships, or build a stronger foundation for the future, family counselling offers valuable insights and practical tools for success.
At Curio Counselling, we believe that every family has the potential to overcome adversity and thrive together. Our family counselling services focus on building resilience and strengthening bonds to foster healthier, more fulfilling relationships. By addressing challenges head-on and learning from past experiences, families can develop greater empathy, understanding, and trust.
Through family counselling, parents and children alike can learn effective communication strategies, conflict resolution skills, and stress management techniques. By working together to overcome obstacles and celebrate achievements, families can cultivate a sense of unity, purpose, and belonging. With the guidance and support of our experienced therapists, families can navigate life’s ups and downs with confidence and resilience.
Family counselling is not just about resolving conflicts; it’s about empowering families to create positive and lasting change in their lives. By fostering a collaborative and strengths-based approach, our therapists help families tap into their inherent resilience and resourcefulness to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Whether it’s rebuilding trust, improving communication, or setting boundaries, family counselling provides a supportive framework for growth and transformation.
At Curio Counselling, we are committed to helping families build healthier, happier, and more connected lives. Our goal is to empower families to face adversity with courage, compassion, and resilience, knowing that they have the support and guidance they need to succeed. With our comprehensive family counselling services, families can embark on a journey of self-discovery, healing, and growth, paving the way for a brighter and more promising future.
Exploring Therapeutic Techniques
What are the Commonly Used Therapies?
- Structural Family Therapy: Focuses on restructuring family dynamics and roles to promote healthier interactions.
- Strategic Therapy: Addresses power dynamics and communication patterns within the family system to create positive change.
- Systemic Therapy: Explores underlying values and assumptions guiding family interactions to facilitate change.
Additionally, narrative therapy, transgenerational therapy, communication therapy, psychoeducation, and relationship counselling may be incorporated, based on your family’s needs.
How to Prepare for Family Counselling
- Open Communication: Have open conversations with your family about the reasons for seeking counselling and the benefits it can offer.
- Normalize Counselling: Emphasize that counselling is not a reflection of fault or blame but rather an opportunity for growth and healing.
- Active Participation: Discuss the importance of active participation and honesty during counselling sessions to maximize the benefits of therapy.
- Goal Setting: Work with your therapist to identify specific goals and topics you’d like to address during sessions, ensuring that sessions are focused and productive.
Preparing yourself and your family in advance for counselling can help ensure that you all get the most of your sessions.
Is Family Counselling Right for You?
Family counselling can be highly beneficial for families experiencing discord, communication breakdowns, or major life transitions.
By working with a qualified therapist, families can develop healthier coping mechanisms, improve communication skills, and foster greater understanding and empathy among family members.
How Successful is Family Therapy?
The success rate of family counselling varies depending on factors such as the severity of issues, family members’ willingness to engage in therapy, and the effectiveness of therapeutic techniques.
However, research suggests that family counselling can lead to positive outcomes, including improved family relationships, better communication, and enhanced coping skills.
What is the Best Therapy for Families?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question as the best therapy for families depends on various factors, including the nature of the issues being addressed, family dynamics, and therapist expertise.
Structural family therapy, strategic therapy, and systemic therapy are commonly used approaches, but the most effective therapy will be tailored to meet the specific needs of each family.
Therapy Topics Covered
Family counselling can help you and your family members
- Resolve conflict
- Improve communication
- Understand each other better
- Facilitate forgiveness
- Set and maintain boundaries
- Navigate separation and/or divorce
- Explore family roles and expectations
- Prepare for and adjust to life transitions
- Address challenging behaviours
- Heal intergenerational trauma
- Strengthen attachment
- Understand and meet needs
Book a Free,
20 Minute Consultation
Whether you are considering accessing counselling services for the first time, or hoping to find a therapist who is new to you, we want to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.
That is why we offer a free, no-obligation, 20-minute phone or video consultation with the Calgary therapist of your choice.
Our Calgary Therapists for Family Counselling
Counselling Rates in Calgary
| Practitioner Type | Session Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) | $200 | Affordable, high-quality couples support |
| Provisional Psychologist | $230 | Psychologist-led care with added supervisory oversight |
| Registered Psychologist | $230 | Full psychologist services and insurance coverage* |
*We are able to direct bill for many companies, but coverage varies by insurance plan — most plans reimburse Registered Psychologists and many also cover CCCs and Provisional Psychologists. Check your benefits or ask us.
Registered Provisional Psychologist
Canadian Certified Counsellor
Canadian Certified Counsellor
Registered Psychologist
Professional Art Psychotherapist, Counselling Therapist
Canadian Certified Counsellor, Registered Nurse
Canadian Certified Counsellor
Our counselling spaces are designed to make you feel comfortable and safe. Upon entering a counselling room, you are welcome to choose whichever seat you would like. Feel free to put your feet up, drape a blanket over yourself, or even lie down.
Our Location
You can expect to be greeted by our receptionist, invited to take a seat in our waiting area, and offered a beverage.
What if one family member refuses to come - can family therapy still work?
Yes, family therapy can still work when someone refuses to attend, and this is one of the most common situations Curio's Calgary family therapists work with. From a systemic perspective, every family is an interconnected dynamic: when one person shifts how they show up, the rest of the system responds. In practice, this might look like:
- Starting with the willing members (often parents alone, or a parent and one child) and bringing others in later as trust builds
- Beginning with individual work for the person seeking help, focused specifically on family patterns and what they can change
- Working around the resistant member: improving communication, reducing reactivity, and changing the family's response to a teen's withdrawal or a partner's avoidance often invites them in over time
A reluctant teenager or partner often becomes more open to attending once they see the rest of the family change without forcing them to. Your therapist will help you decide who should be in the room for what, and that decision changes as therapy progresses.
