St. Albert Lower-Cost Counselling Services

At River's Edge Counselling Centre, we are committed to working with community partners to find ways to meet the growing need for effective and accessible mental health resources in St. Albert and area.

We know there are many people who "fall through the cracks," not able to access mental health resources in the health care system as they require it, and without insurance or financial resources to cover the cost of private counselling and psychological services. We are fortunate to have family physicians, psychiatrists, a Primary Care Network and other community associations, such as SAIF, dedicated to working together to meet the mental health needs of our community. The team at River's Edge Counselling Centre looks forward to any opportunity to collaborate in this effort.

One of the ways we are working to make a contribution is through our lower-cost counselling program.

Our practicum training program admits 5 graduate students each year to offer counselling services with supervision and support from our team. We receive many applicants and choose mature students who are ready to provide high quality counselling services to our clients. This fall, we are pleased to welcome Sheila Chaba for a second full-year placement (Sheila has already completed her required hours and courses, but is committed to improving her practice while she completes her thesis requirement), as well as Grant Wardlow. While most practicum placements are for a few months, our program supports students in developing their practice for a full year, which also allows for longer-term care to clients. The fee for these services covers some of the costs associated with the program. Clients are charged $50.00/session (professional services cost between $125.00-$180.00). For some clients in particularly difficult financial situations, we are able to accept a lower fee for these services.

Accessing our lower-cost counselling services:

We do accept self-referrals for any of our services. However, we appreciate direct referrals from community partners when individuals are identified as needing counselling services. Professional referrals can be made by phone, online or by faxing our referral form to our office. If you are unsure whether or not a person may be a good fit to see a practicum student, or have any other questions about our services, please contact the office or our Director, Nicole Imgrund