this man has genuinely had such a profound impact on my life. In just a few months so far taught me…read moreto completely rethink my approach to life which was often riddled in anxiety and catastrophzing. thank you Matthew

Matthew has a calming demeanor and is able to help me to see solutions to problems that I don't see…read morewhen I am in the throes of my anxiety and/or depression. He treats me with respect: I've worked with him on and off for years as things have arisen for me and not once has he ever made me feel judged or inferior. He has made me feel like a capable friend who just needed a bit more (or a lot more, depending) insight and support. If you have a problem related to relationships, communication, family, anxiety or depression, I recommend Matthew without hesitation.

I would like to leave a very positive review about Carrie-Lee Gibson at Living Well Counselling …read more She has helped me immensely in my life as she has supported me through some very tough and complex life transitions. I don't know what I would have done without her perspective, support, kindness and insight. The patience and compassion she showed me made all of the difference in navigating the challenges I was dealing with. I feel very grateful for having a therapist like Carrie-Lee, and I would recommend her to anyone thinking about pursuing counselling.

I've had experience with Jen and the staff at Living Well for many years I have always found them…read moreto be professional, friendly and helpful. Can't say enough good things about these folks. Highly recommended!!!

Joanne is incredible! She's easy to connect with, open up to, and has an honest but gentle way of…read morehelping people conquer their problems. I've recommended her for years, and will contribute to do so. She's amazing and it's very obvious she's in the career she was most intended to be in.

Alexander helped me navigate my overwhelming emotions and taught me to channel them, and work on…read moretransforming my anger and anxiety. I am able to make small but meaningful life changes because of my sessions with him.

Alberta Counselling Centre has been a very welcoming environment, where I have felt comfortable…read moresharing my emotions. CBT therapy has helped me reframe my thoughts and cope with my anxiety effectively. To anyone who is struggling, you will be supported by Joyce Achtnig and the staff here!

My appointment with Joyce Achtnig was going well, like any other appointment, until I mentioned…read morediscrepancies between AHS versus Ontario healthcare in regard to diagnosing severe mental disorders. I have multiple family members who were readily diagnosed and treated for the same mental health disorder in Ontario. They did not have to be a danger to themselves or another person in order to be diagnosed in Ontario. While AHS refuses to diagnose a patient, such as myself, with the exact same presentation of symptoms (symptoms which run in my family). Joyce went on the attack like I have never seen before after I mentioned AHS. A switch seemed to go off in her and our conversation took a turn downhill. Joyce twisted information I told her, in confidence in previous sessions, and tried to use her twisted half true information against me. Joyce then suddenly began invalidating how severe my mental disorder is, when she has no professional background in this specific disorder. If only I knew she always felt this way! She only decided to show this condescending side of herself after I criticized AHS. It's unacceptable for Joyce to go into attack mode on her vulnerable client via bringing up multiple twisted truths to discredit me, just because I, unknowingly at the time, angered her with my AHS remark. I will be following up with reporting Joyce Achtnig to her licensing body. By

Have you ever had a moment in your life when the bottom kind of drops out of your world and you…read moredon't know what to do? Or maybe you've had trouble making ends meet and didn't know where to turn? Has there ever been a relationship that you've been desperate to save, salvage, change, or get out of, and you found that you kept running out of places to turn to or ideas to pursue? Have you ever just had a really, really bad day and needed someone to talk to? Distress Centre Calgary is a not-for-profit agency that provides crisis support, information, and referral services, free of charge. The 24 hour crisis telephone lines (403-266-1605) are an absolutely essential service that reaches out to people in need from all walks of life. The lines are answered by highly trained volunteers, who undergo screening and participate in an in-depth, three week training period in which they learn the basics of crisis intervention, and become familiar with current social issues and community resources. Volunteers work in conjunction with staff to provide callers with assistance in topics that include (but are not limited to) suicide, mental health, domestic violence, grief and loss, sexuality, youth and seniors' issues, relationships, and homelessness. By calling in, anyone can access immediate support in whatever situation they are currently facing. Volunteers are not professional counsellors and do not provide advice or therapy over the phones. However, they can lend an empathetic ear, talk you through your problems, and often give you a fresh perspective on your current crisis. They can also help you to find and connect with community resources that are relevant to your situation; Senior's Connect, Alberta Health Services' Mobile Response Team, and Wood's Homes' Community Resource Team are only a few of the programs with which the Distress Centre is partnered. Distress Centre also delivers the 211 service, which is a wonderful portal for information on services available in your community. I cannot stress enough how wonderful this organization is. If you are looking for a long-term volunteer commitment that is meaningful and personally rewarding, and through which you can improve the lives of those within your community and out of it, this is the place to go. Visit their website (http://distresscentre.com/) to find out more detailed information on how to join up, and the different services that they offer.