Will family therapy turn into a session where everyone blames me or my child?
No, and a competent family therapist will actively prevent that dynamic from forming. Curio uses a systemic approach, which means we don't view one person as the source of the family's problems. When a family arrives focused on a "problem child" or a "difficult partner," our therapists hold space for that concern and widen the lens to look at how the whole system contributes to and maintains the pattern. The goal isn't to assign blame; it's to identify the dynamics everyone is participating in and create new ones.
In session, your therapist will manage airtime, redirect attacks into requests, and reframe complaints as relational needs. This is a core clinical skill in family therapy. If you're worried about a particular family member dominating sessions or being scapegoated, tell your therapist before the first session and they'll structure the work accordingly. Sometimes this means starting with separate sessions and bringing the family together once safety is established.
How does confidentiality work in family therapy when minors are involved?
What's said in family sessions is confidential to the family unit: shared between everyone present and the therapist, and not disclosed externally except in the standard legal exceptions (imminent risk of harm, suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult, court subpoena). The details your therapist will walk through in your first session:
- If individual sessions happen alongside family sessions (e.g., your therapist meets one-on-one with a teen), what's shared there is not automatically reported back to parents. Your therapist negotiates what gets shared using a safety-vs-privacy framework: safety concerns go to parents; emotional content the teen wants to keep private is protected.
- Children and teens are told clearly what their therapist will and won't tell their parents. This is what allows them to actually open up.
- Custody and divorce contexts add another layer: if parents are separated, both parents typically need to consent to a child's involvement, and your therapist will clarify the legal requirements upfront.
What if family therapy makes things worse before it gets better?
A rocky start is normal, expected, and often a sign that therapy is working, not failing. When long-standing family patterns are surfaced and discussed openly, the initial weeks can feel more intense than the status quo. Old conflicts get raised honestly for the first time, defensive patterns stop working as well, and family members may feel exposed before new ways of relating settle in.
What you can expect:
- Sessions 1-3: information-gathering, building rapport, identifying patterns. Often feels surprisingly relieving.
- Sessions 3-8: the harder middle. Patterns get named, hard conversations happen, and things sometimes feel worse at home before they feel better.
- Sessions 8+: new dynamics start to take hold; the work shifts from disrupting old patterns to building and reinforcing new ones.
If things feel meaningfully worse, tell your therapist directly. That conversation is part of the work, not a sign you should quit. What you should not expect: months of feeling worse with no improvement. If that happens, your therapist will pivot the approach or refer you to a better fit.
How is family counselling different from individual or couples counselling?
Individual counselling works on your internal experience, couples counselling works on the relationship between two partners, and family counselling works on the whole family system. In more detail:
- Individual counselling focuses on your patterns, beliefs, emotions, and coping strategies. Best when the work is about you: managing your own reactivity, healing personal trauma, or changing how you show up in relationships.
- Couples counselling focuses on communication, attachment patterns, conflict cycles, intimacy, and shared goals. Best when both people are willing to engage and the issue lives in the dynamic between them.
- Family counselling focuses on multi-generational patterns, parent-child dynamics, sibling relationships, blended family integration, and how the household functions as a unit. Best when the issue involves more than two people or when one person's struggles are tied to family-wide dynamics.
In practice these often overlap. A family in conflict over a teen's anxiety might benefit from family therapy and individual therapy for the teen and a few couples sessions for the parents. Curio offers all three at our Beltline office, which makes coordinated care simple: your therapists can collaborate (with consent) so the work reinforces itself rather than running in parallel. Your free 20-minute consultation is the right place to figure out which combination fits your situation.
How much does family counselling cost in Calgary?
Family counselling in Calgary at Curio Counselling costs $200 per hour with a Canadian Certified Counsellor, $230 per hour with a Registered Provisional Psychologist, and $230 per hour with a Registered Psychologist. For context, the Psychologists' Association of Alberta's recommended rate is $235 per 50-minute session, so our rates sit below the Calgary average.
Every new family can also start with a free, no-obligation 20-minute consultation to make sure the therapist is the right fit before paying for a full session.
Is family counselling covered by insurance in Alberta?
Often, yes, but it depends on your plan and your therapist's designation. Most extended health and employee benefit plans in Alberta cover sessions with a Registered Psychologist or Registered Provisional Psychologist. Coverage for Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCPA) varies more by insurer, so check whether your plan covers "counselling" or only "psychological services." Alberta Health Care does not cover private family therapy.
Before your first session, confirm three things with your insurer: your annual maximum, your per-session reimbursement percentage, and which practitioner designations are eligible. We provide receipts with all credentials listed so you can submit your claim.
How long does family counselling take, and how often do we meet?
Most families begin with weekly or bi-weekly hourly sessions, and families working through a specific transition (a divorce, a move, a new blended household) often see meaningful change within 8-12 sessions. Deeper multi-generational patterns can take longer.
Your therapist will discuss expected timelines in your first session and revisit them as you progress. There's no minimum commitment: you stay because it's helping, not because you signed up for a package.
Can family counselling sessions happen online, or do we all need to come in?
Both. We offer in-person family sessions at our Beltline office (1414 8 St SW, Suite 200) and virtual sessions across Alberta. In Alberta, most private insurance plans cover online therapy the same way they cover in-person sessions, so the choice comes down to what works for your family.
Some families find teens open up more easily from home; others prefer the neutral ground of the office. Mixed formats, with some members in the room and some joining by video, can also work when schedules or distance make full attendance impractical.