Why I asked for help was because we have had a terrible decade, it led to a layoff at a career that…read moreled to putting out tens of thousands of resumes. I was able to find work, but it was only at minimum wage work. My family have also struggled, I have had family members suffer through addictions and suicides. I continue to struggle to find anyone not only that will listen to me, but help me come up with better strategies so I can stay afloat financially and keep from making the same decisions family have. After calling 211 I was directed to calling the Distress Center. They were fine at confirming I was down and how I must be "frustrated." I want to find a better path to get off the downward spiral I've been on. Mostly I was told to call 211 again so I can call AlbertaWorks to get my resume looked at (which was never the problem seeing as I lasted at a career job before for over a decade, if I had a bad resume they also would have never hired me), or to call Prospects because they assumed my problem with finding better paying work must be because I must be mentally handicapped, which I am not. The other bad advice the service provided was to contact a company to see if I am living within a budget. The concept DC does not understand is financial problems happen from unforeseen costs more than anything. You can pay your bills, but the moment you have serious car trouble, the pipes are bursting in your home, your furnace is ready to explode, and you're on minimum wage, you're borrowing money. That is the problem, not my inability to understand how to budget. The complexity of life in Calgary on a low wage they don't want to understand. They only would say that yes they did care, but they were only there to provide emotional support. Which does not happen. I would have loved to have talked to anyone in any direction that would have tried any idea I could look into to improve the situation, not people who would say, "gee that's tough, gotta go there's another caller," "sorry, we're not here to give you a job," "maybe you should stop calling here and get a better job instead of expecting us to do it for you," "people with better jobs tend to have education (which I have), can take stress better than you, and are intelligent people," or best yet, "sorry we're volunteers, we don't get paid to try very hard." None of that makes me feel emotionally supported. In fact, I would harbor to say these people that talk to people going through the hardest moments of their lives and really should not be volunteering their time at this service. I have asked to speak to managers about trying a little harder to provide better emotional support, but I've rarely ever been able to. One called me and told me to call 211 and go through the runaround all over again, another recently told me that if I get upset with them or their volunteers they will stop trying to help at all. Nothing was ever taken into consideration of trying to improve any of this service. That's because the people running it do not care about doing anything beyond verifying your problems suck. No one tries to actually listen that if any good ideas could be offered, maybe people would have less reason to call ever again. The most entitled service I've ever dealt with. Should seriously get looked into, I hope the government of Alberta considers defunding as well as their sponsors.

Healthy living Laser therapy saved my life! They have given me the life I always wanted. 5 months…read moreago I trusted a friend and dove into this opportunity after trying too many times on my own. I just finished a 5-day backpacking trip on the coast of Vancouver Island carrying 40lb on my back, hiking and climbing 47km. At no point did my lungs hurt or did I cough. Laser therapy did detox my body and I am back to a way of life that is miraculous.

Krissy is an amazing healer. She has helped me heal a major pain in my life. I hd always felt…read moreabandoned by my father and female relationships but Krissy gave me a message from my father and helped me heal. Since then I'm a lot happier and life is a lot brighter. Krissy is gentle, caring and intuitive. I highly recommend her to anyone that is serious about healing their life.